YOUNGSTOWN — The next game for the Walsh Jesuit softball team needs no introduction, but we’re going to hype the heck out of it anyways.
It’s the game softball fans have dreamt about since the brackets came out and it’ll happen Friday when the Warriors face Austintown Fitch in a Division I regional final.
Walsh advanced to the regional final with a 10-0 five-inning win over Painesville Riverside in Wednesday's second game, after Fitch outlasted Amherst Steele 2-1 in nine innings in the opener.
“I can’t tell you the number of people who have reached out to me from outside our area in Columbus, even Cincinnati, who say, ‘Hey, if you guys are playing Fitch on Friday, we’re coming,'” Walsh coach Tony Scibelli said. “It’s going to be great softball. You’re talking about two teams with tons of talent who have been there before.
“There’s a lot of intrigue. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. I think it’s going to be standing room only. It’s going to be great.”
Why the Division I regional final between Fitch and Walsh will be great
How much time do you have? Seriously. That’s how fascinating this matchup is.
It’s a Division I regional final rematch from 2023 that the Falcons won 11-1.
Fitch is the reigning state champion.
Walsh finished the season ranked first in the state coaches poll.
The Warriors are ranked ninth in the nation in the USA Today Super 25.
The Falcons are ranked 10th.
Walsh (22-0) is undefeated.
Fitch (20-1) has a loss to Canfield, which just beat Aurora and is in a Division II regional final.
“It would really be huge if we could win that one,” Walsh second baseman Brianna Wise said. “It’s been eight years since Walsh has seen state for softball. I think we have the momentum for the next two.”
OK.
Walsh pitcher Natalie Susa (13-0), who was injured for last season’s loss to Fitch, will pitch for the Warriors and is headed to Minnesota next season.
Sydnie Watts (20-1), who did pitch against Walsh, will go for the Falcons and is headed to Georgia Tech in 2025.
Susa is coming off a two-hitter in which she struck out 12 in five innings.
Watts is coming off a two-hitter in which she struck out 17 in nine innings.
“When I was listening to (former UCLA coach) Sue Enquist speak one time, she said that the game doesn’t know that it’s a big game,” Susa said. “It just thinks it’s a regular, old-fashioned softball game. That’s always stuck with me because whether it’s a big game or a game where we’re leading comfortably, staying calm, staying collected and remembering that it’s just a game like we’ve been playing well is the key.
“It would be everything to get to Firestone Stadium (for the state tournament). It’s been our goal as a team. This is definitely a big game. We’ve been looking forward to it, and I’m really excited.”
How Fitch-Walsh Jesuit became a regional final
Fitch looked like it was moving on in the eighth when it scratched across a run, but Amherst Steele's Kayla Rhodes hit a monster home run high off the left-field pole to keep things going. Kalaina Ray singled in Samantha Severn in the top of the ninth to push the Falcons to victory.
Walsh blitzed Riverside (20-10) for four runs in the first and coasted to the victory with Sienna Tepley (2-for-2, double, triple), McKayla Mcgee (1-for-2, RBI), Caleigh Shaulis (1-for-3, RBI), Renee Brown (2-for-3, double, RBI), Ella Girard (2-for-2, RBI), Brianna Wise (1-for-3, two RBIs) and Brooklyn Marchette (1-for-1, two RBIs) providing the offense.
“It’s so exciting,” Tepley said. “Since our sophomore year we’ve wanted to beat them and we’ve come up short. We’ve been looking forward to this and have had this in the back of our mind. This secretly is what we’ve been working for, and we’re all excited.”
Fellow senior Susa is part of that excitement and proved it in her win over the Beavers. It was the second time this season Susa has beaten Riverside, and she struck out a combined 27 batters in 12 innings in those wins.
“I told the girls going into the first inning, ‘Let’s put something on,’” Susa said. “I knew that with our lineup, it’s tough to face that numerous times. I think being able to score early in a vital game helps me stay calm because I know I have the offense.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
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