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Poland’s run ends in Division II softball semifinals
Poland’s
29-game
streak stopped
By Greg Gulas
AKRON
The Poland softball players knew they needed seven strong innings in Thursday’s Division II state semifinal against Plain City Jonathan Alder if the Bulldogs were to advance to Saturday’s championship.
They managed just six in a 6-3 loss to the Pioneers at Akron Firestone Stadium.
Jonathan Alder scored four runs and sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning to set the tone of the game.
The Pioneers will play the LaGrange Keystone-Hebron Lakewood winner in Saturday’s title game. Their semifinal was pushed back to 10 a.m. today.
Poland concluded its season 29-1 while starting pitcher Ashley Wire, the Bulldogs’ pitcher for the second half of the season, finished 19-1.
Jillian Jakse, an early Youngstown State commit, drilled a two-run homer while Cierra Clark added a run-scoring single to help the Pioneers (28-1) to an early lead.
“I learned off that first inning and figured out what I needed to fix. Then I made the adjustment,” Wire said. “My curve was working and my drop curve as well. I used both of those pitches a lot throughout the game.”
Poland cut the deficit to 4-2 on a run-scoring single by Ally Nittoli and groundout by Jackie Grisdale.
Lauren Sienkiewicz, who walked in the opening frame, is one of four seniors on the team. The others are Wire, Tori Modarelli and Justine Carney.
“Coming into the program my freshman year, there wasn’t a lot of heart in the game. It was more like we were playing because we signed up to play,” Sienkiewicz said. “These past two years and especially this year, we played because we loved the game, playing with our hearts every inning and every pitch until the end of the game.
“We don’t let up until the umpire said the game was over. This team is very special to me and I’m never going to forget this moment.”
The Pioneers increased their lead to 5-2 in the third inning when Angela Brandel led off with a triple and scored a batter later Clark’s groundedout.
Alder stretched the lead to 6-2 in the fourth inning when Lindsey Potter’s sacrifice fly sent Danielle Robbins home.
Of the Pioneers’ seven hits, six came in the first four innings. Wire allowed just one hit over the final three frames.
“We gave up four runs in that first inning and had to claw our way back,” Bulldogs head coach Jim Serich said. “We had a couple chances to get some runs but didn’t get that two-out hit. This is a team that doesn’t quit. We didn’t quit all year and I knew they wouldn’t quit.
“They battled all year and did what they had to do.”
Wire’s double in the seventh inning drove in Brooke Bobbey with the final run of the game, but it was too little, too late for the Bulldogs.
Serich said Wire battled the entire game while his four seniors left a legacy that he hopes his younger players follow.
“Offensively, Ashley has done this for four years. She’s a .480 hitter and has been a key to our success all season,” Serich said. “While she had a rough first inning, she came back, gutted it out and held them to two runs over the final six innings.
“This is a very special group. Any time you run off 29 in a row it’s special. There were a few times when we gutted it out, but this group fed off our seniors. We’re young and I know our underclassmen have learned a ton from our senior group.”