Prep softball: Meyer among standouts as SWOC-leading Ross routs Braves on Senior Day

Senior Day was a good day for Kenzie Meyer.

The Ross High School senior pitcher and four-year varsity softball player threw a two-hitter Friday as the five RHS seniors celebrated a five-inning, 11-1 triumph over visiting Talawanda.

Meyer said she saw how previous Ross seniors reacted to Senior Day, so she knew what to expect.

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“I knew it was definitely going to be an emotional day for everyone,” Meyer said. “It kind of stinks that it’s not our last day on the field, but the fact that it’s Senior Night kind of puts everything into perspective a little bit.”

The Rams’ last regular-season home contest will be next Saturday at 11 a.m. against Harrison, and that could prove to be the Southwest Ohio Conference championship game.

Ross is 15-2 overall and 8-1 in the SWOC, with conference games against Little Miami and Talawanda next week before facing Harrison. The Wildcats are 6-1 in SWOC play and will meet Mount Healthy twice, Northwest and Edgewood before the finale at RHS.

“It’s going to be a fun week,” Rams coach Pat Spurlock said. “We’re off this weekend for prom. Hopefully it’s a nice, peaceful weekend and we keep our stride going next week.”

The seniors played big roles in Friday’s victory. Meyer struck out seven and walked one in the circle and delivered a single at the plate. Maddy Foster had two singles, two RBIs and two runs. Faith Ohmer scored three times. Allie Barger singled and scored a run. Haley Grau had a single and drove in a run.

“The seniors did a great job,” Spurlock said. “You never know how it might go on Senior Day. We just wanted to keep everybody loose.”

Freshman Ashley Shelton ended the run-rule affair with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning. She finished with two hits, two runs and three RBIs.

Kaitlyn Justice (two RBIs), Emily Poling (RBI, two runs) and Whitley Arno (RBI) contributed to the winners’ offensive attack.

“Offensively, we’re super, super strong, but I still don’t think we’ve hit our stride,” Spurlock said. “We’re super solid defensively, and Kenzie’s pitching great. It’s all good.”

Meyer is 15-1 in the circle and has a career record of 57-22. She will play for Cincinnati Christian University next season.

“I couldn’t ask for a better defense to back me up,” Meyer said. “Besides a couple games, I definitely think that my pitching’s been working. We worked on a couple new pitches this year that I think have helped us.”

Friday wasn’t such a good day for Talawanda (6-14, 3-7), which committed three errors behind pitcher Ashley Earick.

The Braves got a second-inning double from Hannah Lightfield, who scored on an error, and a third-inning single from Chloe Vaughn.

“Obviously we left a few plays out there on the field,” Talawanda coach Scott Davie said. “I don’t know that the score even indicates just how close some of the plays that we had the opportunity to make were. That was their speed too. Give Ross credit. They executed very well and did the things that they needed to do.

“You’ve got to make the play in front of you, and we talked about that before the game. We didn’t need to have a great game. We just needed to play consistent, and we didn’t do that today.”

Davie, in his first year at the THS helm after coming over from Franklin County (Ind.), said his team is improving. The Braves began the season with a 2-9 record.

“The last three or four weeks have been a lot better,” Davie said. “Part of that is experience. I think we have one or two girls out there that saw the field last year.

“Many of these girls are finding themselves in new positions, new situations or at a new level, and all of that takes some time in order to feel confident out there. While a few of these girls play outside high school ball, a lot of them are just high school ballplayers. So understanding the speed of the game and some of the different situations that happen, it’s our job to educate them, and we’re doing that.

“So I’m pleased with the progress. They’re better than they think they are. Sometimes this is a game of failure, and you’ve got to be able to channel those failures into future successes.”

Both teams will play Monday. Ross will meet McAuley at the Reds Urban Youth Academy in Roselawn, while Talawanda visits Northwest.

Talawanda 010-00—1-2-3

Ross 341-03—11-10-2

WP — Kenzie Meyer (15-1); LP — Ashley Earick (3-8). Records: T 6-14, 3-7 SWOC; R 15-2, 8-1 SWOC

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