“Walking off the field knowing we could have played better and harder, we’ve been saying, ‘We’ve got to work harder’ and ‘We’ve got some work to do to make it next year,’” pitcher KK Mathis said Tuesday by phone. “We didn’t perform the way we know we can. That’s been our fuel and fire.
“We are very locked in. Yesterday, coach (Keith) Castner said, ‘You’re so locked in, I don’t know what to say.’ We’re having fun at the same time, but we know when to lock in and get serious.”
That would be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Akron’s Firestone Stadium against 19-6 and near-perennial title contender North Canton Hoover in the day’s second semifinal. Pataskala Watkins Memorial, 28-1 and ranked third in the final Division I statewide coaches poll, is scheduled to face 24-6 and unranked Holland Springfield at 3 p.m. in the first semifinal.
The Firebirds are due to leave for Akron at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Seventh-ranked Lakota West is 26-4 with just two losses to Ohio teams, both by 1-0 scores to Greater Miami Conference-rivals Sycamore and Oak Hills. The Firebirds edged Mason 5-4 in a May 24 Region 4 semifinal and Oak Hills 3-2 in Friday’s championship game to earn their state semifinal berth.
The trip to Akron is seventh-ranked Lakota West’s second straight and sixth overall, and the Firebirds have gotten past the semifinals just once. Their opponent’s track record is more imposing. Hoover, coached by Jerry Goodpasture, is making its 10th state tournament appearance. The Vikings won the championship in eight of the previous nine trips.
“I know they have a great program and a great tradition,” Castner said Tuesday morning. “They’re very well-coached. Coach Goodpasture is a legend up there. He’s a very good coach. He does things the right way.
“They’re playing very well right now. They’re hitting well, one through nine. Their ninth hitter has gotten clutch hits in each of their last two games.”
Watkins Memorial lost in the state championship game last season, and the Warriors and Firebirds are the only two of the four 2021 semifinalists to make it back to Akron. Castner sees more confidence in his team, which includes 10 seniors on the 14-player roster displayed on the team’s web page. Much of it stems from last year’s experience.
“They know they’re going up to another area where’s we’re not going to have a lot of fans,” he said. “The girls are prepping themselves for that. The girls have been there before. We have a lot of seniors who played the majority of the game last year.”
The seniors also are helping make sure the team doesn’t end up trying too hard to make up for last season.
“I think, as coach, you have to make sure that everybody understands that it’s important to stay on an even keel as much as possible — that they don’t get too high or too low,” Castner said. “The seniors have done a nice job of making sure everybody understands when it’s time to play ball and do everything they can out on the field.”
“I think we’re doing a very good job of playing the game and staying within ourselves,” Mathis said. “We’re good at exercising self-control and controlling what we can control and staying in the zone.
“Looking around the field and watching the seniors develop leadership this year has been cool.”
Lakota West’s previous state tournament results
2005: Lost semifinal to Uniontown Lake, 4-3.
2006: Lost semifinal to North Canton Hoover, 4-0.
2011: Lost semifinal to Gahanna Lincoln, 9-6
2018: Won semifinal over Perrysburg, 2-1; lost final to Massillon Perry, 11-1.
2021: Lost semifinal to Massillon Perry, 4-2.
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