They are fearless.
They are relentless.
And they are state champions.
The Walsh Jesuit Warriors completed their fantastic journey Sunday, knocking out defending state champion Teays Valley 7-2 to win the Division I softball state title at Firestone Stadium.
The Warriors (24-5) — Division II champions in 2004 and 2002 — won their first Division I softball title and became the first Summit County team to win a state softball title since the tournament was moved from Ashland to Akron in 2008.
Most fans returning to Firestone Stadium after rain suspended play Saturday night expected a soccer-like score with Teays Valley senior Alyssa Rothwell and Walsh junior Madi McCrady locked in a pitchers’ duel.
Yet coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth trailing 1-0, Walsh had the Vikings (25-7) right where they wanted them.
“When we are down, it gives us something to fight for,” Walsh junior third baseman Allie Drake, who unloaded a two-run homer to left in the fourth to get the offense rolling, said. “We know we have to do it for the person next to us.”
Playing from behind is one thing, but playing from behind against a dominant pitcher like Rothwell is another matter. The Ball State recruit had thrown 27 state-tournament innings in a row without allowing an earned run, dating back to 2015. Drake’s blast ended that string and came on a 2-2 pitch with two outs, scoring McCrady (walk) to make it 2-1 through four.
“Once the first person gets that first hit, then we open up,” Walsh junior second baseman Emma Lawson said.
After Teays Valley’s Hanna Skellet doubled and scored in the top of the fifth to make it 2-2, Walsh, not surprisingly, answered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, and forced Vikings coach Brenna Giesige to take the ball from Rothwell.
“I didn’t envision that having to happen,” Giesige said.
Rothwell (22-5) was not as sharp Sunday as she had been on Saturday, and said she caught her cleat and tweaked her foot on the final out of Friday’s 1-0 semifinal win over Amherst Steele.
But she also said, “I felt like our energy as a team was less than it was last night.”
As they have done repeatedly, the Warriors wore out their opponent. In order, Walsh defeated Medina (5-1), Mentor (3-0), North Canton Hoover (9-4), Mason (5-2), and reigning champ Teays Valley (7-2) to win the big trophy. A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Hudson in the district semifinal was the team’s tightest game.
“There was no disappointment in our girls’ faces (after Teays Valley tied the score),” Walsh coach Bill Davis said. “If you watch their demeanor it’s 100 percent the same. And we’ve done it all year. And we’ve done it through the playoffs. Everything is habit.”
Designated hitter Sam Sitarz walked to start the Walsh fifth. Consecutive one-out hits by Lawson (single), junior Julia Mullins (RBI double), and McCrady (two-run single) had the Warriors on top 5-2.
Rothwell was lifted, and junior left fielder Angie Bobish greeted new pitcher Raelynn Hastings with a towering home run down the left-field line, running the score to 7-2.
“We’ve done it before,” said Bobish, having clubbed her seventh homer of the season. “It’s no shock that we’re able to put runs on the board.”
McCrady (21-4, seven innings, three hits, 12 strikeouts, two walks, one earned run) then struck out four of the final seven hitters she faced to seal it.
“[The run support] took so much weight off my shoulders,” she said. “I told everyone I felt like I was on fire yesterday, and I prayed to God that I’d come back today spitting the same fire that I did I yesterday.”
Walsh seniors McKenzi Gerry, Jess Harbaugh and Stephanie Rohrbach graduated Sunday morning before the championship game.
Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps.