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Girard, East Palestine rally to earn district showdown
By Jim Flick
BEAVER TWP.
In a pair of come-from-behind victories, the Girard and East Palestine high school softball teams won Wednesday’s semifinal games in the Division III District Tournament at South Range High.
Girard defeated Ursuline High, 8-2, while East Palestine defeated Newton Falls, 2-1. The Indians and Tigers meet for the district championship today at 4:30 p.m.
Both trailed late in their games.
Ursuline led 2-1 until Girard scored two runs in the fourth inning and five more in the sixth aided by eight Ursuline errors.
Newton Falls led 1-0 until East Palestine burst out for two runs in the fifth inning.
“I’m the happiest I’ve been for a long time,” Girard coach Renny Paolone said. “This is a first for Girard High School. We’ve never played for a district title in the history of Girard softball.”
Paolone said the victory extends their school record to 22 wins.
“These girls have been working since October. Everybody on this team picks everybody else up. It’s amazing how these girls work together,” Paolone said.
The Indians were led by starting pitcher Neco Maderitz, a sophomore who struck out 10 while pitching a complete-game victory that boosted her season record to 16-4. Maderitz pitched two no-hitters earlier in the season.
“It wasn’t my best pitching performance, but my defense backed me up. And my offense backed me up so much today,” Maderitz said.
Maderitz added that Girard’s five-run outburst made her determined to keep the Irish offense under control.
“It motivated me to keep it going and let them know that we were winning.
“We’re excited to be here. It’s fun.”
Kylie Kulon, Girard’s lead-off hitter, smacked a double and scored three runs. “We put pressure on them [Ursuline] and they broke down,” Kulon said.
East Palestine coach Dan McKinstry said he prepared his team for a tough battle. “I felt that the second time through the lineup, we were getting better swings on her pitches,” McKinstry said, referring to Newton Falls starting pitcher Bailey Shade, who struck out 12 Bulldogs.
“It was awesome,” said junior Karly Pence, who pitched a complete game for East Palestine, while striking out seven.
Carly Blair tripled in the fifth inning to drive in the first run and scored the winning run on a single by junior Logan Gatchel.