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Poland softball cracks open South Range
Five-run inning sparks Bulldogs’ victory
By Tom Williams
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
For five innings, South Range sophomore Bree Kohler and Poland senior Ashley Wire were engaged in a pitchers’ duel you would expect from the two best softball teams in the Northeast 8 Conference.
Things changed in the sixth inning after when Poland’s Brooke Bobbey snapped Kohler’s streak of retiring 13 consecutive batters. Bobbey’s bloop single ignited Poland’s five-run rally that led to Tuesday’s 8-2 victory.
With one out and trailing 2-1, Wire singled and Camryn Lattanzio reached base when a shallow fly to right-center field dropped in.
Ally Nittolo smacked a three-run double to put Poland (4-0, 3-0) ahead for keeps.
The Poland junior admitted she wasn’t sure how far the ball traveled.
“Normally when I hit the ball, I just kind of hope for the best,” Nittoli said. “And I’m not supposed to look at the ball so I was just running.”
Her teammates clued her in as to how the game changed.
“I heard everyone in the dugout going crazy,” Nittoli said.
Lauren Sienkiewicz doubled to score pinch-runner Connie Cougras and Jackie Grisdale singled to bring home Sienkiewicz for the 6-2 lead.
Wire said the rally provided her “a lot of energy” going back to the mound.
“It makes me want to do even better,” she said.
Wire (2-0) retired six of the final seven batters she faced.
“She’s actually dialed in big time,” Poland coach Jim Serich said. “She’s doing everything you expect a senior to do. What she is getting, she has earned. She worked hard all winter, hard at her craft.”
Wire said she wasn’t fazed when Kohler retired the Bulldogs in order from the second through fifth innings.
“I just have a lot of faith in my team,” Wire said. “We worked really hard this offseason. Everyone has put in a lot of effort. I think it’s important to everyone that we go out there and show them what we’ve got.”
In the seventh inning, Bobbey again led off with a single. KaiLi Gross walked and Wire reached on an infield hit to load the bases. Lattanzio hit the ball off the center-field fence for a two-run double.
Early on, the Raiders (2-2, 2-1) had opportunities, stranding seven baserunners in the first three innings.
Poland took a 1-0 in the first inning when Gross singled, stole second base and scored on Nittoli’s two-out single.
South Range took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Kohler reached on an outfield error, stole second and scored on Hanna Dennison’s double to deep left field. She scored on Julie Centofanti’s single.
South Range coach Jeff DeRose said the complexion of the game might have changed if the Raiders had not stranded so many.
“If we had gotten a few of those runs in, who know?” DeRose said, adding that his team is looking forward to today’s rematch. “We play [today] to [become] tied for the lead in the league.”
Serich said he’s not sure if Wire or Gross, who joined the team last week after transferring from Canfield, will pitch today. Gross is eligible to play in Poland’s first 13 games.