Whitney Burns pitched well for Covington and likes the unselfish way her team plays. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Jeff Gilbert)
Emalyn Johnson knocked in five runs with a triple and home run, pitcher Whitney Burns and her defense navigated Southeastern’s lineup and the Buccaneers are state bound for the first time since 2013.
Clayton, OH – So many things felt great for the Covington softball team Saturday on the nicest afternoon in a while.
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The ball off the bat for big hits, the grass stain on a knee from a diving catch, the hugs of victory. And the memories.
Made and remembered.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
While head coach Brooke Gostomsky-Menker smiled and watched her players make memories as they celebrated a 10-6 regional championship victory over Southeastern and get excited about next week’s trip to Akron for the Division VII state semifinals, she remembered her trip to state as a Covington Buccaneer.
That was 2013. Gostomsky-Menker was a freshman backing up the team’s stars. Now she is a first-year head coach.
“It’s pretty cool with her being a first-time coach even though she was an assistant coach in the past,” pitcher Whitney Burns said. “Doing that to her and giving her that experience with girls like us – just very rewarding.”
Covington (21-9) will play at Firestone Stadium in Akron, the same field their coach played on in Covington’s last trip to state, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday against first-time state participant Portsmouth Notre Dame. The final is Thursday at 8 p.m. Covington was a semifinalist in 2002 and from 2011 to 2013.
Emalyn Johnson swings for her three-run homer that put Covington up 5-1.
“It’s really rewarding,” said Burns, who went the distance on the mound and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and two walks. “I’m excited to spend the time with the girls, and I think it will really bring us closer. It’s just a great team bonding experience. The girls truly love the game. They don’t just play for themselves. They play for the girls around them.”
Gostomsky-Menker had a quick response to the idea that she had set the bar high in her first season. “They did it,” she said, looking toward her players.
If this Covington team breaks through, sets a higher bar, and takes the program to the final for the first time, Gostomsky-Menker will know why.
“This team is way more energetic, and they love to have fun,” she said compared to the state team she played on. “That is a definitely a high point because if we make a mistake, it brushes right off.”
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Mistakes were part of the game, but the Buccs’ fast start and sophomore center fielder Emalyn Johnson’s bat made up for the lapses. She hit a two-run triple down the right-field line in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.
“Felt great off the bat,” Johnson said. “I just knew I hit it good, and I was going run as fast as I could. Really glad I could get us up that quick.”
Johnson struck again in the third with a three-run homer far beyond the center-field fence for a 5-1 lead.
Covington head coach Brooke Gostomsky-Menker high-fives her players after receiving her regional championship medal.
“I was glad I could make good contact, make a good adjustment from the last at bat, and score some more runs for us,” Johnson said.
She said about halfway to first she knew for sure she had hit her 11th home run this season. But Gostmosky-Menker didn’t need to watch and see how far the yellow ball traveled.
“She hit that thing so hard – as soon as it came off the bat, I knew it was gone,” she said. “She definitely showed a lot of poise. She was ready to go, relaxed in the box, not stressed. And it showed.”
Ava Hartwig, the Buccs’ sophomore shortstop, kept the offense rolling in the fourth with a two-run triple. She scored on Elizabeth Coblentz’s single and the lead was 8-1. Single runs in the fifth and sixth pushed the lead to 10-2.
But Southeastern (23-5) didn’t quit. The Trojans kept putting the ball in play, and the Buccaneers’ defense, spotless to that point, was spotty.
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After two singles to start the inning, an error and a late throw to home with the bases loaded helped the Trojans piece together a four-run inning. But Burns wasn’t flustered.
“Just stay strong and know that my defense behind me will do its thing and do what we are made to do,” she said. “They are my rock.”
Covington celebrates its first trip to the state softball tournament since 2013.
In the bottom of the seventh, Southeastern’s Gabby McNier, who already had three hits, hit a hard line drive to center. The Trojans thought, just maybe, it was the beginning of a tying or winning rally. But Johnson charged hard and dove forward, made the catch, and grass-stained her knees. Johnson’s highlight play was the start of a quick inning that ended with a victory celebration.
“I’m just glad that we could bounce back after they had a really good inning, and I just knew it was do or die at that moment,” Johnson said. “We didn’t want them to score anymore, so I had to just give it all I got.”
Effort and the energy Gostomsky-Menker praised have propelled the Buccs. They also rely on a player-led practice. Before every game they write AO1 on one of their forearms in eye black. The sentiment, known to them, references a Bible verse.
“We really focus on God,” Burns said. “He’s first, and we play for him. It really helps us keep the right mindset, and know that he’s watching all the time, and he will keep his eyes on us.”
All the way to state.
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