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Mathews softball team tops LaBrae, Harding
By BRIAN DZENIS
LIBERTY
It looked like Mathews reached the end of a dynasty at the conclusion of the 2015 season.
The Mustangs, who made four straight regional appearances, including a Division IV state finals appearance in 2012, featured four four-year starters, including The Vindicator’s 2015 Softball Position Player of the Year, Cheyenne Eggens.
In total, Mathews began the season with just two starters left from last year’s regional finals squad, but this year has not been a rebuilding year.
“These kids have stepped up and did something no one thought they would do this year,” Mathews coach Jim Nicula said. “People wouldn’t have said we’d be 19-4 now. People said there was no way, but the kids knew they could do it. The coaches knew they could do it and they just go out and play great ball.
“They have great chemistry. They have great camaraderie and they’re making their own name for 2016.”
The most recent edition of the state poll has Mathews at No. 6 in Division IV.
“We came into this season with no expectations at all and I think it’s helped us a lot,” said senior Meredith Grimes, one of the team’s two starters from last year.
“We didn’t have to live up to anything and so we just kept playing our best and it kept working out.”
The Mustangs added two more victories on Saturday in the Mahoning Valley Invitational, beating Division III LaBrae, 10-5, and Division I Warren Harding, 9-2.
The Raiders struck first on Talayshah Harris’ RBI double. Mathews came back in the second with a two-run home run from Lenna Hoff, its other returning starter. That was the end of Harding’s lead and the Raiders never got close.
Mathews gets by on quality defense and honest self-analysis. The Mustangs are quick to point out flaws in their own game. On Friday, they got a wake-up call in the form of an 8-1 loss to Howland, which took advantage of six Mathews errors.
“We know what we’re doing wrong and we know how to fix it,” Grimes said. “We had a bad night last night and we had a team intervention and it helped a lot. We’re never complacent.”
Take pitcher Nicole Watts. The junior gave up two runs on five hits and five walks while striking out six Raider batters. Her only real trouble spot was the third inning, when she walked three straight batters to load the bases. But she escaped the inning unscathed. When asked about her game, she pointed out those walks.
“I walked a bunch of people, but I was OK,” Watts said.
Mathews tacked on three more runs in the fifth on two Harding errors and Noelle Migliozzi’s sacrifice fly.
Harding’s Shailynn Powell singled the next inning and stole two bases before scoring on a groundout for the Raiders’ final run. Mathews got another run on an error and Mackenzie Powell knocked in two more in seventh to turn it into a rout.
Nicula said his Mustangs may not have had many returning starters, but some of them did get varsity experience in 2015. Most of the Mustangs were pinch-runners and got playing time in blowouts.
There’s only one regular-season game left before the Mustangs begin to chase their seventh regional appearance in eight years.
“These kids are all veterans. They’re part of the legacy that’s been coming through here, so they’re just filling roles,” Nicula said. “Whether it’s D-I, D-II or D-IV, we just come through and play our game.”