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No doubt about it: Poland takes Division II softball championship
By Doug Chapin
AKRON
After a near-miss a year ago, Poland was not about to let this opportunity get away.
Junior Erin Gabriel fired a 10-strikeout, one-hitter, and freshman Taylor Miokovic broke a scoreless tie with a clutch sixth-inning hit as the Bulldogs won the Division II state softball championship on Saturday with a 4-0 victory over LaGrange Keystone at Firestone Park.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of girls in my life,” coach Reid Lamport said of his team which dropped a 1-0 decision to Hebron Lakewood in the 2010 title game. “They had one goal from the onset of the season, and that was to be state champion, not just to get to the state championship. I think it’s a culmination of their commitment, their dedication, their sacrifice and their hard work and talent.
“In the world of high school softball it doesn’t get any better than this. This is it. I am excited for them because of what this means. It’s something nobody can ever take away, it’s something where you etch yourself in history in your community and your school. It’s going to mean a great deal for this program as it continues on. Every little girl in Poland wants to be sitting where these girls are sitting today. It means a lot.”
Gabriel allowed just three base runners and one was wiped out on a double play. The Bulldogs (25-2), meanwhile, left five runners on base through the first five innings but were unable to score.
The Bullogs had some good fortune on their side when Jenna Modic’s grounder leading off the sixth took a bad hop as the Keystone second baseman was about to field it. Modic moved to second on a groundout, then scored as Miokovic came through with a line shot to center.
“We looked at that as a fortunate bounce and we’ve had them go against us. Not to take anything away, she didn’t have an error on it, it just bounced up,” Lamport said about the Modic grounder which was ruled an error. “Then our freshman came through with a nice big hit for us to break the ice. That one run was such a key for us, being the visiting team. We had runners on, couldn’t advance them and, without allowing it to go there, last year keeps coming back. That sixth inning was big for us.”
“Jenna was on second and we needed to get a run to get ahead and I knew I had to get a hit,” Miokovic said about her go-ahead RBI.
“With Erin on the mound we feel we don’t need a lot of runs to win,” Modic said. “With that one run I knew it would be everyone’s motivation, get everyone’s adrenaline going.”
Poland added three runs in the top of the seventh, as Emily Chandler and Marissa Trevis, the eighth and ninth hitters in the Bulldog lineup, started the rally with back-to-back hits. The pair ended up with two hits each, an indication of the depth of the Bulldogs’ batting order.
“The media has been asking me along the tournament trail what the difference is between last year’s team and this team,” Lamport said. “The difference is that we hit deep into the lineup. We put the bat on the ball.
“I felt good after the first couple innings because we were hitting the ball, we were making good solid contact. All through our lineup, our eight hitter is hitting about .360, our nine hitter is at about .320, our seven hitter is about .350. Eight of our nine starters are hitting .300.”
Adriana Sikora brought one run home on a bases-loaded walk. Modic bounced to the pitcher who threw home for the first out of the inning, but when the catcher’s throw to first got away, Maura Bobby scored from second base. Gabriel then followed with a shot to right-center which became a sacrifice fly when Keystone’s right fielder made a diving catch.
It, of course, is on the mound where the Bulldogs most appreciate Gabriel.
“My game plan, since we played them earlier in the year and they knew to look up for my rise ball, was to get ahead. Then they had to swing at the rise ball,” Gabriel said. “I got ahead on most batters and was able to do that. My rise ball moves in and they are expecting everything high and inside, so when I could hit the outside corner sometimes they just freeze.”