High school softball: Buckeye inches closer to league title with whitewash of Lakewood

YORK TWP. — Maddie Wilhelm set the table, Faith Shaw and Cassie Minarchick cleared it and pitcher Lilly Young took care of the rest Wednesday as the Buckeye softball team moved a step closer to its third straight league title and second in a row in the Cleveland West Conference with a 10-0 five-inning victory over Lakewood. Batting leadoff, the left-hand hitting Wilhelm bunted for three singles, stole three bases and scored twice, while Shaw had two singles, a walk, three runs scored, three RBIs and two stolen bases and Minarchick had a pair of singles, a walk, scored once and drove in two runs. Young (14-2) threw her sixth straight shutout and ran her scoreless innings streak to 36 with a two-hit, one-walk, 12-strikeout performance as the Bucks (17-5, 11-1) cruised past the Rangers (7-10, 5-6). "I'm in a pretty good groove," said the junior, who was Gazette MVP as a freshman before an injury-plagued sophomore season. "I don't want to be cocky, because everything can change." Young, who entered with a 0.73 ERA, gave up only a first-inning single to Ella Bower and a bunt single to Sophie Kovach and a walk to Selena Torres with two outs in the second. Only three other Rangers put the ball in play, and none left the infield. "We're very confident when she pitches," left fielder Wilhelm said. "We're loose and ready in the outfield, but not much comes out there when she's pitching." At the plate, the speedy Wilhelm never put the ball in the outfield, either, but she didn't have to. The only out the sophomore made came when the second of her four bunts — one was successfully pushed to the shortstop with the third baseman playing way in — bounced off the infield dirt and hit her bat again in fair territory. "My approach is to just get on base: Take the walk or attack," Wilhelm said. "Coach (Dale Dawson) counts on me to set the tone for the game." The Bucks scored three runs in the top of the first off Sofia Vega (0-1), who was making her first varsity start, then blew the game open with six more in the fourth. Of those nine runs, only five were earned due to three Lakewood errors. Minarchick had the big hit in the first, a two-run single through the hole between short and third that made it 3-0, while Shaw had a two-run single in the fourth. Buckeye, which stole eight bases and moved up a number of times on indifference and wild pitches, ended the game when Shaw scored on a wild pitch by reliever Taylor Nails with two outs in the fifth. Vega threw so many off-speed pitches the Bucks rarely had to slide on straight steals of second base, but she kept hitters off balance until her defense failed her. "She was throwing slow, so we had to wait for the hump in the pitch," Minarchick said. "You just have to be patient in the box and try to put the ball in play or get a walk." Buckeye honored seniors Minarchick, Kelsey "Cookie" Morano and Sarah Michaels prior to the game. Before that, the trio went into a shed near the field and recorded the national anthem, which was later played over loudspeakers. A few notes were off key, but the Bucks had fun with it. "We listened to it in the shed and tried it a couple times, but it was hard to get everything down," Minarchick said. "When they played it over the loudspeakers it was completely quiet and everyone was listening, but I was fine with it. It was fun for senior night. "Sarah's good at singing, but she was the quietest of the bunch. She put it on us." On a serious note, the Bucks need only to beat Normandy and Valley Forge, which they downed by a combined 36-0 in mercy-rule games the first time through the schedule, to clinch at least a share of the CWC title. Rocky River, which handed Buckeye its lone league loss, had just one CWC defeat entering Wednesday but still had five league games remaining. It would be Buckeye's fifth league championship in the last six seasons. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 10, Lakewood 0 (5 inn.) LAKEWOOD 000 00 — 0 2 3 BUCKEYE 300 61 — 10 10 0 Two outs when mercy-rule run scored. WP — Lilly Young (14-2) 2 hits, walk, 12 strikeouts. LP — Sofia Vega (0-1) 4 innings, 9 runs, 5 earned, 9 hits, 4 walks, HBP, strikeout. Lakewood (7-10, 5-6). Buckeye (17-5, 11-1) — Maddie Wilhelm 3 singles, 2 runs, 3 stolen bases; Faith Shaw 2 singles, walk, 3 runs, 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases; Cassie Minarchick 2 singles, walk, run, 2 RBIs; Kelsey Willis double.