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Close call at home goes against Lakeview in Akron
By Tom Williams
AKRON
Lakeview catcher Sam Marino is certain she held onto the ball long enough after she tagged Akron Hoban baserunner Katie Clark to force extra innings.
First baseman Tori Wells is sure that Clark missed the plate after the ball fell out of Marino’s glove and that her teammate picked up the ball and tagged her as the Knight scrambled back to the plate.
Initially, the home-plate umpire agreed that Clark was out. But two conferences later (one to change the call, the other to confirm it), Clark was ruled safe, giving Hoban a 1-0 victory in Thursday’s Division II regional semifinal at Firestone Stadium.
“I didn’t think it came out right away,” Marino said of the tag after she caught the throw from right fielder Alex Romano. “Once I tagged her, I held on for a bit.”
Marino agreed with Wells that she tagged Clark before she touched home plate.
“I never saw her touch the plate,” Marino said. “I thought for sure I tagged her before she touched the plate.”
Clark’s run ended a game filled with sterling defensive plays by both teams. Marino threw out two runners (Maddie Terzola at second base in the first inning, Emma Terzola at third in the fourth).
In the seventh inning, Laney Jones was hit by a pitch and Clark hit a one-out single to advance her to third. On the next play, Wells fielded Haylee Fisher’s ground ball, saw Jones cheating and ran toward her to send Jones scrambling. Wells fired a strike to third baseman Kylee Mann who tagged Jones for the second out.
“I decided that the runner at third was more important,” said Wells of giving up on a throw to first base. “As soon as I looked toward her, she took a step toward home.
“I knew that I could get her because she was more than halfway [home],” Wells said. “That felt good. All game, we had been shutting down their offense.”
The Knights stranded five runners (four in scoring position), the Bulldogs (17-6) four (all in scoring position).
Mann had two of Lakeview’s five hits. One was first-inning double.
Wells led off the seventh inning with a double. A sacrifice sent pinchrunner Meg Stein to third base. Hoban pitcher Jones retired the next batters on a flyout to center field and a foul pop-up.
Bulldogs pitcher Cait Kelm did not allow a hit through the first three innings. The Knights finished with five, three in their final at-bat. Kelm struck out six, walked one and hit two.
“She did great,” Wells said of the freshman pitcher. “We’re so proud of what she’s done this whole year.”
Marino said: “She did phenomenal. She was hitting her spots, kept a positive attitude the whole time, always smiling. She came so far this season.”
Disappointed that her season is over, Marino said the Bulldogs, playing in their first regional in 18 years, went out in style.
“It was definitely a lot of fun,” Marino said. “These are the [type of] games I like to play. Obviously, everybody likes to win, but this is how you grow as a person, you grow as a team.
“I loved it.”