Jackson Christian Soccer Devastates Hillsdale 9-3

Jackson Christian Junior Audrey McCollum moves the ball upfield against Hillsdale

On the last night of the season, the Jackson Christian Royals went out in style as they scored early and often guiding themselves to a big 9-3 victory over Hillsdale to end the season on a winning note. It was a great way to send the 6 senior players on the team out.

Senior Mary Hawthorne got the scoring started 12 minutes into the first half. Senior Sierra Chevalier put the ball into the back of the net and then Junior Audrey McCollum to give the Royals a big 3-1 lead going into halftime.

At the halftime, the Royals honored those seniors playing in their last High School soccer game ever. Also honored were two boys for their dedication in their spring sports.

After the brief, but beautiful ceremony, the girls got back to the scoring again as only 2 minutes into the second half Hawthorne scored her second on the night. 20 seconds later Hillsdale cut the Royals lead in half as Emily Wright got one by the Royals goalkeeper. Chevalier took over after that scoring 2 more goals in just 16 seconds for the hat trick and a Jackson Christian record for fastest 2 goals ever scored in a game!

Haley Hands then scored for the Royals and McCollum netted her second of the evening to build a huge 8-2 lead. Hillsdale never gave up and kept on battling as Kathy Tempa was able to score. Sam Hershberger put the icing on the cake to give the Royals a 9-3 lead with 4 minutes left with her first goal of the season.

BUCKEYES EARN AT-LARGE BID TO 2017 NCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 35-win season and Big Ten Tournament finals appearance has earned the Ohio State softball team an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes were one of 32 teams to secure an at-large selection when the 64-team field was announced live on ESPN2 Sunday night.

Ohio State (35-16) is headed to the Knoxville Regional where it is the No. 2 seed and will face No. 3 seed USC Upstate (44-11) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. live on ESPN3. The other two teams in the regional are No. 1 seeded and host Tennessee (44-10) and fourth-seeded Big South champion Longwood (28-27). The Vols and Lancers face each other on Friday at 7 p.m.

This will mark Ohio State’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row. For Kelly Kovach Schoenly, it will be her fourth as a head coach – she took Miami to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2012 as well as the Buckeyes in 2016.

“We’re thrilled to be headed back to the NCAA Tournament,” said head coach Kovach Schoenly. “We tested this team against a very difficult schedule and they’ve always found a way to rise to the occasion. It’s gratifying to be able to continue our season, especially for the seniors and leaders who have pushed us the entire year.”

The Buckeyes earned their at-large bid of the strength of a regular season that saw them win 13 games against RPI Top 100 teams and finish 15-8 overall in Big Ten play, good for a third-place finish. At this past weekend’s Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State knocked off Wisconsin and Michigan State in making its first championship game appearance since 2007. Other highlights of the 2017 campaign include:
• The Buckeyes played 18 games against teams that earned a spot in the 2017 tournament.
• Ohio State was ranked or receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Collegiate Softball Top 25 poll for every week during the regular season.
• The Buckeyes were 18-7 against a non-conference schedule that featured 11 games against teams from Power 5 conferences.
• Ohio State’s non-conference RPI was ranked No. 24 nationally, third highest in the Big Ten, and included 11 games against programs that were in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
• The Buckeyes compiled 12 true road win and a total of 25 victories at either road or neutral sites.
• Ohio State played its first 25 games away from home, going 18-7 in that stretch.
• The Buckeyes’ 35 wins to this point in the season are the most since 2010.

Statistically, the Scarlet and Gray are led by sophomore Lilli Piper, who is batting .424 this year with 17 home runs, 51 RBI, 46 runs scored and a .785 slugging percentage. The first team All-Big Ten selection was a member of the Big Ten’s All-Tournament Team after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of Saturday’s semifinal versus Michigan State. Classmate Emily Clark was also an all-tournament selection and is hitting .338 this year with nine home runs, 44 RBI, and 29 runs scored.

In the circle, the Buckeyes boasted the Big Ten’s best overall ERA in 2017 at 2.46. Senior Shelby Hursh leads the way at 15-5 with a 2.33 ERA over 129.0 innings and 115 strikeouts. All four pitchers who have seen at least 60 innings of action have an ERA of under 2.80.

KNOXVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 19
Game 1: Ohio State vs. USC Upstate | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN3/WatchESPN
Game 2: Tennessee vs. Longwood | 7 p.m. | ESPN2

Saturday, May 20
Game 3: G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner | 12 p.m.
Game 4: G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser | 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner | 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 21
Game 6: G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner | 12 p.m.
Game 7: G6 Winner vs. G6 Loser (If necessary) | 2:30 p.m.

OHIO STATE PLACES FIVE ON NFCA ALL-REGION TEAMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State placed a program-record tying five players on the NFCA All-Midwest Region teams that were announced on Thursday morning. Shortstop Lilli Piper and pitcher Shelby Hursh garnered first team selections while second baseman Emily Clark, catcher Becca Gavin and outfielder Alex Bayne earned spots on the second team.

The five all-region choices are tied for the most in a single season, marking the mark set in both 1994 and 2002. The all-region teams were chosen by NFCA member coaches from each region, and all the honorees are now eligible for selection to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America first, second or third teams. Over the past two seasons, Ohio State has had nine all-region choices, including four first-teamers.

Piper emerged this season as one of the most dangerous hitters in the Big Ten. During the regular season, she was third in the league in hitting (.420) with 49 RBI, 44 runs scored, 16 home runs and a .784 slugging percentage. She was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection. At last weekend’s Big Ten Tournament, she hit a two-run blast in the first inning of the semifinal contest versus Michigan State to push her over the 50-RBI mark for the year.

A transfer from Akron, Piper set a program record for home runs by a newcomer and is currently ranked fourth in single-season batting average, third in home runs and tied for eighth in RBI. She has a team-high 24 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games.

Against RPI Top-75 teams (21 regular season games), she hit .429 with 23 RBI, eight home runs and 17 runs scored. Among the highlights was a career-high six RBI effort against Central Florida and a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning to clinch a series win at Illinois.

Hursh led Ohio State’s five-person pitching staff in nearly every statistical category, including wins (15), ERA (2.33), innings (129.0) and strikeouts (115). A member of the Big Ten All-Tournament team, she pitched a four-hitter and allowed just two runs with a season-high 10 strikeouts in a quarterfinal win over Wisconsin. Other notable performances came when she fanned 10 in a 4-0 shutout of Mercer, gave up just two hits to Indiana in a 2-0 series-opening win and shut out LIU Brooklyn at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs. It’s Hursh’s second All-Region honor in as many years.

Clark, also a first-team All-Big Ten choice, hit .338 during the regular season and drove in 42 runs, tied for second most on the team. Against conference opponents, she upped her numbers to .371 with 21 runs scored, 18 RBI, five home runs, and two doubles. This is her second all-region honor (she was a first-team choice last season).

During the week of March 29-April 2, Clark has one of the most prolific stretches of any player this season in the country. She hit .875 with 11 RBI, a .917 on-base percentage and 1.750 slugging percentage in four wins over Wright State and Rutgers. Perhaps most impressively, she reached base in 10 straight plate appearances. A Big Ten All-Tournament team selection, Clark hit a two-run home run to give the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead in their semifinal win over Michigan State. She also had a 1.000 fielding percentage in three games at second base.

Gavin, a junior catcher from Gahanna, had her most productive season this spring, improving her batting average by over 100 points from 2016 while hitting .303 overall in the regular season with 18 RBI and 14 runs scored. She also made a big impact behind the plate, throwing out runners at a 50 percent rate for much of the regular season. In Big Ten-only games, Gavin hit .348 – including a key go-ahead double in the series finale at Michigan State – to go along with her 1.000 fielding percentage and eight caught stealings. Her throw-out rate both in conference games and overall contests was the best in the Big Ten.

On the most prolific home run hitters in school history, Bayne has 14 round-trippers this year after tying a school record with 19 last season. In a 4-3 win against Louisville in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last February, she drove in three of Ohio State’s four runs with two home runs. She also had a pair of solo blasts in an 8-2 series-clinching win over Indiana and hit a grand slam to break a scoreless tie at Stetson in March. Overall, Bayne ranks fifth in school history with 37 home runs. The Buckeyes are 8-3 this year when she hits a home run. Bayne is now a two-time all-region choice after earning first team honors in 2016.

Ohio State Extends Softball Head Coach Kovach-Schoenly’s Contract

 

Buckeyes Head Coach Kelly Kovach-Schoenly (left) hugs hitting coach Jenna Hall to celebrate the Buckeyes going to the Big 10 championship game  

 

After five seasons with the Buckeyes, Softball Head Coach Kelly Kovach-Schoenly received a contract extension through 2020. Coming into this season, she had led the Buckeyes to 128 wins, including nine over top-25 opponents. In 2016, Ohio State appeared in its first NCAA Regional game since 2010.

“Coach Kovach Schoenly has done a terrific job with the softball program over the past five years and we’re very excited to reward her with a contract extension,” said Shelton. “The program is in a good place as athletes have excelled in the classroom, on the field with back to back NCAA bids and in the community with increased fan support. This is a clear sign that it’s heading in an upward trajectory. Coach Kelly and her staff have built a solid foundation for continued future success.”

“I am grateful that [athletic director] Gene Smith and [OSU associate athletics director for sports administration] TJ Shelton have offered this contract extension to continue to coach for a program and university that I love,” Kovach Schoenly told OSU Athletics. “Ohio State is where I want to be, with this group of incredible ladies, for as long as they’ll have me. I thoroughly enjoy developing young woman through sport to be ready to leave this place and go conquer the world.”

Kovach Schoenly, in her fifth year with the Buckeyes since arriving from Miami University, has more wins (163) than any coach in program history during the first five years of their respective tenures. She has twice led the Buckeyes to NCAA Tournament appearances and last week guided the Scarlet and Gray to its first Big Ten Tournament championship game in 10 years. Overall, she’s 163-105-1 with a 63-51-1 mark in Big Ten play since taking over the program in 2013. In her 11th year as a head coach, she’s won 30 or more games for eight consecutive years. Kovach Schoenly also became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins and also reached 300 career wins last season.

Although Kovach Schonely is a Michigan graduate, she is a proud Buckeye through and through and loves to sport the scarlet and gray colors which the Buckeyes have made famous.  She has helped to boost the OSU fan support, and Ohio State set a single-game attendance record April 9 when 1,836 people watched the Buckeyes defeat her alma mater, 5-0, although there were hundreds more lined up outside looking over the fences.

Kovach Schoenly’s 2017 Buckeyes are 35-18 overall, the most wins in a single season since 2010. Her 2015 squad set school records for batting average, home runs and runs scored, while the 2016 Buckeyes were third in the Big Ten in overall earned run average and had five pitchers with an ERA of 3.00 or less.  They also finished 15-8 in the Big Ten for the highest conference finish in seven years. She’s coached 13 All-Big Ten selections, nine NFCA All-Midwest Region choices and one All-American (Cammi Prantl, the program’s first in six years).

In the classroom, 18 student-athletes finished the 2016-17 academic year with a 3.0 or better grade-point average. In 2014, the program had five Big Ten Distinguished Scholars – the most of any softball team in the conference.

“I love playing for coach because she’s always pushing us to be better, both on and off the field,” said sophomore Lilli Piper, who currently leads the team with a .424 average, 17 home runs, and 51 RBI. “She’s shown us that we can compete and win at a high level all while having a lot of fun. We’ve got great things happening for us now and she’s our leader.”

Currently, the Buckeyes are set to play South Carolina Upstate in the Knoxville regional of the NCAA tournament Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Coach Kelly (right) and Coach Jenna smile after a big victory

Coach Kelly talks things over with her infield

Coach talks between innings with her pitcher, Shelby McCombs & catcher

Coach Kelly being interviewed by the Big 10 network

Oho State Powers Its Way Over Wisconsin in Big 10 Softball Tournament

 

Emily Clark Tags Out a Badger At Second

 

After watching their arch rivals Michigan get upset by the Michigan State Spartans, the Ohio State Buckeyes took the field to square off against a very tough Wisconsin Badgers team. The third-seeded Buckeyes had Shelby Hursh on the mound and she pitched a great game striking out a season-high 10 players and having some great defensive help behind her to secure a hard fought 3-2 victory at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor.

All three Ohio State runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the third. It started when Ashley Goodwin laced a one-out single to left field and the next batter, Becca Gavin, followed with a double to left field, moving Goodwin to third. After a strikeout, a critical error at first base on a ground ball by Bri Betschel allowed both Goodwin and Gavin to score, giving the Buckeyes an early 2-0 lead. Senior Anna Kirk then drove in what would prove to be the winning run as she singled to center, allowing Betschel to cross the plate.

The score would remain 3-0 until the top of the sixth when Wisconsin would finally break through against Hursh. After a line out, two infield singles and ground out, Stephanie Lombardo singled off the center field wall, but White threw her out as she attempted to stretch the single into a double. The hit, however, scored two runs to make the score 3-2.

Hursh’s 10 strikeouts are just three off her career high set on April 6 of last season in a no-hitter against Penn State. She’s just seven strikeouts shy of 500 for her career. A second team All-Big Ten selection earlier this week, she’s now 15-5 on the season with a 2.28 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 125.2 innings.

Goodwin, Gavin, and First Team all Big Ten sophomore Lilli Piper each had 3 hits on the night for the Buckeyes. This game catapulted the Buckeyes into a semifinal showdown with the Spartans.

Lilli Piper celebrates a big strikeout by her pitcher Shelby Hursh

Emily Clark rips a big hit for the Buckeyes

Alex Bayne lays down a perfect bunt

Lilli Piper waits for the runner to apply the tag

Lilli Piper makes a great play covering second

Buckeyes Pitcher Shelby Hursh struck out 10 batters on the night

 

Michigan State Stuns In State Rival Michigan In Big 10 Softball Tournament

 

The Spartans celebrate their huge upset victory

 

There were a lot of disappointed fans Wilpon Field Friday as the Michigan State Spartans took down heavily favored 17th rank and second-seeded Michigan5-4. The Spartans battled back and scored 3 runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead using a leadoff hit-by-pitch and four singles to retake the lead and earn their second straight comeback win in the tournament.

Kaitlyn Eveland knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI single. Lea Forrester’s RBI double and Kelcey Carrasco’s game-tying bloop single also helped the Spartans rally from a 4-2 deficit entering the inning.

Ramirez drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh and advanced to second on a groundout to put the tying run in scoring position, but a popup to third base ended the game and eliminated Michigan from the tournament.

The Wolverines plated two runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to rally from an initial two-run deficit. Junior rightfielder Aidan Falk got Michigan on the board with a sacrifice fly to leftfield, but senior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano evened the score with a bouncing single up the middle.

Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield, who along with Ramirez led U-M with two hits, sliced a two-run single down the leftfield line, dropping it just fair on the line, to drive in the go-ahead runs. Senior centerfielder Kelly Christner kickstarted the surge with a two-strike double — also down the leftfield line. Michigan carried the 4-2 lead into the seventh.

Lea Foerster went 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs for the Spartans. Bridgette Rainey picked up the win, allowing two runs on three hits in three innings. She relieved starter Kristina Zalewski in the fifth for MSU, which hasn’t won this many games since going 33-26 in 2006-07. Senior Michigan RHP Megan Betsa (23-8) took the loss — Michigan’s first at home this season — after giving up eight hits and four walks. She struck out six.

“Any time you can beat a team that’s consistently perennial is great,” said MSU coach Jacquie Joseph. “(To beat) a top-ten team in the country, and to win at their place with the crowd, I thought our kids just showed tremendous poise. It’s a very difficult place to play if you watch the game, our kids were really unfazed. And that’s not an easy thing to do. it’s a big program win, no question.”

Michigan (41-11-1) had won 36 straight home games and 19 straight over MSU, dating back to 2009. The comeback comes a day after Michigan State erased a three-run deficit in the sixth inning to eliminate Indiana, 8-7, on Thursday.

Chelsea Lacrosse Shines On Senior Night

 

Chelsea’s Nic Brough gets air trying to defend a pass 

 

On a beautiful, sunny evening at Jack Niehaus Football Stadium, the Chelsea Bulldog Lacrosse team donned their golden warrior helmets and prepared to face off against the Grosse Ile Red Devils. Scoring came early and often for the Bulldogs as they battled to a huge 17-1 victory.

Barely a minute in it was Senior Mikal Nelson who got the scoring started for the Bulldogs. A minute and a half later Sophomore Cam Breining took advantage of a miscue by the Devils goalie and easily blasted the ball into the net. The devil’s goalie had tried to play the body on Breining and when he did, he fell awkwardly to the ground injuring himself and had to leave the game. He had torn an acl earlier in the season and sat the rest of the game out with an ice bag on his leg.

Breining would go on to score the next 3 goals for Chelsea and would finish with 4 on the night with 1 assist. Nelson scored two more giving him the hat trick on the night while Senior Nate Bero picked up a hat trick also, giving props to his dad Jeff who was up in the press box on his third goal.

The Bulldogs cruised to a 10-0 halftime lead and at the half, they honored the 7 senior players who have helped make the team a success over the years. Nate Bero, Ryan Berry, Nick Childress, Josh Ciaccio, Aidan Kurth, Mikal Nelson, and Nick Whitesall were all honored as the walked down the 50-yard line with their parents and received gifts from the team in recognition of all they do and have done for the team. It was a very nice yet emotional ceremony for many of the parents and the players as they realize the end of their High School career is almost over but each player will move on to other things, many attending college while Whitesall has already committed to his country as he will be joining one of the finest fighting forces America has to offer, the United States Marine Corps.

After the ceremony, the players got right back down to business never losing focus as they wanted to defend their field and give netminder Josh Ciaccio another shot at a shutout. Spencer Gobba scored two quick goals off excellent cross field Doug Zarinnia passes to separate the score even more. Zarinnia would finish with 6 helpers on the night.

Sophomore Riley Sumner would chip in two late goals along with fellow sophomore Zach Cooley who picked up a goal late unassisted. Ryan Berry finished the scoring on the night for the Bulldogs off an Evan Kucera assist.

The lone bright spot for the Devils was when they broke up the shutout with about two minutes left to go on the night.

“It’s ok, it happens,” a very happy netminder Josh Ciaccio said after the game. “I’m just glad we won and I’m very happy, I’ve had two shutouts before so it’s all good.”

Chelsea will return home Friday night to take on Ann Arbor Pioneer in the last home game of the season.

 

Senior Ryan Berry

 

Goaltender Josh Ciaccio gets donfield in trying to score a goal

Mikal Nelson

Nate Bero

Nate Bero gets a point blank shot

Nick Childress

Mikal Nelson celebrates one of his 3 goals on the night

Doug Zarinnia burst through the Devils defense

Nick Whitesall

Josh Ciaccio

Evan Kucera knocks the ball from a DEvil

Cam Breing gets the open shot

Chelsea Lacrosse Shuts Out Lincoln

2017 Chelsea Bulldogs celebrate a huge 15-0 victory

Last Friday Chelsea’s Senior goaltender Josh Ciaccio took off on offense and almost scored a goal against Ann Arbor. Tonight against Lincoln, he achieved a rarity in lacrosse, he shut out the rail splitters as Chelsea destroyed Lincoln 15-0.

In the sport of lacrosse achieving a shutout is almost unheard of as it is a fast, physical sport and it only takes one second or one mistake to miss the ball. But Ciaccio was on fire in spite of the unseasonably cold, blustery night. Ciaccio was not tested much but when he was he came up big for the Bulldogs. It helped to have a very stingy defense in front of him as well as some offensive firepower.

“This is actually my second shutout,” an elated Ciaccio said after the game. “I’m so happy right now, it feels good. I was getting worried there near the end but the team played hard to keep it going.”

The Bulldogs were hot on the other end of the field as they blasted 26 shots on the Lincoln netminder. With a big 12-0 lead at the half Chelsea head coach Joe Koengeter rested his varsity starters and played much of his junior varsity players in the second half. (Because of rain earlier there was no junior varsity game so they all played together in the varsity game).

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Senior Mikal Nelson who had 4 goals on 6 shots. Nelson has been playing exceptionally well as of late, helping his team by making great plays and scoring lots of goals and playing tough defense when the occasion arises.

Sophomore Cam Breining had the hat trick with an assist to go with it while Nick Whitesall, Nate Bero, and Spencer Gobba had 2 goals apiece.  Max Gervais netted a goal and had 4 assists while Aidan Boote also scored for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs head out Wednesday to play at Green Hills then travel on Friday to take on their arch rivals Dexter.

Sophomore Jack Smith carries

Cam Breining sends a rocket towards the net

Spencer Gobba splits two defenders

Senior netminder Josh “Vinnie” Ciaccio stands tall in goal for the shutout

Mikal Nelson scores at point blank range

Busy Week For Chelsea Softball

The Chelsea Bulldogs were kept busy the past week playing a total of 7 games in less than 5 games and came away with 4 wins.

On Tuesday they traveled to Ann Arbor Huron where they took out the River Rats in a series sweep, with 12-2 and 15-5 victories. Peighton Root won on the mound in the first game helping her own cause out with a grand slam homerun in the 4th inning. Sydney Hines had 3 hits for Chelsea, while Olivia Leonard, Sydnee Liedel, and Hannah Kahler each had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.

In Game 2 it was Maddie Kemp pitching a 7 strikeout game while Hines led her team in offense with 4 hits, while Root, Alise Hale, Madison Adkins, and Kahler each chipped in with 2 big hits of their own.

Less than 24 hours later the Bulldogs hit the bus and took the road again to face a very tough Monroe team at Vince Rossi field. Hits were hard to come by as Olivia Leonard got the only one of the first game, a single in the third inning, to break up Monroe’s no-hitter as the Bulldogs fell 10-0.

Monroe took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning of game 1 but the Bulldogs rallied strongly in the top of the third with hits by Hines, Kahler, and Sara Stribe to build a 4-2 lead. Stribe scored again in the 4th inning after reaching base on an error and the Bulldogs looked to have the game in hand until the bottom of the 6th inning when the Trojans roared back for 5 big runs to take an 8-5 lead and that’s how the game would finish.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs hosted a round robin 3 team tournament for the third time this season and opened up against Plymouth Salem. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning behind back to back doubles by Root and Hale. Salem came back and tied it up in the fourth inning but the Bulldogs regained the lead in the 6th behind hits by Stribe, Hale, and Hines and a perfectly executed bunt by Kahler. But Salem would regain the lead and not relinquish it as they jumped all over the Bulldogs in the 7th inning for 7 runs and came out with an 11-6 victory.

In game 2 on the day, the Bulldogs took down Gibraltar Carlson 13-3 behind Root coming up just a home run short of hitting for the cycle and taking advantage of several walks and errors committed by the Marauders.

In the final game of the day, the Bulldogs squared off against Olivet. Olivet started out strong as their first batter put one out of the park to stake the Eagles to a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs were able to fight back and take a 4-1 lead behind some solid pitching by Root who kept the Eagles off the scoreboard again until the 5th inning but the Bulldogs were able to extend their lead and build on it finishing with a well deserved and hard fought 7-2 victory. Hines, Root, and Hale all had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.

Chelsea has 14 wins against 6 losses this season and will travel to Lincoln Monday to play a doubleheader with the Railsplitters.