SOLON — The Lady Spartans’ season ended in a nine-inning affair with two rain delays Thursday, July 7 as Marion defeated them 7-6 in a Class 4A Region 7 Quarterfinal game at home.
The Wolves struck first with three runs in the second inning including a solo homerun by Michaela Goad.
Carly Ellison and Izzy Frees drove in one run each in the bottom of the inning, while Addie Miller and Tiffany Primmer hammered out back-to-back solo dingers for a 4-3 lead in the fifth. The Wolves tied the game 4-4 in the sixth leading to a stalemate.
Marion’s Jazlyn Grosskreutz knocked a two run homer in the top of the ninth, and another Marion run scored for a 7-4 advantage. The Lady Spartans attempted a bottom of the ninth rally as Miller and Frees both singled then scored as Mia Stahle and Meghan O’Neill grounded out. Solon had the tying run on third as Ava Stebral stepped to the plate with two outs. Unfortunately, Stebral’s grounder to third was scooped up for the final out.
With both teams evenly matched, first year head coach Brad Holub, while disappointed in the outcome, wasn’t surprised by the length and flow of the game. “I kind-of figured it would be this type of a tight game,” he said. “Corey (Keeney, assistant coach) and I were talking about what it would take to win, and I had a number in my mind. He said six, and that’s what I said. That’s what I thought it would take to win, and we scored six but we gave up one more. They made one more play than we did. We played error-free all night. The pitching was right there. (But) That’s a heck of a hitting team. They have close to 40 homeruns on that team, and we contained them for the most part.”
Holub expressed his pride in the ladies noting how they battled back throughout the game. “We battled and it shows the character of these young ladies. We were down three runs in the ninth, and we come back, and we battle, and we leave the tying run at third and we get a hard shot. We hit the ball hard, they just made a play.” Holub also said he appreciated the welcome the Solon community has extended to him and commended his players for their willingness to learn and improve.
Stahle led at the plate with three hits and one RBI, Keith, Miller, and Frees had two hits each, and Ellison and Primmer knocked one hit each. Kendall Jensen went the distance in the circle giving up 13 hits and seven earned runs. She walked four and struck out two.
Solon finishes the season at 20-16 overall and 12-10 in the WaMaC East.
It was the final performance for seniors Stebral, O’Neill, Primmer, Addison Schlote, Keith, and Ellison.
Marion, at 21-17, advanced to a Saturday, July 9 semifinal against Clear Creek Amana in Oxford.
Heartbreak
July 13, 2022
About the Contributor
Chris Umscheid, Editor
Chris Umscheid is the editor of the Solon Economist.