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Mahoning takes two from Trumbull softball all-stars
Photo
Cardinal Mooney’s Shannon Saadey lays down a bunt for the Mahoning County team during Game 1 of the 10th annual 2013 Mahoning/Trumbull County High School All-Star Softball Game on Tuesday at McCune Park in Canfield. The Mahoning County team won, 4-3 and also claimed the nightcap, 3-1.
By Joe Scalzo
canfield
As she walked to the plate with the game on the line, South Range senior Darrian Yanek had two thoughts going through her head:
“I was just thinking, ‘Please throw me a good pitch,’ ” she said.
And ...
“She’s not going to throw me anything good,” Yanek said.
It was the bottom of the seventh inning in the opening game of Tuesday’s Mahoning-Trumbull all-star game at McCune Park. Yanek’s Mahoning County team trailed 3-2 with two outs and runners on first and second.
Yanek was facing Newton Falls senior Bailey Shade, one of her summer ball teammates with the Valley Extreme. Shade threw her a rise ball that didn’t rise enough and Yanek doubled into the left-center gap, driving home Fitch’s Alana Callahan with the game-tying run, followed by South Range’s Morgan Renforth with the game-winner.
“I was just thinking, ‘Thank you,’ ” said Yanek, who also singled out of the cleanup spot. “All those batting lessons finally paid off.”
Did she have any remorse about beating her good friend?
“Kind of,” Yanek said. “But then I thought, ‘Well, this is just a game.’ She was happy for me, so it’s OK.
“I absolutely loved playing. I feel honored to be picked and I was just thinking, ‘Man, this is my last time playing with my high school teammates. I’m just gonna have fun and that’s exactly what I did.’ ”
Callahan scored two runs, Renforth added a triple and Carly DeRose singled and scored for Mahoning. DeRose got the win, giving up six hits with 11 strikeouts and four walks.
Lakeview’s Alyssa Nicholas doubled, scored and drove in a run for Trumbull, Shade had an RBI single and Girard’s Kylie Kulon singled and scored.
In the second game, Jackson-Milton’s Paije Kiraly gave up seven hits and struck out just two but kept the Trumbull lineup in check en route to a 3-1 victory.
“I haven’t pitched since my last [high school] game but when I warmed up I was like, ‘All right, I can do this,’” she said. “It was a lot of fun. I played against a lot of these girls, so it’s fun to play with them.”
The rosters weren’t completely separated by county, leading to some odd matchups in the second game. For instance, McDonald’s Jenna Golden walked, singled and scored two runs for the Mahoning squad, and she did so against Poland’s Kasie Serich (who pitched for Trumbull).
When asked if she felt she betrayed her home county, she smiled and said, “I really didn’t have the option. It was, ‘Hey, you’re playing on this team.’ OK.”
“I drafted her,” yelled Jackson-Milton coach Kelly Snowden.
“Yeah,” Golden laughed, “she drafted me.”
West Branch’s Reagan Rito doubled, singled and drove in a run for Mahoning and Jackson-Milton’s Zaina Sahli doubled, singled, drove in a run and scored a run.
For Trumbull, Poland’s Marissa Trevis singled twice and scored the lone run and Mathews’ Hollie Shreves had two hits.