Strasburg softball cruises to its fourth straight Inter Valley Conference North title

STRASBURG — Defending D4 state softball champion Strasburg celebrated a fourth consecutive outright Inter Valley Conference North title Tuesday night as the Tigers rolled to a 10-2 triumph over visiting Buckeye Trail at Franklin Park.

With the win, the Tigers, ranked second in the state in the latest D4 coaches poll, upped their impressive overall record to 20-3 and are now 11-0 in the IVC North. Strasburg hasn’t lost a game to a fellow D4 school all season.

Their losses were to Division I schools Northmont and Lancaster and to Triway, which is ranked third in the state in Division III.

“(Wednesday) we play Newcomerstown and if we win that one, that will be four years of finishing undefeated in the IVC,” Strasburg coach Tom Spidell said following an IVC championship celebration with his team.

“Strasburg has that reputation of being really good, so we actually take pride in that we weren’t mercied, we weren’t done in five innings and that’s something to be proud of to stick with them,” Buckeye Trail coach Devani Roe said.

The Tigers, who won their 13th consecutive game, combined an impressive 15-hit attack along with a stellar pitching performance by Miley Reifenschneider to record their latest league crown. The sophomore hurler struck out eight Warrior batters and walked just two in the complete-game win.

“Miley Reifenschneider did a great job for us and pitched a really good game,” Spidell said.

In particular, Reifenschneider was masterful in working out of a bases-loaded, no outs jam in the top of the fourth inning when she got a force out at home plate and struck out the final two Warriors in the inning to maintain Strasburg’s 8-1 lead at that point in the game.

Meanwhile, eight of the Tigers’ nine starters had hits in the game and five finished with multiple hits. Leading Strasburg’s offensive barrage were Rylee Becker (two singles and an RBI double), Amelia Spidell (an RBI triple), Ella Gilkerson (two RBI single and a double), Reifenschneider (an RBI single and RBI double), Ada Richards (two RBI singles), Addy Sibila (two singles and a double), Lauren Harvey (an RBI double) and Keagyn Kramer (single).

“Hitting-wise it was up and down the lineup,” Spidell said. “Everybody contributed, so that was good.”

After trailing 1-0 after the top half of the first inning, the Tigers answered by scoring three runs in the bottom half of the first frame and never looked back. They enjoyed a big four-run second inning to go up 7-1 and take control of the contest. The big blast in the frame was a two-RBI single to left by DH and power hitter Gilkerson. Standout Amelia Spidell also had an RBI triple in the inning and Reifenschneider added an RBI single.

The Tigers increased their lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI double to left field by Becker. They closed their scoring in the bottom of the fourth when Lauren Harvey ripped an RBI double and Reifenschneider plated a run off an RBI fly out.

Tom Spidell feels the Tigers are playing their best softball at the right time.

“I feel like we’re on that upward trajectory coming toward the tournament, which is what we want to do,” he said. “It just seems like now every day we’re getting better and doing the right things.”

Buckeye Trail added a solo run in the top of the seventh before Reifenschneider slammed the door on the Warriors by striking out two of the last three batters.

Leading Buckeye Trail’s offense was Kyley Barnhart with two singles, while Andilyn Lowry, Lindsey Smith, Gwen McIlwain, Morgan Watson and Anna McVicker added solo singles.

“We had a few good hits out there and had some nice baserunning by a few of our players which was nice to see,” said Roe, whose Warriors are now 5-13. “I’m not disappointed. I’m just proud of my girls that they stuck in there and I hope they continue to work hard. The tournament is right around the corner and that’s what matters the most a lot of times is how well we can hang in there in the tournament.”

Strasburg will host the Newcomerstown Trojans on Wednesday in its final IVC game of the season. It also has three non-league games left to play.

“It will be nice to slow down a little bit and get in some practices,” Spidell said. “We started last week and played Monday through Saturday with a doubleheader Saturday, so we haven’t had a practice in a little while, so it would be nice to catch our breath a little bit.”

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Strasburg softball cruises to its fourth straight Inter Valley Conference North title