Albert Grindle
The Gazette
MEDINA — Sometimes role reversals aren’t fun.
The Medina softball team had eliminated Barberton from the tournament in each of the last three seasons by a combined 22-6 score, but Friday was a different story.
The hug left-handed pitcher Kloee Cuckler gave to catcher Riley Ries was full of joy, as the experienced Magics got over the hump and upset the third-seeded Bees 7-4 in a Barberton Division I Sectional final.
Fifth-seeded Barberton (18-9) advanced to battle No. 2 Stow (24-3) in the district semifinals Thursday, while Medina finished 19-8.
“Remember for next year, ya know?” Bees coach Jessica Toocheck said. “We’ve got a young team. We have one senior (Brittany Becka), but the rest are returning, so hopefully they remember the experience and how bad they want to be at the next level.”
The Bees trailed 3-0 one out into the game but tied the score in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Morgan Rittenhouse (2-for-3) that immediately followed an RBI single from Medina County leading hitter Jessie Holzman (2-for-4).
Momentum turned on its head, however, in the top of the sixth.
LourdesUniversity recruit Cuckler began with a single against Allison Stack (13-8). With one out, ClevelandState signee Macy Kaisk walked and Kayla Rorrer, who bombed a two-run home run in the first, singled to load the bases.
Stack quickly got a 1-2 count against No. 5 hitter MaKayla Okolish, but the next two pitches on the outside half barely missed the plate, causing moans of agony from Medina fans and a figure skater-looking jump and spin from Toocheck on the latter.
Okoloish took advantage, pulling an inside fastball to left field scoring courtesy runner Bethany Hrabusa.
“It’s tough,” Toocheck said. “You’ve got to control the controllables, and it wasn’t in our hands.
“Owe it to Barberton. They played a great game and did what they needed — put the ball in play. They earned it.”
Morgan Kadilak added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3, and Medina went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Ries, another CSU pledge, then smoked a two-run double to left in the top of the seventh.
Holzman unloaded a laser-beam home run with the Bees down to their last out to cap the scoring.
The first half of the game saw Barberton in control. Stack was masterful over a 4⅔ inning-stretch with zero runs, two hits and three strikeouts, but three mistakes
resulted in the 3-0 hole.
Stack hit Ries on a 3-1 count, leading to Kaisk ripping an RBI double. Rorrer then hit a moon shot over the left-field wall on a 2-2 pitch.
The hard-throwing Cuckler (6-2) took a one-hitter into the fourth, but consecutive no-out singles by Rittenhouse and Emma Bobey and a walk by Becka gave way to Cassie Ulry hitting a sacrifice pop-up to short center field. The problem was Medina left two runners stranded on an afternoon in which its Nos. 5-9 hitters were 0-for-12.
The fifth inning got the Bees back in the game, as Holzman drove in Rachael Solomon, who had walked, and Rittenhouse’s sacrifice fly plated Caiti Rhodes, who had singled, to tie the game.
Unfortunately for Medina, the Magics had the last laugh.
“(Cuckler) was doing a good job keeping us off-balance, and (we) were able to put a few (runs) together in the fifth,” Toocheck said. “But it was not enough. Hats off to (Barberton).”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
Barberton 7, Medina 4
Barberton (18-9) Medina (19-8)
AB R H BI AB R H BI
Cuckler p 4 0 3 0 Rhodes lf 3 1 1 0
R.Ries c 3 1 1 2 J.Holzman cr 4 1 2 2
Kaisk 1b 3 2 1 1 Rittenhouse c 3 1 2 1
Rorrer 3b 4 1 2 2 Boby 3b 3 0 2 0
Okolish 2b 3 0 1 1 Stack p 2 0 0 0
Kadilak dp 2 0 0 1 Becka 1b 2 0 0 0
Krska rf 3 0 0 0 Ulry dp 2 0 0 1
M.Ries ss 2 1 0 0 A.Holzman rf 2 0 0 0
Young lf 3 0 1 0 Solomon ss 2 1 0 0
Lappin cf 0 0 0 0 Soldano 2b 0 0 0 0
Hrabusa cr 0 2 0 0 Kaskey ph 1 0 0 0
Boccia ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 27 7 9 7 Totals 25 4 7 4
BARBERTON 300 002 2 — 7 9 0
MEDINA 000 120 1 — 4 7 0
DP — Medina (6-3). LOB — Barberton 3, Medina 5. SF — Kadilak, Ulry, Rittenhouse. 2B — Kaisk, R. Ries, Rittenhouse. HR — Rorrer, J. Holzman. CS — Young.
IP H R ER BB SO
Barberton
Cuckler (W, 6-2) 7 7 4 4 1 7
Medina
Stack (L, 13-8) 7 9 7 7 2 3
HBP — by Cuckler (Solomon), by Stack (R. Ries). WP — Stack.
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