Hilliard Bradley pitcher Mickey Moody celebrates the final out of Wednesday’s 12-4 victory over Centerville in a Division I state semifinal at Firestone Stadium in Akron. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jeff Gilbert)
Hilliard Bradley, in its first state tournament appearance, will play for the Division I state title against Central Ohio foe Lancaster at 3 p.m. Thursday, looking for a reversal of fortunes of when the two met in May.
Akron, OH – Three Hilliard Bradley softballers and head coach Kevin Moody – after an OHSAA person tracked down the celebrating coach somewhere outside on the diamond – spoke excitedly about their performance in Wednesday’s Division I state semifinal.
They discussed, praised and otherwise grinned all over themselves about their tournament single-game record-tying 19 hits, about the pitching prowess of Mickey Moody, about their defensive gems and every other good thing that happened in their 12-4 domination of Centerville at 101-year-old Firestone Stadium.
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But the Jaguars (26-5) didn’t bus to Akron just to win once. They came for history, to be sitting in the same interview room with the same grins some time around 5 p.m. Thursday.
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Then, and only then, will they know if they were good enough. Because no matter how confident they are, they must exorcise the memory of the late-season loss they suffered to Lancaster, the team they will meet for the state title at 3 p.m.
The Jaguars led the Gales (24-7) 5-2 in that state final preview. But Lancaster rallied to win 7-5. In Wednesday’s first semifinal, the Gales defeated unbeaten Austintown-Fitch, a recent two-time champ, 4-0. Now the two Ohio Capital Conference teams from different divisions will each play for their first state title and OCC bragging rights.
“They’re very good, and they never give up, and their defense plays hard,” Moody said. “I was very impressed with their pitch selection against, I thought, a very good pitcher from Austintown-Fitch. Hopefully we show up tomorrow like we did today, and I think it’s going to be a really good fight tomorrow.”
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Bradley brought the fight to Centerville (24-8), last year’s runnerup in its first state appearance. The 19 hits came on infield slaps beaten into the artificial turf and beaten out with speed, on line drives in front of deep-playing outfielders and on two doubles and two triples that skipped through the gaps and to the fence.
Bradley’s Lainey Dennison lashes an RBI double in the third inning for the first of her four RBIs.
The Jags’ box score looked more like the kind typically seen in a run-rule victory against a much lesser opponent. But the Jags’ offense snowballed against one of the state’s better pitchers, sophomore Caitlyn Belcher.
To sum up the box, second-place hitter Sammie Moody batted 4-for-5, scored twice and knocked in one run. Cleanup hitter Taylor Nicholson was 4-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and an intentional walk. Sophia Lopez, batting third, had three hits, a sacrifice fly, two RBIs and scored twice. Lainey Dennison, batting seventh, had three hits, including two doubles, four RBIs and scored twice. All nine in the starting lineup had at least one hit and eight of them scored at least one run.
“They put it together for 30 games by picking good pitches to swing at,” Moody said. “This year’s crew is one of the better hitting crews we’ve had in a long, long time. You’re not going to get them to chase very often, and they make it count. It doesn’t matter if they’ve got no strikes or two strikes, most of them attack good pitches. One through nine they can be very dangerous.”
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The Moody sisters, first Mickey the junior, then Sammie the freshman, reached on infield singles to start the game. Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. Nicholson singled, stole second and Lucy Bennett walked. But Belcher extricated herself from the jam with a soft liner and popup on the infield.
A 1-2-3 second-inning didn’t mute the Jaguars. Sammie Moody started the four-run third with a single and scored on Lopez’s triple. Lopez then was called out for leaving the base early on a pitch to Nicholson, who followed with her second hit. Lopez would have scored, but the lost run didn’t matter this day.
Bradley’s Lainey Dennison avoids the tag to score on Addie Buck’s single in the fourth inning.
The Jags just kept hitting. Dennison’s RBI double and Addie Buck’s RBI single pushed the lead to 4-1. Then Avery Zwilling struck out, but the Elks committed the first of two errors when catcher Riley Bakan dropped the third strike and overthrew the first baseman to allow Buck to score.
Up 6-2 in the fifth after Aubrey Allen’s RBI single, the Jags found themselves in a moment when the Elks threatened to steal the momentum.
Bradley’s Sammie Moody slides safely into third with more aggressive baserunning that helped keep the offense moving.
Leadoff hitter Natalie Carr hit a hard single. Down four is not a typical base-stealing situation, but Carr is fast and has 25 steals this season. She took off with the next batter at the plate, but Nicholson threw her out with an on-target throw to second baseman Avery Zwilling. The Elks hit two other balls hard that inning, one for a hit, the other a hard line drive right at shortstop Sammie Moody.
“It was a huge momentum shifter because they can still come back and they’re a very good team,” Nicholson said. “That’s anybody’s game. I felt like I was able to pick our team up a little bit there.”
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Mickey Moody, who allowed nine hits, walked two and struck out seven, realized how important it was to get Carr off the bases and short-circuit the potential rally.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Moody said. “I’ve always trusted my team. I know that when I throw strikes and they hit the ball, my team will be there to back me up. And seeing Avery catch the ball and lay the tag down, and Taylor with that freaking dime, helped my confidence a lot.”
Mickey Moody struck out seven and kept the Elks from a big inning.
The only runs the Elks could add came after the Jags led 12-2. Mickey Moody fielded a bunt with two outs in the seventh and threw it over the head of first baseman Bennett. By the time Allen chased down the errant throw, two runs, including the bunter, scored. But it mattered little. The next Elk grounded out to Zwilling.
The celebration was on, one that resembled a championship hugfest and jump around, minus the trophy and medals. But the Jags know what they have to do Thursday. As Coach Moody talked about the Lancaster loss, Nicholson, Allen and Mickey Moody nodded in agreement, beginning the process of putting this game behind them and remembering what they owe the Gales.
“It’s one of those that we didn’t lose,” Coach Moody said. “They came and won, they took it from us. Hopefully we can pay them back tomorrow.”
And, they hope, break out those victory grins all over again.
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