So you were thinking of cruisin’ on down to Ashland on Monday to watch the U.S. Olympic team play the Mid-American Conference
all-stars.
It’s sold out. Nearly 3,800 softball fans will jam picturesque Brookside Park for the exhibition. It is one of more than 60 games scheduled for the U.S. team’s “Bound4Beijing” tour, which includes two games in Ohio.
The other will be in Akron’s Firestone Stadium on July 22 and that is also sold out except for $10 lounge seats — seats on the hillside beyond the left- and center-field fences. Bring your own chair. Those seats will be available at the gate after 6 p.m. the day of the game.
Bummed out? Don’t be. The sellouts are further evidence of fastpitch softball’s skyrocketing popularity.

Local tournaments

Meantime, if you’re looking for some good softball, there’s plenty in your back yard.
The Elyria Softball Organization’s first Summer Kickoff continues today and Sunday at West Park and Elyria High’s softball complex at the former Elyria West. This is a National Softball Association (NSA) World Series qualifier for teams in the 10-, 12- and 14-and-under age groups.
It is the first tournament of its kind in Elyria and marks the first use of the parks and recreation department’s redesigned West Park fields for fastpitch.
Next weekend, the North Coast Spirit organization will host its annual Uncle Stan’s Tournament at NorthRidgeville’s Shady Drive complex. This is also an NSA World Series qualifier for teams in five age groups 10- through 18-and-under. The Spirit’s annual North Coast Nailbiter will be July 11-13, also at Shady Drive.

Solanics picked

Columbia pitcher Jen Solanics has been chosen for the Northeast District all-star team playing in Pickerington on Monday and Tuesday. She is the team’s only area player. All-star squads from each of the OHSAA’s six districts will play each other in the two-day All-Ohio Underclass Tournament.
Hillsdale’s Ray Dickerhoof coaches the Northeast District team. Each team is made up of three pitchers and catchers plus two players at each of the other positions. The games are played at Pickerington Central.

County all-stars win

Speaking of Columbia, the Raiders’ Ken Richardson joined Oberlin’s Rick Twining and Pam Jackson of Admiral King in coaching a team of senior all-stars in a game at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
They had a team made up of players from Wellington (Melanie Conklin and Brittany Gow), Columbia (Sarah Petras and Brittany Dengler), Admiral King (Jillian Van Wagnen and Ashley Schafer), Oberlin (Angela Daugherty), Firelands (Erin Phillips and Kaitlin Reid) and two from Holy Name.
“What an excellent mix of players and personalities,” said Richardson, whose Raiders advanced to the Division III district finals. “I told them to have fun and play tough softball. They joked, talked and laughed as if they’d been playing together all season. It was the atmosphere you strive for in the girls’ final game wearing their team colors.”
The Richardson-Jackson-Twining team won, 11-8.
Conklin, the Dukes’ No. 1 pitcher, started, went four innings and got the win. She struck out seven and allowed no earned runs. She also went 3 for 4 and scored three times. Gow pitched two innings, had a hit and scored a run. The Admirals’ Schafer got the save. She pitched the seventh inning and retired the side in order.
Van Wagnen, Lorain County Miss Softball, was 2-for-3. She also stole second, went to third on an overthrow and three pitches later stole home. Playing second base, she also started a double play with the bases loaded.
“She was awesome,” Westlake coach Tom Shiban said of Van Wagnen.
Oberlin’s Daugherty was 1-for-3 with a walk and RBI. Columbia’s Dengler was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Petras, her teammate, was 1 for 2 with a walk, sacrifice and RBI.

’Dogs do well

Coach Duane Sunagel’s Elyria SunDogs went 4-2-1 last weekend to finish seventh in their class in the big Compuware tournament in suburban Detroit. There were 28 teams in the group. The SunDogs tied a team from Guelph, Ontario.
Elyria’s Tess Sito homered in a 3-0 victory over the Ohio Ice-Black and allowed a hit in a 1-0 loss to the Buckeye Heat. The ‘Dogs were no-hit in that game. They came back to defeat Compuware 4-3, with a three-run homer by the Pioneers’ Ashlee Stolarski.
The SunDogs were 1-1 in games decided by the international tie-breaker. Sito homered again, but they lost a tie-breaker to the Lady Lasers-Blue 10-7. Thanks to multiple errors, only two of the Lasers’ runs were earned. Sito batted .391 in the tournament and North Ridgeville’s Jaime Frindt .353.
The SunDogs will be in the ASA Class A state tournament this weekend.

Elyria shines as tourney host 

The city of Elyria earned high marks from out-of-town visitors Friday night. They arrived from various parts of the state for the Elyria Softball Organization’s first Summer Kickoff tournament at West Park, and they liked what they saw.
The grounds were manicured for the occasion by the Elyria Parks and Recreation Department, the newly skinned and resurfaced infields were in top shape and the crowds large for the 36-team tourney. Some first-round games were also played on Elyria’s varsity diamond at the former West High School.
This is a National Softball Association (NSA) World Series qualifier that runs through Sunday. Pool play continues today, with championship games scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
It is the first girls fastpitch tournament held at the redesigned site.
The event has drawn teams not only from Lorain County, Greater Cleveland and the Akron area, but also from as far as Toledo and Columbus. Visitors are lodged at the Elyria Holiday Inn, which offered a special rate for those attending the tournament.
“We’ve received compliments from a big bunch of people,” said city softball commissioner Garry Mason.
“Everybody we’ve talked to said they want to come back next year. This is great for the city.”
Two of the four ESO teams, coached by Chris Sito and Pierce Burt, won first-round games Friday.
The other two Elyria entries — coached by Len Howser and Terry Shackelford — played later in the day.
Work on converting the West Park diamonds for NSA and ASA tournaments began during the winter. It concluded with the application of 78 tons of a special diamond topping in the spring.
West Park also hosts the Parks and Rec Department’s adult slowpitch programs.
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.  

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