Champion, North Union both young

June 3, 2015 at 12:07a.m.

The news is mixed about Thursday’s state semifinal opponent for the Champion High School softball team.

On the one hand, Richwood North Union (27-4), which won the Dayton regional at Wright State University, is returning to the state tournament at Akron’s Firestone Stadium. Last June, the Lady Cats finished 21-7 after losing to state champion Williamsport Westfall (29-3) in the state semifinals.

But on the other, North Union has a freshman pitcher, Madison Wedding, who will be making her state tournament debut just like all but one of the Golden Flashes (28-4).

“For some reason, they made them travel to Dayton,” said Cheryl Weaver, Champion’s 16th-year head coach. Richwood is located in Union County between Marion and Marysville.

Wedding has an 18-3 record with an earned-run average of 1.35.

Weaver said the batter to watch for is senior catcher Emily Clark with 13 home runs. Clark will play for Ohio State University next season. Another top hitter is Abby Davis with a .558 batting average.

The Lady Cats, who finished second in the Coaches’ Poll of state Division III teams, defeated Williamsburg, 5-0, in the regional championship. The Flashes, who finished fifth in the state poll, advanced by defeating Elyria Catholic, 4-0, in the Massillon regional.

In the regional semifinal, the Flashes came close to missing their fifth state tournament since 2004. In that game, Champion trailed Apple Creek Waynedale 5-1 going to the bottom of the seventh inning.

The lead had been 3-1 in the top of the seventh until Waynedale’s Kayla Troyer crushed a two-run homer off Champion ace Haylee Gardiner (16-2) over the center-field fence.

How Gardiner, one of the Golden Flashes’ two seniors, responded is one reason why Weaver likes her team’s chances.

“She came in the dugout and she sits in her one spot, and she got control of herself,” Weaver said of Gardiner, the only Flash that was on Champion’s 2012 team that won a second consecutive state crown. “She has her way of doing it.

“And I think she will be calm,” Weaver said. “She has a way of controlling herself.”

The Flashes erupted for four runs in their last regulation at-bat then won 6-5 in nine innings after Gardiner kept the Golden Bears off the extra-inning scoreboard,

Against Elyria Catholic, Gardiner struck out 14.

In the regular season, Weaver alternated Gardiner and sophomore Mckenzie Zigmont. Once the postseason began, Weaver relied on Gardiner.

“This is a long-time coming for me [so] it makes me very excited,” Gardiner said of another state trip. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I know what it tastes like,” Gardiner said of the intense atmosphere. “I definitely push the rest of [my teammates].” The Flashes are loaded with young players. The only other upperclassmen are: Brittany Allen, senior, third base; Carissa Hurst, junior, second base; and Amber Ricci, junior, first base.

For that reason, Weaver said it was hard to imagine before the season that her team would do so well.

Champion’s last loss was on April 29, a 9-5 loss to Canfield, the Division II Akron regional runner-up. They also defeated Poland (7-4) and Jefferson (the Division II state qualifier from Akron).

Weaver said she noticed a “big change” in the Canfield game.

“We really started hitting the ball well,” Weaver said. “Playing Canfield and beating Poland and beating Jefferson [showed] we can hang with the best of them. We’re in a lower division — it makes you feel good.”

Frreshman shortstop Megan Turner said the 2012 team has been an inspiration.

“Their team was really close and our team is really close,” Turner said. “To be a freshman and to go to state is an awesome feeling.”