Bartels’ blasts leads SR past Gilmour for 3rd-straight title
BEAVER TOWNSHIP — The top-seeded South Range Raiders would like nothing better than to be able to return to the Division III State softball finals again this year. Thursday night they took the first big step in their attempt to reach that goal with a hard-fought 5-1 victory over No. 18 Gilmour Academy.
“This was very important for our confidence,” Raiders senior Regan Irons said.. “Obviously, we can’t get there (the state finals) without winning a District. It makes everyone even more invested. This is my third year of winning Districts and it has gotten better every year.”
With the victory, the Raiders improve to 22-7 on the season and advance to the Regional semifinals next Wednesday at Ravenna where they will face Massillon Tuslaw. That sets up a rematch from last year when the Raiders knocked off Tuslaw 2-0 at YSU.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the fourth inning, sophomore third baseman Gretchen Bartels provided the big blow that decided the contest, her first home run of the season. But it wasn’t without a bit of controversy.
Back-to-back singles by Juli Stachowicz and Madison Dado put two Raiders on base with no outs and brought Bartels to the plate. The first pitch she saw from Lancers pitcher Megan Mlinaric appeared to hit Bartels, but the umpire ruled it a foul ball. Once she worked Mlinarnic to a 3-2 full-count, she barreled up the ball and smacked a three-run homer over the center-field fence to stake the Raiders a 4-1 lead.
“I just wanted to get on base,” Bartels said. “I wasn’t looking for a home run, but I got one. I just swung the bat. I was so excited.”
Bartels added some insurance for the Raiders in the sixth inning when she walloped another shot over the fence. This time she cleared the left-center fence to push the Raider’s advantage to the final 5-1 margin.
While the Raiders’ bats started to heat up as the game advanced, starting pitcher Samantha Susany and reliever Juli Stachowicz combined to toss a four-hitter. Stachowicz was awarded the win with five strikeouts and three walks while Susany struck out and walked two Lancer batters in her four innings of work.
“Sam wasn’t on her A-game today. She is a lot better pitcher than she threw today, but she pitched well enough to keep them at bay. They were coming through their order for the third time so I figured I was going to show them something a little different. It was a good decision. Juli held them to no runs. Hats off to these two, they are awesome.”
The Lancers, who finish the season with a 7-6-1 record, got on the scoreboard first in the third inning when Madison Minotas led off the inning with a single. She would score on a two-out, bases-loaded hit batsman to Lauren Riccobelli.
The Raiders would answer in the bottom of the third to tie the contest. The Raiders’ speedy second baseman Jamie Feren would slice a triple that would roll to the right-field fence. She would come home on a single to right field by Kelly Szolek to knot the game at 1-1.