Tri-Village pitcher Liz Poling hit her spots and held Arcanum to two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jeff Gilbert)
Patriots starter Liz Poling and catcher Hailey Burk kept Arcanum off balance while the offense stacked productive early innings to take control of the league standings.
Arcanum, OH – For many softball pitchers, the strategy is throw it past ’em.
But Tri-Village senior Liz Poling prefers an underhanded approach. Trick ’em. Let ’em hit it. But not hard. And depend on the defense to make the routine plays.
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The strategy worked last season when the Patriots went unbeaten and won the Division VI state championship in Akron. This season, which much of that team back, Poling is up to her old tricks. Yes, she has struck out a batter an inning since she became the Patriots’ featured pitcher as a freshman. But that’s not a strikeout pitcher by fastpitch standards.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
Guile was necessary on a windy Thursday at Arcanum against the other Western Ohio Athletic Conference team without a league loss. Furthermore, the Trojans are an opponent that hits well and likes to pressure defenses with small ball. The wind blowing in didn’t matter to them.
Predictably, Poling struck out only two in 5 2/3 ininngs. And Caley McCarroll didn’t strike out any in her finishing 1 1/3 innings. But they induced popups and ground balls that their defense handled flawlessly despite a few windy challenges.
And, of course, the hard-hitting Patriots, despite their power potential being stifled by the wind, strung enough hits together to make the pitching plenty for a 9-2 victory.
Tri-Village second baseman Kash Mead battles the wind to catch a popup.
None of it, however, was as easy as it appeared for the Patriots (10-3, 5-0). Poling and catcher Emily Burk do far more than play catch. They got off the bus with a plan, a plan hatched watching video of Arcanum games together. They analyzed and made notes on what pitches hitters like and don’t like.
They attacked all four corners of the strike zone, up, down, in and out and mixed in some spinners to keep the Trojans guessing. Pitching coach Shane Mead called the game from the dugout. The execution was spot on.
“The main thing was hitting corners,” Poling said. “We worked on hitting spots in practices, moving my pitches. We worked really hard on that, and I stayed focused.”
The Trojans (9-6, 4-1) were off balance. They hit a lot of hard foul balls. Then too many fair balls would be popups or routine grounders. Poling’s pitch strategy and execution caught the Trojans by surprise.
“We thought we were prepared that they were going to go outside on us today – that’s what they did to us last year,” Arcanum coach Michael Morris said. “We thought, with the wind blowing in, that that’s what they were going to pitch us. And then they came in on us, so it kind of threw us off a little bit.”
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The popups and falling behind early took the Trojans out of their small-ball attack. They only bunted once. But Emily Fox’s successful sacrifice in the fourth inning to move runners to second and third didn’t matter. The Trojans couldn’t score.
The Trojans had eight hits, but they left runners on base every inning, including two in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Tri-Village right fielder Addy Wright battled the wind to make this catch to help squelch a potential Arcanum rally in the third inning.
“We wanted to keep the score within a few runs, so we can bunt and do the things we like to do,” Morris said. “We end up chasing, and then we’re out of our game, our game plan.”
Burk saw Arcanum’s missed chances up close.
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“Our pitchers were just hitting their spots,” she said. “Every single pitch is in the perfect spot, and we’ve been working on that a lot at practice. And when you hit your spots, good things happen. It takes away their at bats and gives us more opportunity.”
Poling, however, didn’t take all the credit. She understands how important Burk is to pre-game preparation and in-game execution.
Tri-Village catcher Hailey Burk dives toward Arcanum’s Grace Fry in the sixth inning. The umpire called Fry out, saying Burk tagged her on the knee to end the inning.
“She’s amazing,” Poling said. “She frames really well. She’s always there to tell me if I’m not hitting my spot. She lets me know, ‘Hey, this girl’s going to do this.’”
Arcanum finally found some success in the sixth on an RBI single by Grace Fry. That prompted Tri-Village coach Emily Osborne to lift Poling for McCarroll. Matty Noe followed with an RBI double, but Fry was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw by Camryn Osborne to end the inning.
“I thought we would get her to go all the way through for a shutout,” Emily Osborne said of Poling. “But it also makes her work harder with somebody else that can come in do just as good of a job.”
Osborne is using a second pitcher more this season to have flexibility when needed. And if the Patriots make it back to the state final, that will mean a long season of 30 games. Poling has worked 46 2/3 innings and McCarroll has pitched 30 2/3 for a combined ERA of 2.98.
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Poling was happy to pitch with a lead, one that reached 4-0 in the second inning and 6-0 in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Emma Greer had three hits to lead a 15-hit attack. Burk, Aereonna Baker, Osborne and Addy Wright had two hits apiece. The Patriots hit five doubles, two of them by Wright. Burk, Wright and Kash Mead each had two RBIs.
Arcanum’s Emily Fox puts down a sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third in the fourth inning, but the Trojans were unable to score.
“We knew they’d work us inside, outside, and a they’re good team, so we were kind of prepared for that,” Emily Osborne said. “And mentally making sure that we continue to make adjustments as they adjusted.”
Taking the lead to 6-0 was significant momentum moment. Arcanum pitcher Cam Garbig retired the first two batters in the fourth. But Greer singled, Mead walked and Burk and Baker followed with RBI singles.
Tri-Village third baseman Emma Greer throws out Arcanum’s Emily Fox on a sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning.
“It’s super important, especially in big games like this, when the energy is high and it’s obviously a rivalry,” Burk said. “Getting up big is really, really important. Also boosts morale and keeps your energy up and definitely swings the momentum.”
Done in by the Patriots’ momentum, Morris still liked how his team continued to try to rally, didn’t commit any errors for a change and only struck out only twice. But he turned the page and wants his team to focus on being prepared for the Division V tournament.
“I told the girls we’re not going to worry about the league, it’s out of our hands,” he said. “They’re not going to lose another game in the league. So now we can just focus on tournament and hopefully have a deep run.”
Tri-Village, of course, has the same goal, only grander. They have three losses, but all to bigger schools in an aim to test themselves. They are missing senior second baseman and .500 hitter Tai Mize. She played in nine games before breaking two fingers on her glove hand. The hope is that she returns for tournament play.
Until then, the Patriots will study hitters and be ready for anyone in their league and non-league tests like Covington, Miami East and Marion Local.
And then, if all goes according to plan, they will finish with two more games in Akron.
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