Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. Austintown Fitch hoists the district championship trophy after defeating Chardon 8-0 at Youngstown State.

YOUNGSTOWN — Defense wins championships, and few teams have a better one than Austintown Fitch.

The Falcons have given up a total of just 11 runs all season, which equates to 0.55 runs per game through 20 games. Fitch has also held its opponents scoreless in each of their last five games, the most recent of which being its 8-0 victory over Chardon on Wednesday at the YSU Softball Complex to capture the Falcons’ third straight Division I district championship.

“Our team has great synergy, and we feed off of both sides of the ball,” Fitch head coach Steve Ward said. “So when offense is doing well, defense feeds off it. When the defense is eating it up, the offense goes a little bit harder.

“Quite honestly, every day in practice, we’re working on it, and it’s not light work. These girls work hard at their craft. They are bought in and they’re just tough athletes. You let them create in their positions, both offensively and defensively, and tell them that you believe in them, and you see the results out there.”

Fitch’s defense starts with the battery of junior ace Sydnie Watts in the circle and sophomore catcher Kylie Folkwein behind the plate.

Having recently crossed 800 strikeouts for her career, the Georgia Tech commit’s accolades are well-documented, and she added even more to her total with 16 strikeouts against the Hilltoppers in a one-hit effort.

“I feel like, being that I don’t give up that many hits, the defense is just always ready for that one chance they get,” Watts said. “They always are going to do great knowing that ‘this is the one ball they might get, so I’m going to do the best I can with it.’ We have a very talented group of players that work their butts off off the field to be able to make the plays like they do. It really helps me in the circle stay calm, knowing that I do have all those girls behind me.”

As the eyes of the defense, Folkwein’s efforts are just as critical, as she threw out a Chardon runner who tried to steal second base after catching a strike from Watts in the top of the fifth inning.

“I know (shortstop) Ayla (Ray) will get there and catch any ball for me,” Folkwein said. “So my goal is just to get it on the bag and I know she’ll get it out.

“Me and Syd have to be in sync. If me and her work well together, the hits that she gives are just easy ground balls, and our defense can make those outs any day.”

Just like Ward said, Fitch’s offense fed off its stingy defense, as the Falcons put up 13 hits on Chardon pitcher Jenna Hendricks.

Watts and freshman Kaliana Ray led the Falcons with three hits apiece. Watts tallied three RBIs, while Kaliana had one. Abby Toth had a double and a triple and finished with two RBIs of her own.

As a junior, Watts has now been a part of each of Fitch’s three district championship teams each year she’s been in high school.

“Just being a part of this team has been amazing,” Watts said. “Being able to play with all these sophomores, which is the majority of our team, it’s been great because they’re such great athletes and such great people that it just makes it fun to come out every day and be on the field with them.”

But as evidenced by the Falcons’ somewhat muted postgame celebration, a district title is just one step of a greater journey for this team.

They’ve taken care of business so far, but the defending Division I state champions have loftier aspirations.

Now, the Falcons are headed back to regionals, where they will face Amherst Steele on May 22 at 2 p.m. at YSU. The Comets defeated Brunswick 6-1 on Wednesday to win the Division I Berea district.

“We celebrate everything. You see us, whether it’s a hit, a walk, a good play on defense — we celebrate everything, and we’re going to celebrate this win,” Ward said. “I know these girls are so excited to be going back to regionals again and to defend the district title means the world to them. We do have big goals and aspirations, but it’s just one game at a time. We’re not looking any further than Amherst right now.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.