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Fast start Flashes

NEWTON FALLS – Champion softball coach Cheryl Weaver likes for the Golden Flashes to start well, whether it be an inning, a game or a season. She got her wish on a couple of levels in her team’s 4-0 victory in the rain Wednesday at All-American Conference Blue Tier rival Newton Falls.

The Golden Flashes (3-1, 2-0) took the early driver’s seat in conference play behind a three-run first and a one-hit gem from pitcher McKenzie Zigmont.

“It always is (good to get the early lead in conference play),” Weaver said. “Especially because we have to start the league playing some tough teams. Girard and Newton Falls always play us tough. We wanted to get the lead quick. It’s like scoring first (in a game). It puts more pressure on the opposing team.”

As has become a habit for the Golden Flashes when they battle with the Tigers, they took a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first.

“That’s what’s key,” Weaver said. “I always tell the girls if they score first, it takes the pressure off us and puts it on them. We do well when we do that. I can’t complain.”

Megan Turner got it going for Champion with a two-out walk and Molly Williams followed with a single. Amber Ricci then reached on an error scoring Turner before Jackie Mulvain lined a single to right and just beat the throw to first to score both Williams and Ricci.

“I’m always looking to hit it when I get in there, but I knew it was needed,” Mulvain said. “I just did what the coach tells me to do. I had two strikes and I knew I couldn’t let another one go by, so I swung and hit it.

“It felt great. I had been in a little slump the last couple of games. It felt natural. It didn’t feel like I swung hard.”

That early lead was a tough mountain to climb for the Tigers (2-1, 1-1), who have fallen behind (2-0, 2-0 and 3-0) in the first inning of the last three contests played between the teams.

“The big thing we talked about beforehand was that if we wanted to beat them, we couldn’t make mistakes,” Newton Falls coach Bill Pelyak said. “We had the error there at third and our second baseman dives to knock the ball down, then throws it away.

“The last three times we’ve played each other we’ve been down in the first inning. You can’t beat the state champions when you go down 3-0 in the first. That’s a credit to Cheryl and to them. They always put themselves in position to score like that.”

It was all the support Zigmont needed.

“I know they’re a good hitting team,” Zigmont said. “I went for the corners as much as I could, kept it low and tried to give them absolutely nothing in the hitting zone. I used fastballs, curveballs and mixed in some drop curves.”

Zigmont wasn’t overpowering, but it was by design as both she and losing pitcher Jenna Ballas were pitching in some degree of rain all through the five-inning contest. Zigmont fanned four and walked three.

“It was OK for me until I ran out of dry spots to wipe my hands,” Zigmont said. “It’s still tough, but it doesn’t give me too many problems.”

“It was gutsy for both players (to pitch) in these kinds of conditions,” Weaver said. “That is hard for anybody. My hat’s off to both pitchers. Look at it out there. It’s nothing but soup. I’m glad they finally called it.”

The Golden Flashes missed an opportunity in the third following Turner’s lead-off single. Williams sacrificed Turner to second, but Micaiah Butler’s throw to second eliminated Turner after she over ran the bag. The next batter, Ricci, singled to right before a groundout ended the threat.

Alex Steigerwald scored Champion’s final run in the top of the fifth after reaching on a one-out error. She moved to second on a groundout and scored on Williams’ single to center.

The Tigers got their first baserunner when Heidi Hauk drew a two-out walk in the third. In the fourth, they finally threatened the Golden Flashes.

Cammie Cochran reached on an error to open the frame and Kate Wainwright followed with Newton Falls’ only base knock of the game. Ballas hit a hard ground ball to the right side to move the runners. Natalie Georgalas followed with a ground ball to Champion third baseman Abby White. White threw to Williams at the plate, who laid the tag on Cochran for the second out of the inning, leaving Wainwright at third and Georgalas at first, where they remained following a ground out from Alex Staton.

Rhonda Rothacker led off the fifth with a walk, but was erased on a double play before Hauk reached on her second walk of the game. A strikeout ended the contest.

In both cases, it was a matter of so close but so far away. It’s a pattern that is wearing on Pelyak.

“We’ve been that close for two years,” he said. “It’s time we stopping getting close and break through. We had runners on first and second and get a hard-hit ball to the right side by Jenna. We still had runners on second and third with one out. In hindsight, I should have bunted (with the next batter) to try and squeeze that run across the plate.

“(Weaver) is a good coach and that’s a good team, but 4-0 was not indicative of the game that was just played.”

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