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Coventry softball eyes first district title, STVM first since 2015
CANTON – When high school softball started this season, the gods smiled on Logan Field.
Those gods smiled even brighter Tuesday after top-seeded Coventry beat 14th-seeded Northwest 13-3 in six innings and ninth-seeded St. Vincent-St. Mary topped eighth-seeded Copley 6-5.
Those two district semifinals were played at Willig Softball Complex, but it was all about Logan Field when the dust settled.
Both the Comets (20-5) and Fighting Irish (14-6) play their home games at 2701 North Turkeyfoot Lane in Akron, making the final in Canton special.
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“It’s actually pretty cool,” STVM coach Charlie Schrader said. “We both started from Day 1 at Logan. Now, we’re traveling a little bit further south to play them. What else could you ask for than to play them Thursday night?”
Coventry hit four home runs in ending things early against Northwest (11-10). The Irish scored three in the top of the seventh and then held on thanks to diving catches by Kate Kujawski and Ella Kim to stop Copley (11-14).
“It’s going to be really special for both of us,” Coventry coach Wilmer Caraballo said. “They have a good team, and we have a good team. They’ve played with us the whole season.”
A district title drought will end Thursday when Coventry, STVM meet
If that storyline isn’t enough, the Comets have never been to a district final.
The Irish haven’t been to one since 2016 and haven’t won one since 2015.
Coventry made life easy on Caraballo with two home runs from Alexis Jackson, who had a grand slam. Madi Burkhart added a three-run shot and Lexi Dimeff popped an inside-the-park number.
It pushed the season total up to 28 as a team. Burkhart (10), Jackson (5) and Dimeff are the leaders (4) in that department.
Nerves of steel needed when STVM, Coventry meet
They’d trade in every tater for a chance to advance to the round of 16.
“We’re all prepared and know what we need to do,” said Jackson, who had six RBIs. “It’s the first time here, but we need to keep playing as a team, so we can get the job done. There’s no advantage. We’re both pretty good teams. We have to show up as a team, play our best and play together.”
STVM hopes to ride its momentum into Thursday.
Jane Clark opened the seventh with a single and came around to score on a double by Avarie Mays to make it 5-4.
Nori Talley put runners on second and third on a one-out single where she never stopped running.
Brenna Campbell was clutch with a two-out single to center on the first pitch she saw.
“It’s about taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out,” said Campbell, who had four RBIs. “That’s all you have to do. We’ll go home and forget about today’s game and lock in on Coventry. We really wanted to play them because we played right next to them all season. It’ll be great to see what they’ve got.”
Northwest and Copley poised for solid 2024
While Northwest exits, only Lisa Ortscheid and Gianna Kuhn exit as seniors, so next season could be special.
“That was my message to my team,” coach Megan Levengood said. “But if you look around this circle the majority is coming back. We didn’t treat our freshmen like freshmen. They’re key contributors, work hard and there is no reason we can’t be back here and win another two games.”
Copley loses only Sophia Rohr, Sammy Gingras and Katie Conover, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to a Northwest-Coventry district final if the ball rolls the right way next year.
“I told them in the circle, ‘Heads up. We’ll be back,” Copley coach Leigh Ann Bauer said. “These guys never ever give up.”
Contact Brad Bournival at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
