AKRON, Ohio – In the final game of the Ohio High School Athletic Association softball season, the hottest teams in the sport collided with a Division II state championship on the line.
Kings and Westerville Central each arrived to the finals in Akron’s Firestone Stadium on top of their game. Kings had just dispatched defending champions Painesville Riverside with a 7-1 barrage. Central, for their part, rocked Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 7-0 to reach the finals. Both the Knights and Warhawks were just one win away from their school’s first-ever state softball championship.
When the dust settled, Kings claimed its first state championship, taking down Westerville Central 12-4 on June 7. The Knights ended the year at 30-1, while a senior class that’s been playing together for over 12 years rides into the sunset after reaching the mountaintop.
“This entire season was so special,” senior third baseman Leah Mitchener said. “We were working every single day, and I’m so proud of this team.”
The Knights dominated the early innings. Julia Lowry’s RBI single opened the scoring. They were a close foul call away from a massive opening inning. Kings, unrelenting, piled on with three runs in the second. Mitchener delivered a two-run bomb to deep center field, then Abby McKinney found her way around the bags with the help of a wild pitch and throwing error.
Mitchener saw the home run as a foregone conclusion based on the team’s preparation for the Warhawks.
“We were talking about it before the game, and we knew we were all going to see the ball today,” Mitchener said. “It felt really good.”
No early leads had been safe in Akron all day. After 6-0 and 4-0 comebacks in the day’s two prior state title games, Westerville Central knew they were far from out. They made their move in the third, taking advantage of shaky defense to even the score at 4-4.
Kings head coach John Schablein was surprised by the third-inning defense, but knew his team would rebound.
Kings senior Madi Titler wasted no time in regaining the lead. As the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third, she crushed an absolute no-doubt solo slam to right center, putting the Knights back on top before a defensive standoff ate up the middle innings.
The Knights held onto that precarious 5-4 lead until the bottom of the sixth. With the game hanging in the balance, Kings turned on the jets to fully exploit Westerville Central’s defensive miscues. With more than a handful of steals and errors, the Knights brought home seven runs to blow the lead open. The landslide put Kings just three outs away from immortality.
With senior ace Neely McElhaney still on the mound, that was a mere formality. Three batters later, the party was on in Kings Mills.
Kings picks up its first state championship in a storybook ending. Schablein had announced earlier in the week that he would retire at the end of the state tournament, and his players were determined to send him out a champion for the first time in his 26-year coaching career. Schablein wanted to celebrate his players first, but it was impossible to deny the special significance for himself.
“For those kids, it’s incredible. They’ve been together since they were 5 years old. They stuck together,” Schablein said. “For me, after 26 years of coaching, I’ve got to admit I feel pretty great about it, too. It was awesome.”
Schablein’s career ends with his 80th win at Kings after leading the Knights to a 30-1 record. The Kings senior class, comprised of Grace Parkhurst, Julia Lowry, Madi Titler, Leah Mitchener, Neely McElhaney and Taylor Kleis, were instrumental to the incredible Knights’ run. For the seniors, winning it all with their best friends was the payoff to over a decade of hard work.
“It’s such a good way to go out,” McElhaney said. “Doing it with these girls means everything, and it’s been a long time coming.”
The Knights’ senior class, and the entire roster, are now entered into Kings High School legend. State champions, at long last.
The Enquirer will update this story with additional photos.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kings softball win first-ever OHSAA state championship
Reporting by Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
