Highland, Johnstown, West Jefferson, Newark Catholic win district titles
Saturday, May 20, 2023
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Highland’s Stevie Asher delivers a pitch during the Fighting Scots’ 5-3 win over Jonathan Alder in a Division II district final on May 20 at Pickerington Central. Photo: Michael Rich
In the on-deck circle, Stevie Asher saw where she wanted to hit the ball. Then, she went to the plate and did it. The senior placed a single in the right-center field gap to drive in two runs to give Highland the lead in the seventh inning.
Asher had two hits at the plate and tossed a complete game in the circle to lead Highland to a 5-3 win over Jonathan Alder to capture a Division II district title on May 20 at Pickerington Central.
“I was envisioning that exact hit in that exact to that exact place,” Asher said. “I waited for right pitch and I finally got it. It’s just unbelievable. … I’m still in shock.”
The eighth-seeded Fighting Scots, who won their second title and first since 2010, battled back from a 3-0 deficit, scoring all of their runs in the final two innings.
Highland, which defeated second-seeded Granville 6-5 in nine innings on May 16, advances to play Springfield Kenton Ridge in a regional semifinal on May 24 at Wright State.
“(Our team) just finds this fight in their bellies like no other,” Scots coach Abby Steele said. “I’m just so proud of them. We have eight new varsity girls and four seniors leading them right now. Jonathan Alder is one of the greatest programs around. So, to beat a team like that – there’s nothing more fun.”
Senior Guinevere Jackson had two hits and scored twice for Highland, which scored three runs in the sixth inning on the strength of a couple of Alder errors.
Natalie Neumeier jolted the top-seeded Pioneers (20-6) with a two-run home run in the first inning and Abby Bush added an RBI single in the fourth.
Maggie McCoy had two hits and pitcher Alyssa Miller went the distance allowing two earned and striking out five for Alder, which made its ninth consecutive appearance in a district final, including last season where it was state runner-up.
The Pioneers loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning on three walks. But Asher coaxed a grounder to third where freshman Aubree Bellamy finished off the win. Asher’s thoughts turned to those that could not be there.
“I lost my grandpa (Larry Asher) at the end of March,” Asher said, fighting back tears. “I just wish he could be here. We lost a Highland graduate (Emma West last summer). I was just thinking of those two and doing it for them.”
Johnstown 1, East Knox 0
Judging by the scoreboard, it’d be hard to believe that Macy Walters didn’t have her best stuff. But the Johnstown senior pitcher worked through it and used her defense to lead the Johnnies to a Division III district championship.
Walters spread around nine hits and a walk and struck out nine batters along the way.
She also scored the game’s only run on Dakota Staffan’s two-out bloop single in the third inning.
It came after freshman Katie Blackburn threw out a runner at the plate from right to keep the game scoreless in the top half of the inning.
“Today I was just a little off,” said Walters, an Akron commit. “I wasn’t hitting my spots. I think I was just a little tired. My defense helped me out today. Our outfield did a great job of getting to balls and I’m really proud of them for that.”
Top-seeded Johnstown won its third district title after previously winning in 2016 and ’21.
“We came out wanting to win,” Walters said. “Our girls was just putting balls in play and limiting strikeouts and that really worked for us.”
Freshman Addy Zak led the Johnnies (24-2), who play Sherwood Fairview in a regional semifinal on May 24 at Bucyrus, with two hits.
“We have four seniors that play, but we also have four freshmen,” Johnstown coach Mike Justice said. “My catcher (Zak) had a heck of a game too and she’s a freshman. But it’s a total team effort.”
Senior Maddy Costamire struck out five batters, allowing four hits and a walk to take the tough-luck loss for sixth-seeded East Knox (17-7).
“She did a fantastic job today,” Justice said. “She’s legit – she did a great job of hitting her spots. She had good spin. To hold our offense to one run on bloop single is phenomenal.”
The Bulldogs had never reached a district title game before last season when it won in Division IV.
West Jefferson’s Brooke Mannon slides home safely during the Roughriders’ 9-1 win over North Union in a Division III district final game on May 20 at Pickerington Central. Photo: Michael Rich
West Jefferson 9, North Union 1
Turns out that Brooke Mannon didn’t need to be perfect for the Roughriders to capture a Division III district championship. She had some help from batterymate Kassie Simmons, who clubbed two home runs in the win.
The senior pitcher, who came into the game with a 0.14 ERA for second-seeded West Jeff, was given a wakeup call in the first inning when Cagney Stewart clubbed a solo home run to give the fourth-seeded Wildcats (20-4) an early lead.
“My first thought was, ‘Well, I threw that one too high.’ It was a changeup and it went right down the middle,” said Mannon, an Arizona commit. “I just keep throwing (and) try to be competitive. I don’t really worry about stats. I just keep doing my thing. My catcher helps a lot with that.”
West Jeff, which won its second district title and first since 2019, advances to play Lewistown Indian Lake in a regional semifinal on May 24 at Centerville.
“(Our) bats have come alive toward the end of the season,” West Jeff coach Jim Stevens said. “This was just one small piece to the puzzle. We’ve got some more work to do.”
Mannon helped herself out with a double in the bottom half and then scored on Payton Kincade’s groundout to tie the score.
Zoey Brown gave West Jeff (19-1) the lead with a single in the third, Kincade hit a two-run double and Simmons followed with her first homer, a three-run shot to center as the Roughriders blew it open.
Simmons also hit a solo homer in the fifth to cap the scoring.
Mannon, who threw a perfect game with 16 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Elgin in a district semifinal on May 15, struck out the next five batters after Stewart’s home run. She finished with 13 in a complete game, allowing three hits and a walk.
Newark Catholic’s Avery Nagel pitches in the Green Wave’s 13-2 win over Danville in the Division IV district final at Pickerington Central May 20. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Newark Catholic 13, Danville 2 (five innings)
The Green Wave scored three runs in the first inning and rolled to a Division IV district championship, ending Danville’s run of seven consecutive district titles.
Maris Knowlton had three hits and drove in two runs and Veronica Bailey had two hits and 3 RBIs for fourth-seeded Newark Catholic, which pounded out 12 hits and scored four runs in the third and five in the fourth on its way to its first title since 2021.
Kami Diaz and Kylie Gibson each homered for the Green Wave (18-10), who play the winner of Portsmouth Notre Dame or Racine Southern, which be played on May 22. The regional semifinal is May 24 at Pickerington Central.
Emily Weckesser hit a solo home run for the Blue Devils (18-7).