Watkins softball fires first volley against Granville in LCL showdown

PATASKALA ― The Watkins Memorial and Granville softball teams field super-charged lineups, with balls flying out of local diamonds at an often dizzying pace.

Not surprisingly, a power outage occurred Thursday during a classic pitching duel. Then an unlikely source provided a needed jolt in a battle for the Licking County League-Buckeye Division lead.

Ava McKee hadn't yet been able to take part in the parade around the bases, but her fifth-inning solo home run delivered the necessary juice for the host Warriors in their 2-0 victory. Watkins (12-0, 6-0) came in ranked second statewide in Division I, while the Blue Aces (15-2, 6-1) were on a 14-game winning streak and ranked second in Division II.

"It was my first one, and I had been in a slump since we got back from Florida," said McKee, a senior third baseman. "It was actually the same pitch I struck out on the first time. It was inside, and that was the only pitch I was looking for. I just wanted to get a base hit, but I guess I hit it pretty hard."

An intense game with a tournament-like feel saw both Carsyn Cassady and Ally Ernsberger throw two-hitters and match zeroes. Locked in a scoreless tie, the blast to left not only gave Watkins a 1-0 lead, but it raised the energy level in the dugout.

"We normally have like 20 in there, but tonight it was only 12 (because of a reserve game)," said the Michigan State-bound Cassady, who mowed down 17 on strikes and walked four. "So it wasn't as loud. But when she hit that, it was no doubt and it got loud. Everyone jumped up screaming. We've been facing some slower pitchers, and we really haven't gotten to see this kind of pitching. We came in knowing this would be hard."

Coach Mike Jellison tried to reassure McKee that better days are ahead, because she's normally at her best against the better pitchers, and the Warriors have been winning by lopsided margins.

"I told her, 'I know we're going to start seeing good pitching, and I know you hit good pitching,' " Jellison said. "Other than the Mount Vernon game (also a 2-0 win), we really haven't seen good pitching since we got back from Florida. You can tell Ally (Ernsberger) is healthy, after she kind of had to fight through it last year. She spun the ball well today, and had good up-spin. Granville is a really, really good team."

Ernsberger struck out seven, walked one and hit a batter. Alli Langwasser's double off the right field fence in the sixth was Watkins' only other hit, and she scored a big insurance run when the Blue Aces committed the only error of the game.

"You could tell we hadn't been seeing good pitching," Jellison said. "Our timing was off, and we were late. Six of our first eight batters struck out, but we finally adjusted, and only struck out once the rest of the way."

Granville coach Brooke Warehime was pleased with his team's performance.

"Ally pitched the way we thought she was going to pitch against the really good teams," he said. "We had been looking forward to playing this game, and I'm happy with how the girls played. Our pitching and defense did really well. Carsyn is just really good. Her off-speed got in our heads a little, and our timing was off a few times."

Cassady struck out the side in four of the seven innings, including the first three. Alyssa Guglielmi's fifth-inning single and a single in the sixth by Emily Travis were Granville's only hits. They got only one runner in scoring position.

"I used the curve, in and out, and my rise," said Cassady, who has increased her velocity. "The change-up caught them off balance. I used the other pitches to set up my change."

McKee said Cassady had a definite fire to her in the circle.

"Carsyn needed a game like this," Jellison said. "She had only been pitching three or four innings, with us way ahead."

Watkins will find out where it stands Saturday when top-ranked Lancaster and Centerville, ranked eighth in Division I, visit Pataskala for a doubleheader.

While disappointed in the loss, Warehime was not discouraged. The teams meet again in 10 days at Granville.

"I'm happy with where we are," he said. "The girls are having fun, and our goals are still out there, including the league since we play them again."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Watkins softball fires first volley against Granville in LCL showdown