The SunDogs, who closely resemble Elyria High’s state-runnerup softball team, won the ASA 18-and-under state championship in Maumee last weekend.
They defeated Grand Slam, 4-3, for the title, thereby extracting a measure of revenge for losses in the last two Division I state championship games. The Grand Slam roster includes pitcher Jessica Simpson of state champ North Canton Hoover and Purdue outfielder Beth Cinadr, who played for Hudson’s 2007 state champions.
Coach Duane Sunagel’s SunDogs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on back-to-back triples by Elyria teammates Tess Sito and catcher Jen Bower, and a passed ball. Grand Slam scored three runs in the bottom of the first and held the lead until the fourth when Sito tripled again and scored again on another passed ball.
The SunDogs scored the eventual winner in the seventh after the Pioneers’ Jessica Bellottie singled, was sacrificed to second by Aleecia Sunagel of Amherst, and later ran home on a single by North Ridgeville’s Jaime Frindt.
Sito, the SunDogs’ pitcher, retired the Slam in order in the bottom of the seventh. It was her fourth win of the day and sixth of the tournament. Sito, Gatorade’s Ohio player of the year, also hit .583 for the tournament with three fence-clearing home runs. She struck out 44 in 43 innings.
Admiral King’s Jillian Van Wagnen, Lorain County’s Miss Softball, batted .364 and threw three runners out at the plate from center field. Frindt batted .346 and the Pioneers’ Megan Bashak, Bower and Bellottie hit .333, .318 and .308, respectively. Bashak also earned a victory and a save.
Others on the team are Midview’s Erin Sunagel, Jasmine Filiaggi of Elyria Catholic, and the Pioneers’ Kristen Fyffe, Jessica Mandula and Ashlee Stolarski.
The SunDogs went undefeated in eight games (they tied a pool-play game). Other wins came against SGS Magic, Holly Hills, Lady Lasers Blue, Ohio Heat, and they knocked the Grand Slam into the loser’s bracket in elimination play. Simpson allowed seven hits in both games against the SunDogs.
The team qualified for the ASA Class A national tournament next month.

Elyria tourney a hit

The crowds were large, the diamonds drained quickly and the first girls fastpitch tournament on the refurbished softball fields at West Park was a big success.
It was so successful, the Elyria Softball Organization (ESO) will sponsor an NSA national qualifier at the complex again next year.
Chris Sito of ESO said that up to 1,200 people were in the park at any given time from last Friday afternoon through Sunday night. He also said that comments from out-of-town visitors to the 36-team tournament have been overwhelmingly positive.
The last few Sunday night games were cancelled because of weather.
Sito said some of the proceeds will be used to reimburse the city for the cost of keeping parks and rec personnel at the site. He also said that, over time, ESO is paying for temporary outfield fences purchased by the city to accommodate fastpitch tournaments.

That’s the Spirit

Coach Chip Menke’s 16-and-under North Coast Spirit Blue took second place at the Tiger Summer Bash in Strasburg over the weekend. They defeated Ohio Heat, the Inferno, Ohio Ice, Shock Waves and Muskie Chicks.
The big win was an extra-inning 4-3 thriller over the Buckeye Heat that saw Midview teammates Jill Kazmierczak and Mindy Putt produce the winning run in the ninth.
The Blue team’s roster includes Sydney Mencke, Heather Miller, Paige Stefancin and Delaina Divencenzo of Midview; Columbia’s Kristen Minarchick, Anna Britvec of Admiral King, North Ridgeville’s Haley Gall, and Holly Evans of Independence. Assistant coaches are Tim Allen, Scott Britvec and Dave Kyler.

Uncle Stan’s tourney

The North Coast Spirit organization’s annual Uncle Stan’s tournament continues today and Sunday at the NorthRidgeville Shady Drive softball complex . It is also an NSA World Series qualifier for teams in age groups 10- through 18-and-under. The Spirit’s annual North Coast Nailbiter is scheduled for July 11-13, also at Shady Drive.

Solanics stars

Columbia’s Jen Solanics more than held her own in the Ohio Softball Coaches Association district all-stars round robin in Pickerington. Pitching for the Northeast District, Solanics started two of her team’s five games, hurled 13 innings and allowed one earned run in the two-day tourney.

Looking ahead

Lorain County will again have two teams in the Wendy’s Spring Classic in Ashland next April. After a one-year hiatus, Keystone has been invited for 2009. The Wildcats will join Elyria in the three-day invitational, which is regarded as one of the best in-season high school tournaments east of the Mississippi River.
The Wendy’s Classic attracts teams from several states every spring. It draws consistently from the Deep South and Midwest and has entertained at least one team from California.
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.

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