Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
AKRON — The Division VII state softball crown is staying in its place.
Following last season’s state championship run — the first in program history — Notre Dame bid adieu to just one starter.
And somehow, throughout the year, naysayers refused to believe that magical season had happened.
In fact, in the season’s final Ohio High School Softball Coaches Poll, the Titans were ranked third without a single first place vote.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
But on Friday night, coach Shad Ford’s bunch proved that talk is exactly that — talk.
And if you walk like a champion, you don’t even hear the noise in the first place.
While relying on junior pitcher Ava Rush to hang zeroes all evening, the Titans sealed a 3-0 shutout win over Cortland Maplewood at Akron’s Firestone Stadium to claim their second straight state crown.
“This is what we’ve worked for all season, and it came down to us believing in the goal and believing in each other,” Notre Dame’s Alayla Soard said. “When he stepped on the field, any type of doubt we had left and it was our time to make history again.”
With the opportunity to score first, Notre Dame (28-4) took full advantage of that chance.
After a leadoff single from Jaysa Bryant, two batters later, Lyndsey Schaefer slapped an RBI single through the left side to put her teammates ahead 1-0.
“It was such a special feeling. I’ve been struggling to hit the ball lately and my confidence hasn’t been the highest,” Schaefer said. “I told myself , ‘You’re going to be the one today’, and it didn’t matter how it happened, but I had to be the one to drive in that first run so it was amazing to do it.”
Maplewood (28-3) committed a throwing error during the next at-bat, allowing Schaefer to score and push the lead to 2-0.
Bryant led off the third with her second single of the night and, after advancing to third, she scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-0.
While the offense was getting it done, so was Ava Rush and the Titans’ defense.
They were quick to react, made the fundamental plays and refused to allow Maplewood a sniff at a score.
“I’m always telling Ava that our outfield is ridiculous. There’s balls hit out there and I’m thinking no one is getting it, and all of a sudden, here comes Jaysa making a diving catch,” Notre Dame’s Kate Entler said. “Our infield is just as insane, Ava is a dog and it all just comes together. It doesn’t matter if you score 10 runs if you can’t field a ball and make the outs, so our defense definitely prevailed.”
The Rockets didn’t even get their first hit of the game until the bottom of the fourth, but a groundout in the next at-bat ended any further threat.
“We had an idea of how hard she was going to throw, but she’s brought it a little harder than we anticipated,” Soard said. “Her rise ball and changeup were really good, and it took us a while to make those adjustments to figure it out. Eventually we did and got a few hits.”
In the seventh, Maplewood got a single to begin the frame. But a sacrifice bunt, a strikeout and a pop out sealed the deal on the Titans’ second straight state championship victory.
“It was a dogfight of a game for sure and we didn’t score a lot of runs, but defense wins championships and that’s all that mattered,” Schaefer said. “From the third inning on, we started counting down and saying how many outs until we win this game. It kept us locked in and it’s great to bring the title back home.”
Statistically, Rush tossed all seven innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine hitters. Bryant led the team’s offense, going 3-for-3 with a run, while Schaefer finished 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Schaefer, alongside Entler, Soard and Maycee Ford ended their Titan careers as ultimate winners.
In four years, they helped compile a total 103-18 record that includes four SOC I, four district, two regional and two state championships. It’s not just a legacy of winning they leave behind, they also proved what happened when a team has the same goal and puts in the work to make it happen.
“My sisters were great athletes at Notre Dame, but I always have the ultimate bragging rights with two state championships,” Schaefer said with a smile. “It’s real special feeling leaving behind a legacy like that one us four seniors will have at Notre Dame.”
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