High school softball: Keystone does a little of everything in 11-0 win over Wellington

WELLINGTON — Keystone has many ways to beat an opponent and it used all of them Wednesday during an 11-0 victory over Wellington in a Lorain County League matchup. The Wildcats (6-0, 2-0 LCL) banged out 20 hits, junior pitcher Lily Cassell threw a 15-strikeout shutout and there was even a defensive gem when freshman left fielder Jayln Owca made a diving catch to end the fourth inning. "That's a great quality opponent," Keystone coach Jim Piazza said. "We looked at our beginning schedule and we really haven't had an easy game going into this and our kids have been mentally ready to go, knowing each day that we've been talking about preparing for a state tournament. So this is our state championship game every day. They've bought into that and they've been so fun to coach. It's a great group." Leadoff hitter Jessica Chapman provided a spark for the offense, going 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, a stolen base, two RBIs and two runs scored. "I don't really think about much while I'm up there (at the plate) … just see ball, hit ball," she said. "My job is to get on base and I was able to do that today. We have a great cheering session (in the dugout) and it just pumps you up. (The hitting) doesn't stop." Chapman, a senior transfer from Elyria High, has been playing at a high level early this season. "She's our starter and I think her on-base percentage is around 90 percent right now, which is unbelievable," Piazza said. Joining Chapman in the hit parade were Madi Herrington (4-for-4 with a double), Dana Pace (3-for-4 with two doubles), Jess Gerhardinger (2-for-4 with a team-high three RBIs) and pinch hitter Delaney Peters (2-for-2 with a double). Kennedy Kerr went 1-for-5 but her one hit was a two-run home run over the center-field fence that gave Keystone a 3-0 lead in the third inning. "Pitch selection is the key to our good quality hitting," Piazza said. "We're in there to get aggressive until they get two strikes. They know what their pitch is now because we spend a lot of time in the gym and outside on hitting. These kids have broken it down and now they know exactly what they're looking for." The Keystone batters saw what they wanted early, as 14 of the first 20 Wildcats swung at the first pitch. "We caught on to that, too, that they were hitting the first pitch," Wellington coach Duane Sunagel said. "We tried to throw other stuff and it just didn't work." The offensive explosion made things easy on Cassell, who was making things tough for the Dukes (5-2, 1-1). She struck out the side in the first and seventh innings, and struck out 10 of Wellington's 13 batters at least once. "It's really easy when my team can put up 11 runs on offense," Cassell said. "For me to be able to have their back out on the mound, it's easier for me to do my job when they do theirs and we have a great thing going right now. "After the first inning, we came here knowing what we wanted to do and obviously that showed. Being able to come out here and do what we do, we like to show people what we're capable of and today we really showed them." Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter.