'All season they have shown a lot of fight': Revere bows out in softball district final

NORTH RIDGEVILLE  — The Revere softball team 's May Madness run as an underdog came to an end Wednesday in a Division I district final.

Revere erased deficits to beat Berea-Midpark and Magnificat to advance in the tournament , but host North Ridgeville wasn't interested in giving up the lead and rolled to an 11-4 win.

The result ended No. 22-seed Revere's unlikely string of wins, which included a 13-11 win over No. 5 seed Berea-Midpark in a sectional final on May 8 and a 7-6 win over No. 13 seed Magnificat in a district semifinal on Monday .

Revere scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 9-4 deficit against Berea-Midpark and four runs in the top of the sixth inning to erase a 5-3 deficit against Magnificat.

No. 4 seed North Ridgeville (16-6) built an 8-1 lead, but Revere (9-14) rallied in the fifth and sixth to trail 8-4 before the Rangers put the game away.

"All season they have shown a lot of fight, whether we were playing in our league, which we know is difficult, or just any game up until the tournament," Revere coach Alexandra Krakowiak said of her players.

"They have had heart and fight to continue to put the bat on the ball and make good plays defensively. Our offense, I think, is what carried us this far. They didn't give up. They strung together hits when we needed it. We scored an average of 8½ runs a game.

"In the last two weeks, I don't think anyone counted us to be here. We were the No. 22 seed, and they have proved a lot of people wrong."

Revere is set to lose three seniors — first baseman Beckie Gayner, center fielder Izzy Novosielski and right fielder Bella Soful — to graduation.

"Our seniors have been very impactful to this program," Krakowiak said. "Beckie and Izzy have been four-year varsity letter winners. Bella has been a three-year letter winner. It is going to hurt us losing two of our starting outfielders and then our starting first baseman, not only their ability to play on the field but who they are as kids."

Krakowiak lauded all three seniors as passionate and positive leaders.

"This really goes to show the athletes and people that we are, especially coming out as underdogs," said Soful, who singled and scored a run. "If you look at our record and past games, we have always fought from the beginning to the end. It didn't always go our way, and obviously today didn't go our way, but it speaks volumes to our work ethic and how much we put in."

Novosielski said "having fun and playing as a team" in an 18-1 win over Cleveland Heights in a sectional semifinal set the stage for a run.

"I love this team with all my heart," said Novosielski, who singled and scored a run. "We definitely showed grit this year. We had a rough season at the start, but we always came back. We never gave up. We believed in ourselves."

Gayner said Revere "learned how to lose and learned how to fight back."

"There were so many highs and lows throughout our season," Gayner said. "Two weeks ago, we were on a losing streak. Our coach said, 'No games matter until the playoffs. You could lose every game until the playoffs and it is not going to affect what happens now.' Obviously, you see that applied here, and I think it comes from knowing the talent that we had."

One example was when Revere trailed Highland 18-2, rallied and then lost 20-18.

"That was the wildest score in a softball game ever," Krakowiak said.

How North Ridgeville ended Revere's OHSAA tournament run

North Ridgeville's Kasey Timko, Molly Walton, Naomi Bottomlee, Kasey Melvin, Gabby Thibodeaux, Maddy Chinchar and Kailee Pasenow gave Revere fits.

Timko had two singles, a triple and two runs. Bottomlee totaled a single, triple, walk, three RBIs, two runs and pitched a complete game.

Melvin finished with three singles, three RBIs and two runs. Thibodeaux added a single, double, two RBIs and a run. Pasenow hit a solo home run.

Revere's leaders were Ball State recruit Paige Kelley (triple, run), Gayle Mishic (two singles, double, RBI, run), Ashley Gardner (RBI single) and Sydney Kreighbaum (two-run single).

A look back at Revere's dramatic softball wins

Revere received contributions from its entire lineup in the comeback wins over 16-7 Berea-Midpark and 15-9 Magnificat.

Alexa Kelley totaled five hits, three RBIs and three runs in the two games, and Kreighbaum had five hits, two RBIs and two runs.

Other notable production came from Mishic (four hits, two RBIs, two runs), Soful (four hits, three RBIs), Paige Kelley (four hits, three runs, RBI) and Novosielski (four RBIs, two runs).

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'All season they have shown a lot of fight': Revere bows out in softball district final