By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

With a win Monday at home over Berkshire, Rootstown could have clinched the Chagrin Valley Conference championship.

Instead, the Rovers managed only three hits in a 4-0 loss that allowed the Badgers to pull into a first-place tie with both teams now 7-1 in conference play. Rootstown is 9-7 overall.

“Getting three hits made it difficult to produce runs,” head coach Paige Byers said. “When you don’t string a few hits along … we kind of let ourselves down there a little bit. Berkshire’s pitcher was throwing strikes, and we didn’t adjust very well. We put the ball in play a couple times, but they made some nice plays defensively. We, as a team, just have to adjust more.”

Sophomore first baseman Morgan Giebel doubled and singled, while senior centerfielder Katie Sisley had a single.

Senior Makensea Bittner started and went four innings, yielding a run and two hits while striking out five. Sisley switched positions to relieve Bittner in going the rest of the way, giving up three runs and five hits while fanning five and walking one.

“Makensea did great to lead us off. She was throwing strikes, she was getting outs,” said Byers. “Berkshire was headed back to about the third time through the lineup, so we decided to give them a different look to finish out the game.

“Katie came in and threw strikes as well. Berkshire got a few in-betweener hits that really helped progress their runners, and we couldn’t stop them.”

Rootstowns’ final league game of the season, at Kirtland, was scheduled for Thursday but got washed out by rain.

The Rovers’ last league championship came in 2023, when the team finished a perfect 8-0 in the Portage Trail Conference.

SOUTHEAST

Southeast got out of a bases-loaded jam and gave up just one run in the top of the first inning on Monday at home against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference rival LaBrae.

The Pirates made the Vikings pay by putting up a four-spot in the bottom of the inning en route to a crucial 7-2 triumph.

Southeast is right smack in the middle of the race for the MVAC championship with an 8-2 conference record, a half-game behind Warren Champion and a half game ahead of LaBrae. The Pirates are 10-5 overall.

“Getting that early lead was really the key,” head coach Erin Muncy said.

Leading the way were senior first baseman Morgan Muncy and sophomore catcher Lylia Lavigna, both of whom had a double, an RBI and a run. Freshman second baseman Kirsten Harvey singled twice and knocked in two runs.

On the hill, senior Liv Bragg started and went the distance, giving up both runs and five hits while striking out seven and walking four.

“I thought Liv did a good job. LaBrae had some really good hitters,” said coach Muncy. “She was getting lots of ground balls and popups. She walked a couple more than what she normally does, but we were able to get out of it every inning.”

WATERLOO

Last week was a rough one for Waterloo.

The Vikings lost three Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference games by a combined score of 27-1. They had only eight hits overall.

Head coach Brenda Flarida’s team bounced back nicely on Monday by totaling the same number of hits it had combined the previous week — eight — in a much-needed 7-3 victory at conference foe New Middletown Springfield.

Waterloo is 8-5 both overall and in the MVAC.

The road team’s four-spot in the third inning were huge mentally for sophomore starting pitcher Jolean Hampton.

“Those runs gave Jolean a three-run lead and let her go to work, settle in and give us some confidence,” said Flarida.

Hampton went the distance, giving up just one unearned run and seven hits while fanning a dozen and walking two.

“Jolean pitched a great game,” Flarida said, “kept them off balance the whole night.” Hampton helped herself at the plate with a triple, single, two RBIs and two runs. Her three-bagger drove in two runs that gave her team the lead it would never relinquish.

“Jolean started off the season great but struggled a little bit last week,” said the coach. “To see her come out hitting in this game was great confidence for her to get back in the hitting column.”

Doubling and singling were senior catcher Bayley English and junior first baseman Kristlyn Kehrer. The former added three RBIs and a run, while the latter drove home a run.

“Bayley is my leadoff hitter. She did a great job of setting the tone for us, getting those key hits in the third, and also fourth, innings,” said Flarida. “Kristlyn has been hitting great.”

STREETSBORO

It was the top of the seventh inning, and the pressure was on for host Streetsboro on Tuesday against Metro Athletic Conference (MAC) rival Ravenna.

The Rockets’ 6-0 lead had been trimmed to 6-4. The Ravens had runners on second and third base with just one out. The home team was hanging on for its dear life against an inferior team.

Fearing the worst, head coach LeRoy Moore decided to replace senior pitcher Payton Williams with junior Amy Rein, who had actually started the game and pitched the first six innings.

“Amy walks the first batter to load the bases,” said Moore.

But then … a strikeout … and another strikeout.

Game over.

Streetsboro improved to 8-5 overall and 5-2 in the MAC.

Junior catcher Olivia DeToro slugged a three-run inside-the-park home run in the third inning to give the Rockets that 6-0 lead.

“Olivia is our top hitter,” Moore said, “so it was nice to see that, when we had runners on base, she came through like that, especially hitting the ball down the right field line because she seldomly hits the ball to right field.”

DeToro also had a double, single and two runs. Rein helped herself with a double, single, and RBI and a run. Williams helped herself by doubling, driving in a run and scoring once.

After taking that early lead, Streetsboro’s offense shut down.

“We let Ravenna get back in the game in the sixth and seventh innings,” said the coach. “We had an error in the sixth and two more in the seventh.”

On the mound, Rein was replaced by Williams at the start of the seventh inning because Moore felt the former was at the end of her rope.

“It looked like Amy was running out of gas and struggling out on the mound, so I brought in Payton in to give Ravenna a different look to start the seventh,” said Moore. “At that time, we still had a four-run lead, so that would give Payton some comfort on the mound, but … error, another error … it just seemed like things started to unravel. There was a fielder’s choice where we at least got one out but with two runners in scoring position. Then a hit, then a double … at that time, I had some doubts in the back of my head.”

Moore’s decision to send Rein back to the mound turned out to be a winning one.

MOGADORE

It has been an up and down season for Mogadore.

Thus it’s appropriate that the Wildcats’ 3-2 loss Tuesday at home to Manchester dropped their record to 6-6.

“Manchester had a couple good hits, which is going to happen in a competitive game like that,” head coach Calee Lung said. “We just couldn’t get our hits strung together. I think that was our downfall. We couldn’t get baserunners all together. We had one here, one there.”

Mogadore took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, but the Panthers forged ahead with a run in the top of the fourth and two in the fifth. The home team plated a run in the sixth, but fell short.

Senior centerfielder Rylee Clark had half of Mogadore’s four hits with a pair of singles.

She also scored a run.

“Rylee is my leadoff hitter,” said Lung, “and she has that leadoff mentality of ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to get on base for my team.’ I believe both of her hits came with two strikes, so she fought well at the plate. She was just able to produce. She had two good line-drive shots to center field.”

Senior third baseman Mackenzie Shellenbarger doubled and scored her team’s other run.

Sophomore pitcher Natalya Bartholomew singled and drove in a run.

On the hill Bartholomew started and went the distance, yielding all three runs and six hits while striking out eight and walking four.

“Natalya found the strike zone early on and she lived there,” the coach said. “She was throwing probably harder than I’ve seen her throw all year. He ball was moving. She hit every spot that I called with the exception of a few, which you’re going to have because nobody’s perfect. As a sophomore, I think that’s amazing mentally to be able to do that.”

CRESTWOOD

Going into Crestwood’s game at Chagrin Valley Conference (CVC) rival Chagrin Falls on Monday, head coach Matt Helm felt a little more confident from the last time his team opposed the Tigers some three weeks earlier.

The Red Devils lost an 8-7 heartbreaker that evening and had won three of their last five games heading into the Saturday contest.

Unfortunately, a mistake-filled bottom of the fourth inning – in the form of three errors – turned a nailbiter into a rout. A 1-0 deficit ballooned to 5-0.

“We had three errors that just kept extending the inning. They put us behind way more than what we could recover from,” said Helm, whose squad staged a late rally that, in the end, simply padded its stats in a 6-3 defeat, slipping to 5-8 overall and 3-5 in the CVC.

Crestwood did manage to pound out 10 hits but left way too many runners on base.

“That’s been our Achilles heel this season,” Helm said.

A freshman surge, however, that has brought new energy to the team was led by catcher Jocelyn Johnson against the Tigers. She doubled and singled three times.

Junior pitcher Grace Harper had two singles and scored a run.

“We’ve tweaked Grace’s swing a little bit and changed a few things over the last few games,” said the coach. “Now she’s being a lot more confident and a lot more consistent, so hopefully this carries through the rest of the season.”

On the mound Harper started and went the distance, giving up all six runs and 12 hits while striking out four. Just like her hitting of late, consistency has been her trademark while pitching this season.

“Grace is having the best season of the three years she’s been here without a doubt,” nHelm said. “We try to teach her to depend on the defense. She’s doing what she has to do. Our defense has to back her up more. She’s stepping up and being a little more vocal, too.”

KENT ROOSEVELT

When your opponent scores in every inning — mostly with multiple runs — chances are you lost.

That’s exactly what happened Monday for Kent Roosevelt in a 13-2 home loss to Suburban League American Conference rival Tallmadge in a game called after six innings due to the 10-run rule. The big inning by the Blue Devils was a five-run second.

The Rough Riders fell to 4-6 both overall and in the conference.

“Tallmadge has some nice power in their lineup,” head coach Jay Weiss said. “We made three errors — balls misplayed in the outfield — and that’s too many.”

At the plate, senior Brynn Moser doubled and singled, classmate Katlyn Ciolek singled twice and drove in both of her team’s runs and freshman Emelia Gates tripled and scored once.

Senior Skylar Lauck doubled and scored the Rough Riders’ other run, while junior Lily Robb ripped a two-bagger as well.

Pitching-wise, Moser started but went just 1.1 innings in giving up seven runs (but only four earned) and four hits while striking out one and walking three.

Ciolek relieved Moser and pitched the rest of the way, yielding six runs and nine hits while fanning one and walking four.

RAVENNA

The Ravens are 2-12 overall and 1-8 in the Metro Athletic Conference.

One bright spot for Ravenna in a 7-1 loss to the Springfield Spartans was freshman pitcher Jordan Trego, who singled and knocked in a run.

On the hill, she started and went the distance, yielding a dozen hits but fanning seven and walking only two.

“Jordan had some very good innings,” head coach Luke Darrah said. “Springfield had some very good hitters.”

Also singling were Alivia Dailey, Jocelynn Smallwood and Layla Dorris. Smallwood scored her team’s only run.