AKRON – They’re STILL not done!

Shadyside High School’s softball team’s penchant for escaping perilous situations might have even had David Copperfield nodding his head in appreciation Friday afternoon at Firestone Stadium

After building what looked like a comfortable 5-1 cushion against state-ranked New Riegel, the Lady Tigers watched as the Blue Jackets slowly chipped away.

Every time it looked like the Seneca Countians were going to explode for a big inning, Shadyside found some defensive magic to squash their hopes.

A Megan Heagney strikeout, a Karly Klug stab at short and throw to first, an unconventional 2-6-8 double play. No matter what the LTs needed, it seemed like they were able to reach into their bag of tricks and grab it.

But hey, that’s what good teams do, right?

”I mean, some teams just play great under pressure,” Lady Tigers head coach Jillian Ongley said. ”They just come out on top. They’ve done everything we could’ve asked for.”

Not only did Shadyside overcome five errors, which can be hard to overcome in a state semifinal, it withstood numerous situations that, for many teams, might have been their undoing.

But not for this Shadyside squad.

”I think the main thing was us sticking together,” said freshman Kaitlin Weaver, who slapped a Division IV state tournament record four hits. ”Whenever we got down we just didn’t get down too much. We had each other to get us back up. That was the main thing.”

Shadyside has succeeded as a team all year, and Friday was no different.

”Everyone on the field and in the dugout, everyone has contributed to everything,” Weaver said. ”When we do plays on the field, we stick together and we have each other’s back no matter what.”

After Megan Heagney’s blast to center gave the LTs a quick 3-0 lead, New Riegel got a run back in the second and was looking for more. A Heagney K, one of 11 on the day, ended the threat.

Then, after Shadyside went up 5-1 in the top of the third, New Riegel came back with two in the bottom of the inning and had runners at second and third with no outs. A 6-2 putout, followed by back-to-back Heagney strikeouts ended the threat again.

The same situation occurred in the fifth; second and third no outs. This time, a pair of pop ups and a groundout to Klug ended the inning.

The amazing double play featuring Lindsey Dunn, Klug and Kenzie Fielding highlighted the fifth.

The Blue Jackets had the go-ahead run at third with two outs in the sixth after tying the game at 5-5, but Heagney fired another strikeout, quieting the Blue and Gold.

All told, New Riegel left 10 runners stranded.

”We just tried to knock them down as much as we could,” Weaver said.

Ongley believed her team’s experience, confidence and teamwork got it through the rough spots.

”Just keeping their heads up was a big key,” she said.

There wasn’t a parade into town last night for the team, only because it spent the night in Summit County. But you can bet if the LTs put up a W tonight against Triad they’ll be a welcome the likes Shadyside hasn’t seen before awaiting them about midnight or so.

And the party may last into the wee hours. I mean, school’s out for the summer, right? And, wouldn’t an unranked team that prevailed against three ranked ones deserve it?

”I told them ‘Parade (tonight)….State Champs!,” Ongley smiled.