High school softball: Black River overpowered by Keystone

LAGRANGE — The Black River softball team found out the hard way that the little things matter when facing defending Division II state champion Keystone. A few errant pitches and some balls in the air that could have been caught Tuesday cost the Pirates as the Wildcats took advantage and posted a 7-0 win in a blustery Lorain County League game. Losers of four straight, Black River fell to 7-5, 3-2. The Wildcats, who are ranked third in the state coaches poll, improved to 11-3, 6-0. "There are things that just aren't getting done right now that should be," Black River coach Jennifer Bradford said. "We had some plays that definitely should have been made. We just haven't been playing consistent and haven't made adjustments." After going down in order in the first, the Pirates got to Keystone senior starter Lily Cassell (10-3) for a pair of hits in the second. Carly Eckert smoked a ball up the middle off Cassell's glove and Emma Stief followed. The potential rally ended right there, as Cassell got an infield pop-up and a strikeout. The Pirates came right back in the third with the game still scoreless, as Jordan Bradford singled through the left side with two outs and Lilly Stief crushed a ball into the teeth of a steady wind to deep center for a double. What looked to be a rally for Black River ended in devastating fashion, as Keystone made two perfect throws to cut down Jordan Bradford at the plate. "That was a good inning for them. They really had things going," Wildcats coach Doug Cooper said. "That play was huge. Everything was on mark just like we work on all the time, and it showed right there on that play." The Wildcats put a run up in the fourth on a Madison Scott hit, but the game went off the rails for the Pirates in the fourth, when a pair of end-of-the-order hitters came through. Freshman Vivian Cassell turned an 0-2 count into a single on a pitch that wasn't high enough in the strike zone. Ashley Wolfe was also down 0-2 after a pair of failed sacrifice attempts before hitting a single. Dana Pace walked to load the bases, and Kennedy Kerr floated a ball just behind second base that eluded three defenders and scored one. The big blow came when Hannah Gurich, who was 0-for-2, ripped a ball down the left-field line to drive in three. After a run-scoring groundout, the Pirates suddenly found themselves on the short end of a 6-0 score. "We're just not as strong defensively this year as we were last year, and it's cost us at times," Jennifer Bradford said. "It doesn't count as an error in the book, but there were some plays there that had to be made." Contact James Brady at sports@medina-gazette.com. Keystone 7, Black River 0 BLACK RIVER&emsp;&emsp;000 000 0 — 0 5 0 KEYSTONE&emsp;&emsp;001 510 x — 7 11 0 WP — Lily Cassell (10-3) 7 innings, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. LP — Jordan Bradford (4-2) 4 innings, 7 runs, 7 earned, 10 hits, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts. Black River (7-5, 5-2) — Lilly Stief double. Keystone (11-3, 5-0) — Kennedy Kerr 2 singles, RBI, run; Hannah Gurich single, 3 RBIs, run; Madison Scott 2 singles; Vivian Cassell single, 2 runs; Jalyn Owca double; Ashley Wolfe single, double, RBI, run.