Champion has aces in place

Champion looking

for another state title

By Dan Hiner

dhiner@vindy.com

Champion

Visitors to the Champion High School baseball and softball hitting facility will see “Today I will do what others won’t so tomrrow I can do what other can’t” in purple and yellow paint.

No, that’s not a typo. “Tomorrow” is spelled wrong, but the Champion softball team gets a couple laughs at it.

The players still take the words to heart.

Last season, the Golden Flashes won their eighth state title after beating Cardington-Lincoln 9-4 in the Division III championship.

Champion has won five state titles since 2011 and is ready to add another trophy in 2019.

“It’s just something to look forward to,” junior pitcher Allison Smith said. “Coach [Cheryl] Weaver did a good job putting talent on our schedule this year.”

Most of the team is returning, but Champion has big shoes to fill.

Shortstop Megan Turner, right fielder Kiersten Jones and left fielder and third baseman Alayna Fell graduated. But the players aren’t worried.

The team has four sophomores while the rest of the roster is juniors and seniors with two state titles under their belts.

Allison Smith and Sophie Howell return as the team’s pitchers. The two combined to go 31-0 last season. Smith led the team with 16 wins.

“They [are] both tremendous,” Champion head coach Cheryl Weaver said. “Ohio State’s getting a tremendous pitcher in Allison and YSU is going to get a tremendous pitcher [in Howell].”

The chemistry between the two pitchers is strong. Smith and Howell played against each other in travel ball when they were younger and have become one of the top combinations in the state.

Weaver said most teams would be lucky to have one pitcher who can lead a team to state, but the Golden Flashes have the luxury of multiple pitchers.

“I think [the pitching rotation] will be pretty similar to last year, which worked out very good for us,” Howell said. “With Allison, it’s just nice to have [another pitcher] there. It doesn’t matter who pitches the games.”

Sophomore Emma Gumont, who hit a grand slam in the state title last year, has emerged as an early favorite to replace Turner.

Sophomore Cassidy Shaffer returns in the outfield and senior Abby White remains at third base.

“People gotta step up and play their game,” White said.

The team has had limited time outside due to the weather and field conditions. Weaver said the outfield is usually the last position group to be figured out during the offseason.

Most years, Weaver has had to get creative due to the weather — finding indoor facilities or practice on the parking lot or in the gym.

“In Northeast Ohio, that’s what happens all the time,” Weaver said. “There’s been years where we never stepped foot on our softball field or anyone’s softball field until the first time we could be on it.

“For us, we can get it [Youngstown State]. Years ago we could get into Kent [State], into their fieldhouse, and you can put an outfield for softball into those fieldhouses.”

The outfield isn’t Weaver’s concern. She likes to build the team from the infield and work out.

According to Weaver, the Golden Flashes will play their toughest schedule in program history this season.

They will open the season at Massillon Perry, which won the Division I title last year, and Division I regional runner-up Anthony Wayne.

“We’re going into this year prepared and excited for what we have to come because we have a lot of talent on this team,” Smith said.