“Just get down and be safe,” Shields said of her thoughts as she sprinted down the third-base line. “It’s the best feeling. Everybody was just so happy, and we’re so proud of our team. That was just some really good softball.”
Ross left the bases loaded in the ninth, but the Cougars couldn’t stop the hosts from scoring in the 10th.
Freshman Whitley Arno pinch-hit for Shields and slapped a leadoff single for the Rams, with Shields re-entering the game to run for her. Maddy Foster and Annie Hinterlong followed with infield singles to load the bases for Ivey.
Ivey, who began the day with a .533 average and was 2-for-4 against Edgewood pitcher Sam Davis, floated the idea of bunting.
“I usually never bunt, but I think I’m a decently good bunter, and I think it would’ve surprised them,” Ivey said. “But they were playing me close, so then I was like, ‘Oh, we shouldn’t bunt.’ I knew either way it was going to be good.”
Ross coach Paul Fernandez admitted he had no desire to see his power-hitting catcher at the plate trying to bunt.
“She just says, ‘They’re probably going to play me back to the fence. I can bunt here if you want me to. We can squeeze in a run that way,’ ” Fernandez said. “I said, ‘Really? That’s what you want to do? I’d rather you just hit a fly ball and let them catch it and let’s score a run if we can.’ She goes, ‘Well, I can do that too.’ ”
Said Ivey, “He didn’t say no. He just gave me the face to say, ‘Let’s rethink that and have confidence in yourself.’ ”
Ivey lifted a 1-2 Davis pitch into short right field. EHS outfielder Ally Williams was near the line and appeared to catch the ball in foul territory. Shields took off from third, Williams’ throw to the plate was high, and that was the end of the Cougars’ 12-game winning streak.
“I swung at two balls that I shouldn’t have swung at,” said Ivey, who quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count. “But everyone’s excited at that time, and I was shaking. No matter what I did, if I struck out or got out, I knew Kelsey (Warman) would come up and smack one because she’s been hitting the ball like crazy. I knew that it wasn’t just on me. It was for everybody, and everybody had my back. I just swung. Nobody would’ve thought it would’ve ended like that.”
Asked if she thought her fly ball was deep enough to score Shields, Ivey replied, “It was long enough apparently. Sometimes you’ve got to put it on that team to make the (play). Edgewood is a great team. If you wanted to see a championship game, it was that. They fought, we fought. It was going to come down to one thing, and it just so happened to be my hit. It could’ve been anything.”
Kenzie Meyer pitched a three-hitter for Ross, which is 14-6 overall and 9-1 in the SWOC. The Rams will finish conference play with home games against Talawanda on Wednesday and Harrison on Thursday.
Edgewood is 19-5, 9-2, and will end the SWOC campaign at Harrison on Wednesday.
“If we show up and don’t have errors, I’m good. And I was very impressed with my girls today,” Cougars coach Wayne Asher said. “This team has come together. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. It was fun to be here today. If every game was like today, I’d never give it up.
“Give Paul Fernandez and his team props. We didn’t have the key hit today. They did.”
Meyer has been idled by a shin injury in recent days. The sophomore hadn’t been in the circle since last week before her 119-pitch effort against Edgewood.
“I was a little nervous coming out,” said Meyer, who struck out six and walked two. “Then I had a good warmup and I knew my defense looked good during warmups, so I was hoping they could back me up every play. I definitely wouldn’t ask for a different team to be out there with. My girls and the other team gave us a great game and great competition.”
“It’s just a day-to-day thing with how much pain she’s in and how much tolerance she has,” Fernandez said. “Kudos to her for looking as sharp as she did being off that long.”
Davis turned in a strong performance for the Cougars as well. She totaled four strikeouts and three walks in her seven-hitter.
Both pitchers benefited from outstanding defensive play in the outfield. Ross got highlight-reel catches from Warman, Foster and Ashley Parrett. Rileigh Todd and Cloey Westerfield did the same for Edgewood.
Davis had two singles for the Cougars. Hinterlong singled twice for the Rams, and Ivey chipped in a double.
“Davis is a player,” Asher said. “I knew she’d perform today. Anytime there’s a big game, she’s Big Game Davis.”
Ivey singled off Davis to start the RHS ninth inning. A one-out sacrifice bunt by Haley Grau sent Ivey to second base, and a wild pitch moved her to third.
Davis threw nothing close to Parrett or Elisha Toney and walked both to load the bases. Kaitlyn Justice then struck out to end the inning.
In the 10th, Fernandez didn’t hesitate to send Shields from third base on Ivey’s fly ball. He said it was the right time to challenge Edgewood on anything hit to the outfield.
“I think we’ve got to take a chance there, knowing that Warman’s coming up and still could get a hit to end it,” Fernandez said. “It’s got to be a good throw, and if they get her, they get her, but it’s still only the second out. It’s a little different if it’s the third out.”
He credited Arno for coming off the bench and delivering a key hit.
“I believe it was an 0-2 pitch,” Fernandez said. “That’s a freshman that’s gotten in sparingly, and actually my son Sam was the one who suggested that we get her an at-bat and see what she could do. I also have to give him credit for our outfield and the way they played today. That’s all the drills that he’s been doing. It’s good to see that pay off.
“That was just a good, old-fashioned, fast-pitch softball game that you don’t see very often anymore. It was just like two heavyweight champions slugging it out, and two pitchers doing the same thing. Win or lose, I would’ve been proud of our team either way. It was hard on the heart, but also good for the heart to see something like that.”
Fernandez presented Brad Warman, Kelsey’s father, with the game ball during the Rams’ postgame meeting. Warman, who is battling cancer, thanked the team for the ball and the satisfying victory.
Ross is seeking its first SWOC crown since 2013, and Fernandez stressed that Goal 1 has yet to be achieved. The Cougars rallied to top the Rams 6-5 on April 19, but Asher doesn’t expect Ross to take another conference loss.
“Anything can happen in softball. Let’s face it, you’re dealing with 16-year-old girls,” he said. “But Ross is probably going to move on and win the league, and we’re going to be second. Hopefully Harrison can upset them, but the reality is, Ross is a top-notch act. And they’ll be a tough act to beat. We lost the league when we lost to Little Miami.”
Edgewood 000-000-000-0—0-3-0
Ross 000-000-000-1—1-7-2
WP — Kenzie Meyer (9-5); LP — Sam Davis (18-5). Records: E 19-5, 9-2 SWOC; R 14-6, 9-1 SWOC
About the Author