Champion weathers storm to return to state tournament
By Tom Williams
MASSILLON
Not even a 49-minute thunder-and-lightning delay could slow the Champion High School softball team’s forceful march to another state tournament.
Behind senior Haylee Gardiner’s dominant performance on the mound, the Golden Flashes (28-4) shut out Elyria Catholic (16-15) 4-0 in Saturday’s Division III regional final at Massillon High School.
“She was pitching fantastic,” sophomore catcher Molly Williams said of Gardiner, one of the Flashes’ two seniors. “Her balls were moving, she was hitting her spots.”
Gardiner tossed a three-hitter, striking out 14 batters and hitting one.
“It’s an amazing feeling knowing that we are going to state,” senior third baseman Brittany Allen said of Champion’s third trip to Akron’s Firestone Stadium in five seasons. “I’m so happy, so excited.
“It’s such a great feeling.”
Champion won state in 2011 and 2012. Cheryl Weaver, Champion’s head coach since the 2000 season, also guided teams to state in 2004 and 2006. The school’s other state titles were won in 1978, 1980 and 1994.
Distant rumbles and flashes delayed the game in the bottom of the second inning. A few drops fell. Gardiner said the delay had little effect on her.
“I just had to re-warmup and I was fine,” said Gardiner, who will attend Ohio State in the fall as a pre-med student.
The highlight of the delay took place in the Flashes’ dugout when Weaver “dueled” with Allen with their weapons of choice — bats.
“I picked up the [Nerf] bat and went after her, and she came back at me,” said Allen, feigning mock fear. “I thought she was going to hit me real hard for a second, I only had a little Nerf bat, she had a real one. I was scared.”
Who win?
“Me, of course,” Weaver said. “I drove her back.”
Gardiner said the moment helped keep the team upbeat.
“You have to have fun,” Gardiner said. “The rain delay wasn’t ideal but you have to roll with the punches and we did.”
Champion seized control in their first at-bat against Panthers starter Ashley Cascio. Her speed was a lot slower than that of Lexi Falde, the Apple Creek Waynedale pitcher the Flashes finally solved in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s dramatic 6-5 victory.
With two outs, freshman Megan Turner blasted a homer that also cleared the fence surrounding the complex for a 1-0 lead.
Turner credited the practice she gets at home before games.
“My dad [Brian, a former star athletes at Grand Valley] always pitches me soft toss and it, honestly, was kind of like her speed,” Turner said. “So it was easy for me to time it up.
“Normally, we’re used to fast pitchers and I’m usually good at timing them up. Slow pitchers, I just keep my hands back and hopefully make contact.”
Turner also connected in the third inning when she hit a two-run double. The Flashes’ one mistake ensued when Turner was picked off second base by catcher Emily Hastings’ snap throw to second baseman Morgan Nisenboum.
Turner accepted responsibility.
“It was a dumb play on my part, honestly,” Turner said. “I just got too big of a lead.”
In the fourth inning, Williams singled and scored on Alayna Fell’s sacrifice fly. The Flashes added two runs in the fifth inning after Amber Ricci doubled. Turner and Williams followed with RBI singles for a four-run lead.
“It just took a couple of innings to adjust from the pitcher from Apple Creek and [her] different speeds,” Williams said. “After a couple of innings, we just started hitting.”
Ricci and second baseman Carissa Hurst are juniors. Underclassmen fill out most of the Champion roster.
Asked if she thought before the season that she had a state-bound team, Weaver said, “I did not. But until you really start playing your games, you don’t know.”
In the state semifinal, Champion will play Richwood North Union (26-4) on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The championship game will be played Saturday at 10 a.m.
“It’s so awesome,” Williams said. “We’re such a young team. We only have two seniors and two juniors. It’s just incredible. I’m so excited.”
Gardiner was a freshman on the 2012 team.
“I just wanted so badly for [her teammates] to experience what I got to experience,” Gardiner said. “I’m so excited.”