AKRON ― Kenton Ridge had run-ruled 15 opponents and was out-scoring teams by an average of 13-2. The defending state champion Cougars also brought a 63-game winning streak into their showdown with Licking Valley.
But when the underdog Panthers exploded out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, it looked like that all of that was in jeopardy. However, as great teams do, Kenton Ridge got back off the mat and survived, barely, in a Division IV state title game that lived up to its billing between the No. 1 and 2 teams.
Jayden Davis delivered a two-run, sixth inning single, off summer teammate and Valley sophomore ace Emory Whisner, as the Cougars finished off their second consecutive 32-0 season with a riveting 7-6 victory June 7 before a big crowd at Firestone Stadium.
“I look over in that other dugout, and I see some of my best friends,” admitted Davis, a junior first baseman who went 3 for 4 and hugged Whisner after the game. “But I was playing for my teammates, who are like family. Some of them were playing their final game. I prayed about that situation and was able to come through.”
Freshman Madison Evans doubled home sophomore pinch runner Trinity Moorehead, after junior Chloe Cooperrider singled as Valley (27-1) went up 1-0 in the second. After Whisner pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam, the Panthers caught fire in the third.
D’Neya Dennis drew a one-out walk, and Whisner unloaded a two-run homer over the right field fence, her 15th of the season for a 3-0 lead. Sophomore Alexa Gilliam, who missed both regional wins with illness, then slammed a solo shot to left center. When sophomore Dani Lambert ripped a two-run single up the middle, scoring Moorehead again after another Cooperrider hit and Evans, who had singled, the Panthers suddenly led 6-0 and had the Cougars reeling.
“When we went up 6-0, we did not think that ball game was over,” said Valley coach Chad Dennis. “We were still in attack mode and wanted to keep the foot on the gas, but Rastatter (Kenton Ridge sophomore lefthander Ivee) really settled down.”
Rastatter not only allowed just three hits the rest of the way and no runners in scoring position, she ignited the comeback at the plate.
The Cougars immediately responded in their half of the third. After Davis had an RBI double, Rastatter drilled a two-run homer to right center, making it 6-3. Kenton Ridge knocked out Whisner with three more hits, including a run-scoring single by Annie Finchan as it became 6-4.
But junior Tori Baughman entered and halted the damage, Whisner tagging out a runner between home and third in a rundown, and freshman second baseman Emma Flowers threw another Cougar out at the plate on a sharp grounder.
Rastatter hammered a solo homer in the fourth, narrowing the gap to 6-5. And she continued to keep Valley from adding on. Shortstop Finchan leaped to rob Valley’s Abby Kochur of a hit in the sixth.
“I had to re-focus. There was nothing I could change about what happened,” Rastatter said. “In the dugout, I was working on my spins. I started spinning it more, moving it in and out.”
The Panthers nearly held on, by the same 6-5 score in which they beat Kenton Ridge in 2013’s state title game. Baughman pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, but No. 9 hitter Chloe Glass led off with a sixth-inning single and leadoff Lily Foulk was hit by a pitch. Whisner re-entered and Brenna Fyffe’s fly out to center moved the runners over, setting the stage for Davis.
“We played a lot of games where we were ahead, but we were down 5-1 in the seventh inning to Wheelersburg (which won the Division V state title, also 7-6),” coach Sarah Schalnat said. “We had 8-9-1 up, and we scored six runs and won 7-5. After we got way down today, we got it all together. We said we were going to do it. I believe in them, and we went up there believing.”
Kenton Ridge only struck out twice and kept putting the ball in play, often with two strikes. They out-hit Valley 11-10.
“They play high level travel softball, and when good hitters see good pitches, they do a good job of fouling them off,” coach Dennis said. “That team is super talented. We knew we had to play our best game. We made a few mistakes, but they were mistakes made with being aggressive, and I can’t complain about that.”
It was Valley’s first loss since the 11-1 regional final setback last year to the Cougars. The Panthers have obviously come a long way since, and graduate just one senior.
“I believed in this team, was behind them from the start, and I thought they could be something special,” said lone senior Addison Justice.
Cooperrider went 3 for 4 and Evans 2 for 3 for Valley.
“We lost to them last year, what, 11-1?” Cooperrider said. “I think it’s amazing what we’ve done. It’s belief in each other, and it will make us hungrier for next year.”
Added Evans: “It was really good experience. We all really wanted it, and hopefully, we can come back here next year.”
Coach Dennis saw a lot of growth from his youthful roster, that has gone from district finals, to regional finals, to state finals.
“I know how hard they worked, in the winter, but also the fall,” he said. “The first three weeks of the year, we used 15 different lineups. We sorted all of the pieces out, found out who was going to step up, and did what we asked of them. We made them believe in themselves. We told them how proud we were of them. It’s a process, and we have to keep believing in the process. We’ll have the same team back next year, hopefully to come back and win this game.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Powerful Cougars weather Valley storm, win Division IV state title
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate | USA TODAY Network
