Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — The bigger the moment, the brighter Ava Rush shines.
Notre Dame’s junior hurler didn’t just bring her flame-throwing arm on Saturday. Her bat was just as lethal and it proved to be the difference maker in the team’s biggest game of the year.
The Titans (26-5) scored all three of their runs in the first inning, and then rode Rush’s arm and a play-making defense down the stretch to a 3-2 victory over Conotton Valley (20-10) in a Division VII regional championship — the program’s second consecutive regional title.
“We’ve told the girls all year that defense wins championships, and we really buckled down when the game got tight,” Notre Dame coach Shad Ford said. “It’s definitely been a rougher year with everyone gunning for us a little more than usual, and understanding that our team was pretty much back this year. Conotton is a fantastic team, but kudos to our girls for all the work they’ve put in to get back to Akron.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Rush has made a name for herself by staying calm in the face of adversity and never letting herself get too overwhelmed by the moment.
Those intangibles allowed her to go the distance for the win, allowing just six hits and striking out eight batters while also going 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
“She’s tough as nails and a sneaky good hitter as well,” Ford said. “Hopefully teams don’t catch onto that, although I’m sure they will. She’s swinging a hot bat right now and bringing it in the circle. She’s an all-around great player and she had a great game.”
Early on, the Titans’ defense appeared a bit nervous and it proved costly. After ND decided to intentionally walk Maddison Kelley, a throwing error allowed her to score and give CV a 1-0 lead.
The Titans, however, had a response.
They quickly loaded the bases with a fielding error, a walk and a hit by pitch. That set up Lyndsey Schaefer to notch a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
PHOTOS: Images from Notre Dame’s regional title win over Conotton Valley
Two batters later with two outs, Rush stepped to the dish and took a 1-1 pitch for a ride off the center field wall — a two-run double to put her Titans ahead 3-1.
“Being down 1-0 isn’t anything we couldn’t handle. Bases were loaded and I went up to do a job,” Rush said. “I wasn’t going for a grand slam or anything, just a base hit to drive in a run. We’ve worked all week about staying disciplined and focused, and she gave me a pitch in the zone I wanted. I took it and ended up with a double.”
Notre Dame’s defense still wasn’t playing with its typical crispness in the second, and a pair of fielding errors loaded the bases.
That paved the way for Ava Williams to come up and log an RBI single, cutting the Titans’ lead to 3-2 before a fly out ended the inning.
Pitching and defense then took center stage for both teams. But that spelled bad news for Conotton Valley.
The Rockets had a runner on in the third and fifth, but couldn’t score. They had their best chance in the sixth following back-to-back singles with one out, but Rush induced a pop out before striking out the next batter to end the threat.
In the seventh, CV got a leadoff single but followed that with a fielder’s choice and another pop out. Rush’s eighth and final strikeout punched the Titans’ ticket back to Akron.
“It comes down to doing it for the name on your chest and not the one on your back. It’s all about the team and the team’s success,” Rush said. “It’s really a blessing to be able to play this game and play alongside each other. We’ve been such a close team, and to possibly have two more games with the seniors in Akron is what we wanted.”
Notre Dame advances to a Division VII state semifinal at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday against Sycamore Mohawk, who defeated Edgerton to move on.
That game will be played at Akron’s Canal Park.
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