Jeff Harrison
For The Village Reporter
ELM GROVE, W.Va. -- For the second year in a row, Meadowbrook High suffered an agonizing defeat in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class 3-A championship game, with Harrison Central getting its only two hits of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim a 1-0 victory at the I-470 Complex.
The game was a much-anticipated pitching rematch of standout pitchers Kinsi Tellep of Meadowbrook and Sara Pelegreen of Harrison Central. The two had hooked up in a 14-inning dandy several weeks ago, with the Lady Huskies claiming a 1-0 victory in the game although Tellep had a 14-inning national record 37 strikeouts to 17 for Pelegreen.
The two mound aces certainly didn't disappoint, matching zeroes across the board until the fateful seventh.
Tellep, in fact, was pitching a no-hitter until a leadoff single by shortstop Brooke Schultz of the Lady Huskies to start the seventh frame.
After a passed ball and a failed bunt attempt, HC second baseman Kasey Bethel put down a sacrifice bunt to move Schultz to third and catcher Kristina Brandon drilled a bullet back through the middle which caromed off of Tellep's shoulder to drive in Schultz with the game-winning tally.
A couple of baserunning mistakes would eventually catch up to the Lady Colts in this one.
In the fourth inning, junior catcher Kylee Williams led off with an opposite-field single before junior second baseman Alyssa Wright lofted a bomb off the leftfield wall, but Williams was holding to see if the ball would be caught and could only get to second, limiting Wright to a 200-foot single.
Pelegreen then came up with a strikeout and a comebacker to end the threat.
In the sixth, Williams was hit by a pitch with one out and was replaced by courtesy runner Chrissy Dodd. An errant pickoff try at first resulted in Dodd advancing to second and she moved over to third on an ensuing wild pitch.
After the second out and a walk to senior third baseman Chelsey Roberts, Harrison Central catcher Brandon caught Dodd wandering too far off of third and alertly threw down for the crucial third out, setting the stage for Harrison Central (16-1) to claim its first-ever OVAC softball championship an inning later.
"We hit the ball real well," offered Meadowbrook coach Bridget George, "but again, missed opportunities came back to get us. You can't have a runner picked off of third base with the number five hitter at the plate.
Pelegreen (16-1) allowed just three singles while striking out six and walking one. Tellep finished with a two-hitter, seven Ks and one free pass.
"Kinsi was terrific again," said George. "Defensively, we did a nice job fielding the ball, but we just didn't give her (Tellep) any help. "
Harrison Central coach Don Bethel also praised the Meadowbrook hurler.
"She's a beast out there," he said. "We were fortunate to slay the dragon tonight.
"We wanted to get the ball on the ground and make her move around a little bit," the Lady Huskies' coach said, "to try to get her out of a rhythm of throwing strike after strike.
"They hit the ball harder than we did," Bethel added, "but we got the timely one at the end and we'll take it."
Meadowbrook's other hit was a leadoff single by junior shortstop Candace Neff.
The Lady Colts will now turn their attention to East Central Ohio League play and the upcoming Division II Sectional Tournament.
"One of our goals is gone, but now we've got to look ahead to the sectionals," said George.
Meadowbrook 3, New Philadelphia 2
BYESVILLE--The Lady Colts of Meadowbrook High scored runs in three straight innings to upend East Central Ohio League foe New Philadelphia.
Maurie Delong pitched six strong innings with two Ks and no walks for the win, while Kinsi Tellep pitched the seventh for her first save of the season.
The Lady Colts received RBI doubles from Kylee Williams and Alyssa Wright, while Ali Furry added an RBI single.
Maddy Shelly took the loss for New Philly, striking out eight and walking one.
Megan Calderon had a home run for the Lady Quakers, and Bri Sinden and Ashley Norman both tagged a pair of singles.
River View 3, Meadowbrook 0
WARSAW -- River View High picked up a key East Central Ohio League victory, blanking Meadowbrook by a 3-0 count.
Caitlin Goins earned the pitching win for River View (13-5, 6-3 ECOL) on a five-hit shutout. She had three strikeouts and two walks.
Meadowbrook's Kinsi Tellep (14-6) took the loss despite 13 strikeouts and no walks.
Shana Snow led the Lady Bears with a triple, double and an RBI while Lauren Schonauer had a double, single and an RBI.
Five girls had single for Meadowbrook (15-7, 6-4 ECOL).