Deep breaths, an opportunity to shake the nerves off and a chance to face some competition again finally came.

The last time Ursuline saw the field, they went 25-3 before losing to Poland during the Division II district final. Likewise, McDonald had its own success during the 2019 campaign, going 18-5 and winning the first district title in program history vs. East Canton.

The past is the past, however, and a new season is finally upon the Mahoning Valley. The Fighting Irish didn’t take long to re-enter the win column after not playing for 683 days with a 10-0 win over the Blue Devils in five innings.

“I wish I could explain the emotion I had today knowing we were going to play under some sun, on some dirt after a two-year hiatus,” Ursuline coach Michael Kernan said following the win. “So, I think that with anticipation, and the excitement, I’m just glad it came.”

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes -- McDonald’s Lucia Wolford battles at the plate during the top of the third inning before popping out to right field.

The long-off season gave players the opportunity to hammer down on their skillset, a good example being Ursuline starting pitcher Paige Ogden, who fanned seven McDonald batters over four innings and only allowed a single hit.

Changing speeds with a mix of a changeup and riseball, Ogden kept the Blue Devils under the ball. The junior credited the change in her technique.

“I completely changed my mechanics because it was just better for me, to help my team out,” she said. “I just gained a lot of speed and spin, and it really helped me today.”

Ursuline took a 1-0 lead during the bottom of the first with senior Maris Barbato sliding into home plate to score the Irish’s first run since May 16, 2019. A seven-run fourth inning, led off by a solo shot from Ursuline senior Julia Nutter over the left-center field wall, broke the game open for the home team, but after a long time off, getting that first home run just felt a little bit different.

“While I’m running around the bases, just thinking about all the support I have from my teammates and them really cheering me on,” Nutter said. “When I’m up at the batter’s box fighting the count, they’re really there for me.”

Nutter, a Slippery Rock recruit, is one-third of Ursuline’s senior class, joining Barbato (Toledo) and Emily Holland (Ohio Dominican), all college commits for next year.

“I think (not playing) built up a lot of excitement for this year,” Nutter said. “We didn’t get to play last year and then we used that, put in the work, and that’s what got us here today.”

Going 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of doubles, Nutter led the Ursuline attack along with Barbato’s 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Sophomore Mia Opalick went 1-for-3 with an RBI single, and junior Ayva Fedor recorded a double and a run scored.

Holland pitched the final inning for Ursuline and recorded a strikeout.

McDonald (0-1) senior Bri Callow pitched 4 2/3 innings, fanning eight hitters in the loss. Coming into the season, Blue Devils coach Michelle Titus expects some younger players to step up.

“We have a couple young ones that would have been starters as freshman, so now they’re sophomores, and they’re starting now, so they haven’t had any high school play yet,” Titus said. “But we have a bunch of returning lettermen too. We have Bri Callow pitching and Lucia Wolford, they’re both pretty good, steady players.

“We have Bri McCombs, we have a couple of 10th graders who didn’t get to play last year, which is Alivia Morison and Kylee Koma. You just got to take every game one at a time, and do our best every game.”

Chelsea Sudol accounted for the Blue Devils’ lone hit, a single during top of the fourth inning.

Ogden felt that winning that first one just made the start to the season that much better.

“Everything will be more relaxed,” she said. “This was like a climax for the season that we’ve been waiting so long for. I’m looking forward to the playoffs where we can really give the seniors a season that we’ve been anticipating and getting ready for.”