Wednesday’s game
What: Division II regional softball semifinal, Ross (19-7) vs. Springfield Kenton Ridge (24-3)
Where: Mason Softball Stadium, 6370 Mason Montgomery Road, Mason
When: 5 p.m.
Next: Winner will play for the regional title against either Greenville or defending state champion Granville at noon on Saturday at Mason.
One swing propelled Ross High School’s softball team into the Division II regional. The trick is maintaining that momentum.
The Rams will face Springfield Kenton Ridge in a 5 p.m. regional semifinal Wednesday at Mason, having grabbed a district title when freshman Kaitlyn Justice launched a seventh-inning grand slam against Clinton-Massie on Monday.
“That was pretty dramatic,” Ross coach Paul Fernandez said. “Never can I recall in my 25, 26 years winning a game like that with a grand slam. Kaitlyn may be a freshman, but we’ve stuck with her at shortstop all year long, and it was pretty exciting for her to put the bat on the ball like that.
“We’re right back where we were last year,” he added, mentioning the 7-2 loss to Greenville in the regional semis. “I think the girls will be ready. I think they’re hungry. We’re getting great pitching from Kenzie (Meyer) right now, and defensively we’re making plays. Those two things will keep you in games.”
The Rams (19-7) have seen Kenton Ridge (24-3) a few times through the years. Their last meeting resulted in a 4-3 regional semifinal victory for the Cougars on May 30, 2013, when Paige McCrary delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Senior second baseman Annie Hinterlong, taking a break from practice Tuesday, said Ross is on a high after Monday’s win.
“We’re still excited,” she said. “I feel like we looked really good at practice today, so I think we’re going to look really good tomorrow too.”
Kenton Ridge is the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Division champion. Seventh-year coach Sarah Schalnat has six seniors, and five are starters.
“I expected a lot out of them this year,” Schalnat said. “Four of them played on our state team as freshmen, and two of them (shortstop Mykee Holtz and third baseman Sarah Albaugh) started.
“I would say that we have good defense, good pitching and good hitters. These kids are very disciplined at the plate, and as long as they stay disciplined, I think they’ll hit the ball. Our pitcher is more of a power pitcher, but she does like to mix it up. She throws screwballs, curveballs, and does a really good job with everything.”
Sophomore Carly Turner is that pitcher. The right-hander is 24-3 with a 1.56 earned run average, notching 158 strikeouts in 175 innings.
The Cougars are hitting .372 as a team, led by freshman right fielder Lexee Trainer (.432), Holtz (.426, four homers, 35 RBIs), junior designated player Brooke Ehling (.424) and Turner (.402, six homers, 29 RBIs).
One significant difference between these two teams is base running. The Rams like to use their speed and have swiped 93 bases this season. Kenton Ridge has 12 steals.
“Sometimes we just don’t get in situations to steal and rely on putting the ball in play or bunting,” said Schalnat, who played for the Cougars and graduated from the school in 1998. “Even though we don’t have a lot of stolen bases, we do have some fast kids this year.”
R0ss has a .425 team batting average. Three RHS regulars are hitting over .500 — junior catcher Ally Ivey (.550, three homers, 40 RBIs), senior first baseman Kelsey Warman (.540, three homers, 32 RBIs) and Hinterlong (.516, 27 stolen bases).
Meyer, a sophomore righty, is 14-5 with a 1.65 ERA in the circle. She has 118 strikeouts in 123 innings.
“We’ve played against a lot of good teams this year,” Fernandez said. “Our record’s not as high as maybe some people would expect, but there’s a reason for that. Hopefully all that experience and facing those teams and pitchers will pay off.”
Hinterlong is at the heart of the Rams’ speed game as the slapping leadoff hitter. She occupied the No. 9 spot in the order last year and hit .294.
“She’s moved into the leadoff spot where Hayley Hudson was, and she’s been setting the table all year long,” Fernandez said. “She’s always been good at getting it in play. Now she’s got the full package. She doesn’t bunt very much. She slaps or puts it in the grass.”
He credited his son Sam, a Ross assistant coach, for helping the right-handed Hinterlong develop as a left-handed slapper.
“She started picking up slapping towards the end of her sophomore year,” Sam Fernandez said. “Last season was really a learning experience for her. That was kind of her tutorial year. She knew it was going to be a bumpy start, and it was. To me, slapping is one of the hardest skills to learn in sports. She learned by trial and error on the varsity.
“It’s great to see Annie have success. She definitely deserves it because she’s as hard a worker as anybody here. She was really close with Hayley Hudson last year, and Hayley was first-team all-state. Annie saw that and saw her work ethic, and she wanted to duplicate that.”
Hinterlong said she feels a sense of responsibility to get on base and move once she gets there.
“I just feel a little better this year with the one year under my belt,” Hinterlong said. “My mentality being a senior, I feel like I should be a leader. I feel like I should get on for my teammates.”
Sam Fernandez said there’s a lot more to slapping than simply putting the ball in play and running fast.
“If you can really master the three different avenues, which are the bunt, the soft slap and driving it to the outfield, you’re going to cause a lot of problems for teams,” he said. “Over the last few years, our slappers have been able to do that.
“Joe Fan can watch on TV now and just watch the evolution of slappers. You watch those girls at the high Division I collegiate level, they’re pounding the ball to the fence with ease. They’re revolutionizing slapping and taking the next step. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
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