PICKERINGTON – Kenzie Fielding had, admittedly, been in a hitting slump since the postseason started. So much so, that the Shadyside senior asked head coach Jillian Ongley if she could try bunting to lead off the bottom of the second inning Saturday afternoon.

It’s a good thing that Fielding thought better of it as she lined a 1-1 pitch just under the scoreboard in left-center field to jump-start the Lady Tigers to their 3-1 Division IV, Region 15 championship over sixth-ranked Danville at the Pickerington High School Central Complex.

“She asked me, ‘what if I put down a bunt?’ I told her that you read it (the defense),” Ongley noted. “Then she goes up there and bombs one over the fence. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Fielding said she didn’t change anything in her approach at the plate.

“It’s all about your mindset,” she described of the at-bat. “I took a deep breath before I stepped in and apparently it worked.”

It was her fourth roundtripper of the season, but definitely her biggest.

“Without a doubt,” she said. “It was exciting.”

No Time for Nerves

Being a leadoff hitter is an important position in softball. There are so many aspects that come into play that a team needs a speedy player that knows the game.

Enter Shadyside freshman Kaitlyn Weaver. She is the prototypical leadoff hitter. First off, she’s a left-handed hitter that can either bunt, slap or hit with power. Secondly, she runs the bases like, what else, a Tiger!

Saturday afternoon in the regional final against Danville, the Lady Tigers’ second baseman went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double. She knocked in the third run, scored the second and stole a base.

“Kaitlyn does everything for us,” Ongley said. “She’s been banged up a little, but we haven’t lost a game this season when she has played the entire game.

“She does good things and it escalates from there,” the coach added. “Everyone kind of feeds off of what she does.”

Defense. Defense. Defense.

Once again, the Lady Tigers played flawlessly in the field, something that senior ace Megan Heagney appreciates, but has also come to expect.

“They are amazing,” Heagney said in describing her teammates behind her. “When they back me up, we’re unstoppable. If I don’t strike a batter out I’m confident that they’re not going to make an error behind me.”

“We told the girls that the team with the less errors and more hits will win the game,” Ongley said. “That’s what happened.”

It’s Alright to Cry

Heagney said she is not one to cry about anything.

However, the tears were flowing freely down her face immediately after the game. But, they were tears of joy!

“After that final strikeout I just started to cry,” she recalled. “They were happy tears, though.”

Long Time Coming

Not only is this Shadyside’s first trip to the state softball tournament, it also marks the first time since 2004 that an area team has advanced this far. Monroe Central capped a perfect 32-0 season with a Division III championship 11 years ago.

The Lady Tigers are also the first Ohio Valley Athletic Conference squad to reach the state tournament since Meadowbrook in 2009.

Looking Ahead

Shadyside will head to Akron’s Firestone Stadium Friday afternoon for semifinal action against New Riegel. The Blue Jackets have a 23-7 record after defeating Kansas Lakota 6-2 Saturday for the Findlay Regional title. They hail from the Northwest part of the state and compete in the Sandusky River League.

The other semifinal has Cuyahoga Heights (28-3) meeting New Lewisburg Triad (25-3).

The state championship game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m.