Flashes finish their district domination

May 20, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

By mike mclain

leavittsburg

This is getting a bit ridiculous, even for a softball program that has six state championships.

The Champion Golden Flashes made the Division III district tournament at LaBrae High School their personal playground, defeating three opponents by a combined margin of 38-1 in advancing to the regional level. The clinching win came Friday when senior McKenzie Zigmont threw a five-inning no-hitter in a 12-0 win over the Kirtland Hornets.

Zigmont was dominant a day after admittedly not being her best in a 19-0 semifinal win over Brookfield. She recorded a strikeout on each of the first 11 Kirtland outs before retiring Vikki Carriero on a grounder to first baseman Allison Smith. Zigmont finished with 14 strikeouts, allowing just three base runners.

The Flashes (27-2) gave Zigmont a 5-0 lead by sending nine players to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Champion added one run in the third and six in the fourth.

It’s now on to the Massillon regional for the Flashes and a semifinal date with Cardinal Mooney at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Champion has appeared in 10 straight district finals, winning six times.

“They know they’ve got the defense,” Flashes coach Cheryl Weaver said. “They know they’ve got the offense. They’re hungry.”

Zigmont has the look that Weaver saw in pitcher Lindsay Swipas, who led the way to back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012. It’s the same look pitcher Haylee Gardiner had when the Flashes won their sixth state crown in 2015.

“I know I didn’t do too well yesterday [against Brookfield],” Zigmont said. “I just wanted to come out and improve.”

Zigmont and Weaver both think that the Flashes are more determined this season than last year, when they lost in the regional to South Range.

“We are very hungry,” Zigmont said. “South Range isn’t too far away from us. I know I heard it. I played with a girl that was from South Range over the summer. We want it bad.”

The lineup is arguably one of the best in school history. From impressive lead-off hitter Allison Smith, who’s a freshman, to ninth hitter Alayna Fell, there are no weaknesses. Fell proved that point with a lead-off home run in the fourth inning, when Champion sent 11 batters to the plate.

“There aren’t too many on this team that can’t [hit the long ball],” Weaver said. “That’s what is so amazing. I’ve had a couple people say, ‘This one might not.’ I said, ‘You know what? You can’t ever say never because it can happen because they can hit it to the fence, and if you can hit it to the fence, you can hit it over.’ ”

All nine players in the lineup had at least one hit, with Carli Swipas and Abby White both collecting two. Swipas drove in three runs, including two on a single in the fourth.

Abbi Grace drove in three runs on a sacrifice fly in the first and a two-run single in the fourth. Hannah Gresch had a pair of RBI on a single in the first.

“I’m just excited for them,” Weaver said. “What more can you say? We can’t wait to get to Massillon.”