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Taylor’s career draws to a close as S. Range falls
By Tom Williams
MASSILLON
In the final defensive inning of her four-year varsity career, South Range shortstop Stevie Taylor had one last captain’s moment.
During a 3-0 loss to Independence in a Division III regional semifinal on Thursday, Taylor walked to the pitcher’s circle.
Two innings before, Independence’s Ciara Gordon hit a line drive into Caragyn Yanek’s right ankle. With good reason, the freshman pitcher was aching.
Before the conference ended, both Raiders had smiles on their faces.
“Caragyn’s a great player — she’s been our ace,” Taylor said. “I’m so proud of what she did tonight. “I was telling her that she’s fine, that we’ve got to play [better] behind her,” Taylor said. “She did a great job.”
About the chat, Yanek said, “She’s the best, she made me happy again.”
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Blue Devils scored two unearned runs.
Halle Dorko opened the frame by reaching base on an error. After Victoria Sirna walked, Abbi Tarski singled to score Dorko.
Gordon’s hard shot back to the mound caromed off Yanek’s foot to load the bases.
“It hurts really bad,” said Yanek who finished the game. “There’s swelling. It’s getting pretty purple.
“I knew I had to shake it off, I had to pitch,” said Yanek, who said she was having trouble with her stride. “It started dragging and rocks would bump it.”
Larissa Adams grounded to Yanek who threw to catcher Sarah Moretti for a forceout. First baseman Kendall Syms fielded Katie Adams’ bunt, but her off-target throw to Moretti was not in time to prevent Tarski from scoring for a 2-0 lead.
The inning ended with a double play. Bryleigh Wise flew out to left fielder Morgan Czopur, who relayed the ball to Taylor. Her strike to Moretti erased Gordon, who had tagged up from third base.
The Raiders (24-6) struggled against Sirna, who limited them to four hits. She struck out six and walked none.
“We weren’t disciplined enough at the plate to stay off of those inside pitches,” South Range head coach Don Feren said after the Raiders’ third regional appearance in five seasons.
“She wasn’t a surprise to us,” Taylor said. “She definitely had a nice changeup. We didn’t hit like we normally do. We kind of hurt ourselves.”
Junior center fielder Jordan Youngs was the one Raider who solved Sirna.
“We definitely wanted to make it past one round,” said Youngs, who had three singles and was stranded at second base in the second inning. “We had a bunch of confidence. Maybe we were over-thinking it too much.”
Youngs said the Raiders were hoping to give Taylor a chance for a state trip.
“Definitely for Stevie, I wanted to get [to the regional final] for her,” Youngs said. “It’s been a complete and total honor playing for her.
“She’s been our leader.”
Taylor was solid in the field. In the second inning, she dropped to her knees to field a ball and stayed down while throwing out Wise. In the fifth inning, she made a barehanded grab of a ball hit by Nora Baran and threw her out at first.
“She’s going to be very, very difficult to replace,” said Feren, who has eight starters returning. “Our senior put everybody on her back and said, ‘We’re not going to rebuild, we’re going to reload.’ She’s phenomenal.”