Marlington denies West Branch in D-II district title game

By MIKE KEATING

The Alliance Review

ALLIANCE

It’s amazing what one positive inning can do for a team’s confidence.

Uplifted by a seventh-inning rally in a Division II district semifinal win over Hubbard, Marlington took the field against Northeastern Buckeye Conference rival West Branch in its next postseason game with a positive attitude.

“We talked about confidence and believing in ourselves,” Marlington head coach Shawn Dillon said.

That could have been a difficult sales pitch, considering the Warriors defeated the Dukes by 10 runs in two regular-season games.

As the third game unfolded between the two conference rivals, it was apparent Marlington bought what Dillon was selling.

The reward was a 5-4 Marlington win over West Branch in a Division II district final Thursday at Union Title Field.

“They played with confidence, they played very well and they executed very well,” West Branch head coach Sis Woods said. “They also took advantage of our mistakes.”

Marlington (22-5) was led offensively by sophomore catcher Amber Cirone with three singles and two runs batted in. Kate McFarland singled and tripled, and Maddie Meyers and Olivia Powers singled twice.

Kylie Coffelt and Grace Heath paced West Branch (23-5). Coffelt homered, singled and drove in three runs. Heath doubled twice.

The Dukes executed their second seventh-inning rally in two days.

Cirone delivered the biggest one of the game, drilling a two-out, run-scoring single to center to conclude the two-run, seventh-inning uprising.

“The pitch was on the outside corner and I just tried to find a gap up the middle,” Cirone said.

Cirone’s clutch hit helped send Marlington to the Akron Division II regional and a semifinal game against Akron Hoban Wednesday at 2 p.m.

“We came into this game pretty loose and I think that helped us,” Marlington second baseman Erica Robinson said.

Marlington trailed by one run entering the top of the seventh inning in the district semifinal against Hubbard and scored four runs, eventually winning 5-3. In the district final, West Branch fought hard to grab a 4-3 lead after six innings.

Before the seventh, Dillon gathered the team in front of the third-base dugout and delivered a brief message.

“I reminded the girls we were down one run the game before and we can do it again,” Dillon said.

The Dukes erased the one-run deficit quickly. McFarland sliced a triple down the left-field line to open the inning. Meyers looped a single to shallow right field, tying the game at 4.

With one out, Bri Hoopes sacrificed Meyers to second, setting the stage for Cirone to give the Dukes the lead for good. Her single was Marlington’s third two-out, run-scoring hit of the game.

“They came through with some big hits,” Woods said.

Trailing 3-2, the Warriors responded with two runs in the fifth to assume their first and only lead. Grace Heath doubled and scored when Kelsey Byers singled sharply off the pitcher’s glove and the ball caromed into center field. Byers moved to second on an outfield error and scored when Coffelt drove in her third run with a single to center.

Marlington pitchers Ellie Smith and Olivia Powers combined to yield 10 hits, but they never allowed West Branch to explode offensively. Smith worked four innings, allowing three runs. Powers yielded Coffelt’s game-tying hit, but she also pitched shutout ball.