ELYRIA HANDLES FIRST CLOSE CALL IN STYLE

ELYRIA TWP. — The Elyria Pioneers were happy to get another win on the softball field Wednesday afternoon, but it seemed as if they might be even happier with the way they earned it. After outscoring its opponents 73-9 in five mercy rule-shortened games, Elyria needed a two-run walk-off home run by freshman Riley Zana in the bottom of the seventh inning to come away with a 7-5 Greater Cleveland Conference victory over Medina. “With the way our other games have been going, I felt like we needed a close game that we could fight through to kind of humble us and show us that it’s not always going to be a breeze,” said senior second baseman Dierra Hammons, who had a triple, a home run and scored twice. “I knew that we had to come out hitting because this is a very good team. We go back and forth with them every year. We wanted to win and I feel we came out ready to do that.” The Pioneers (6-0, 6-0 GCC) were slow and steady in building a 5-0 lead during the first six innings. Senior Madison Cruzado had a two-run single up the middle in the first, Macy Taylor made it 3-0 with an RBI groundout and Hammons followed with a solo homer in the fourth and Zana added a solo homer in the fifth — an unusual hit that bounced off the center fielder’s glove and off the top of the fence before going over. Elyria freshman starting pitcher Isabella St. Peter kept the Bees at bay most of the game, surrendering just three hits, although she allowed six walks, before Zana came on in relief to get the final out of the sixth. Medina (5-4, 2-2) left 10 runners stranded during the first six innings — including bases loaded in the second — but finally started to string some hits together in the seventh. The Bees managed six hits off Zana, including an infield bloop and a pair that found their way between infielders and scored two runs each. “It was a little frustrating, but I knew my teammates were behind me and that we could get through the inning,” Zana said. The frustration of the rough outing in the circle melted away minutes later. Junior April Howser led off the seventh with a single through the left side before Zana cracked a towering shot over the center-field fence. “I knew I needed to get the job done, so I knew as soon as she pitched it that I had to do it,” Zana said. “That (first home run) was a little different and I didn’t know if it was going to count. But that’s my first (multihomer game) for Elyria, so it was pretty exciting.” It was pretty exciting for Elyria coach Ken Fenik, too, as he has five freshmen on the roster who regularly see action. “Every game we play right now is a learning lesson because we only have two seniors and a ton of young kids,” Fenik said. “What was nice about today was — the whole game was fun — but the way they competed once (Medina) came back and tied it up. “I do like the way the freshmen produced under fire today. That was something totally new for some of them. They’re used to coming out and blowing everyone away.” The Pioneers will have another meeting at Medina this season, and Bees coach Jessica Toocheck knows her players will need to learn from Wednesday’s defeat. “I’m very proud of them for their fight in the seventh inning,” she said. “We need to have that earlier in the game and throughout the game to be successful. You’re going up against a top team that traditionally has a strong program and finishes well, so you have to bring seven innings of ball to play them and to have a chance to beat them. “Playing Elyria twice and having them on our schedule is always in our benefit. They go deep in the tournament and playing them gives us exposure to a great quality team.”

ELYRIA HANDLES FIRST CLOSE CALL IN STYLE

Photo Credit: Elyria High Athletics

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