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S. Range going to state for 1st time
By MIKE McLAIN
MASSILLON
South Range softball coach Jeff DeRose inched back in the first base coach’s box, seeking short-lived solitude in the tension of the moment.
There was no place for Codi Taylor to sneak away. She was at the plate, facing an 0-2 count and with the deciding run on third base in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Protecting every inch of home plate, Taylor went with an outside pitch from West Salem Northwestern freshman Hannah Fricke and lined a single to right field.
As the ball landed just a few feet from DeRose, Taylor Ross crossed the plate for the only run in South Range’s 1-0 win in Saturday’s final of the Division III Massillon regional.
At that point, DeRose was no longer thinking about finding quiet time. He was all in to the ensuing celebration.
“I’m usually standing way back in the coach’s box, wanting to be by myself for a little bit,” DeRose said. “Then when I saw that ball come my way and saw it hit the ground, I immediately started running towards home. I fell down. I was laying on top of people.”
South Range advances to the state tournament for the first time. The Raiders will play Milan Edison in the Division III state semifinal at Firestone Stadium in Akron on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Lydia Baird led off the bottom of the 12th with a single to left field, marking the first time the Raiders had a runner on base with no outs against Fricke. After Hope Thomas popped out to the catcher, Morgan Czopur reached on a bunt.
Winning pitcher Caragyn Yanek laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance pinch-runner Ross and Czopur. The scene was set for Taylor, who watched as the first two pitches were called strikes. She fouled off the next pitch before delivering the game-winner.
“She [Fricke] was throwing a lot outside, so we all expected what we knew what was coming,” Taylor said. “I knew I had to take the pitch to the right side of the field.”
Taylor’s hit capped a dramatic game in which Fricke and Yanek were masterful. Yanek yielded three hits, struck out 10 and walked none. Fricke gave up four hits, struck out 11 of the first 12 batters she faced and finished with 18 while not allowing a walk.
Although the action started at 11 a.m., the temperature was in the upper 80s most of the game. Yanek remained physically strong throughout, striking out the side after hitting lead-off hitter Brittany Slanczka in the top of the 11th.
“I pitch two hours a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it paid off today in the heat,” Yanek said. “I knew I had to push through and my team was going to come through. I wasn’t going to give up if they weren’t.”
Yanek helped her cause with a slick sleight of hand in the fifth inning. Ally St. Clair led off with a bunt single for the Huskies (24-4) and moved to second when the throw to first by catcher Hanna Dennison was wide of Madison Weaver.
A sacrifice bunt by Riley Carlson advanced St. Clair to third. Slanczka then put down a bunt that was fielded by Yanek to the third-base side of the circle. Yanek faked a throw to first before turning and throwing the ball to third baseman Morgan Smith.
Caught in a rundown, St. Clair raced for the plate, but Smith’s throw to Dennison was in time. Jewelia Mowrer, a courtesy runner for Slanczka, was thrown out trying to steal third.
“We call it before the play unfolds,” DeRose said. “We have a specific name we call it. The girls are good at listening to us. She did an awesome job of selling that throw.”
Raiders center fielder Felicia Gaeta helped the cause in the 10th when she completely stretched out to make a diving catch of a fly ball by St. Clair.
Fricke had opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice by Sydney Harmon. Gaeta’s catch prevented courtesy runner Brianna Shearer from possibly advancing to third.
“Our fielding was amazing,” Yanek said. “Felicia with the perfect catch. I’ve never been so happy with a catch she has made.”
South Range (29-3) advanced to the regional level the last two seasons, losing to Elyria Catholic in the semifinals last year and Independence in the 2014 semifinals. There were no missteps this time.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Czopur, the lone senior on the roster. “We deserve it. We work hard, and we’re not done.”