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Poland set to meet Tallmadge
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Poland’s Taylor Miokovic pitches during a game against Austintown Fitch early this season. The Bulldogs face Tallmadge today in Akron.
By Curtis Pulliam
Poland
Big team, little me.
That’s only one of a couple mottos Poland Bulldogs head coach Matt Campbell has instilled into his softball team this season.
“Everybody’s doing things for the benefit of the team, not themselves,” Campbell said. “We had T-shirts made (with that on it).”
Poland will have to stay true to its motto today as they play Tallmadge (22-3) in a Division II regional semifinal at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The Blue Devils are led by junior right-hander Kirsten Lightel (20-2), a pitcher Campbell says will be a tough matchup for the Bulldogs.
“They’re definitely a top-notch caliber program,” Campbell said. “I know their head coach Ed Seeker pretty well. He does a great job with those girls. They’ll be a big challenge for us.”
The Bulldogs will be playing in their first regional semifinal since 2012, when they made the state semifinals and lost to the eventual champions.
However, the focus for Campbell and the Bulldogs (21-8) is this year and playing the game the way they have all season.
“I’m very proud of my girls,” Campbell said. “They battled all year long through a very, very, very hard schedule. We have a hard league schedule, but then our non-league schedule is just as hard, if not harder.”
Campbell believes the toughness of the schedule this season has prepared his team for the competition they will see on the field today.
“We traveled down to Tennessee this spring break,” Campbell said. “We played three schools down there, one of them ended up being a state champion this year and another one ended up being 50-6. We only won one game down there, but we saw very good competition.”
In addition to the difficult schedule in the regular season, Campbell says that they also had to figure out where to place some girls on the team early.
“We had some girls change positions during the year,” he said. “Just moving girls around, trying to get them in the right spot.”
Despite a rigorous slate and girls moving around on the diamond, Campbell believes this team can achieve big things even though the Bulldogs lack the same experience level as Tallmadge.
“He (Seeker) has a very experienced team back,” Campbell said. “They’re a senior-heavy team, seven of their nine starters are seniors.”
Poland does not have the same experience level but the Bulldogs do have senior leader Taylor Miokovic. Miokovic, who was on the 2012 state semifinal team, says this time it will be different.
“It’s definitely a different role for me than normal,” said Miokovic, who is batting .500 with 11 home runs. “Going into Firestone, it’s a whole new ballgame.”
The Bulldogs have been tested twice in three tournament games. Poland defeated Salem 10-0 in five innings, West Branch 6-4 and Canfield, the district’s No. 1 seed, 7-6 in eight innings.
The key to extending the season is simple.
“Minimizing mistakes,” Campbell said. “Being able to make the routine plays, playing solid defense. In any softball game, it starts with solid defense. You don’t want to give extra outs.”
Miokovic, who is one of three Poland seniors, will pitch for the Bulldogs today.
“They’re a good team so I’m not really aiming to strike everyone out — that’s not my goal,” said Miokovic, who has 113 strikeouts in 101 innings pitched. “I have a wonderful group of girls behind me that I know they have my back.”
Former Poland softball coach Reid Lamport, who compiled a 530-111 record over 23 seasons, has some advice for Taylor and the rest of the Bulldogs.
“Enjoy it,” Lamport said. “Take it all in, don’t make it more important than it really is, relax and have fun.”