College notes: Keystone grad Sydney Campbell etching her name in the Oakland University softball record book

Every win Sydney Campbell records from here on out pushes her program record further out of reach. The redshirt junior at Oakland University in Michigan broke the school record for wins March 21 with her 49th. She's since pushed the school record to 56. "Honestly, it hasn't really sunk in and I don't think it will until I'm completely finished playing softball," said Campbell, a former Keystone ace. "It's pretty awesome, and now every time we win games and I'm on the mound it's another win, another game that I beat the record by. It's pretty cool, but I don't think it's set in yet at all. I tried not to let it get to me because I didn't want to put pressure on myself. I knew the win would eventually come, I just had to do my thing." Campbell once again ranks among the best pitchers in the Horizon League. Through Monday, her 1.89 ERA and 11 wins are tops in the conference. She also ranks seventh with 70 strikeouts and her 12 walks are the fewest allowed in the league. She said fine-tuning the spin on some of her secondary pitches was a focus in the offseason, and now she's able to incorporate her riseball, curveball and screwball to an arsenal than featured a strong dropball and change-up. "I worked on a lot all offseason to adjust the kind of pitcher I am," Campbell said. "Just developing better spin on some of the pitches I didn't throw as much last year so I can use them more often and keep hitters off balance. Trying to mix things up to where the batters don't know what to expect." Last season, Campbell helped lead Oakland to the Horizon League Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Grizzlies entered Saturday riding a four-game winning streak, but then dropped three straight non-conference games, a narrow loss to Miami (Ohio) and a doubleheader to Louisville. Oakland was set to play Oklahoma — ranked No. 1 in the country — on Saturday, too, but the game was canceled. Despite the setback, Oakland remains on top of the Horizon League standings with an 8-4 record with wins in five of its last six conference games. "Early in the season, our first two Horizon League series, one of the games was kind of taken from us in each series," said Campbell, who is on track to graduate in December with a degree in early education. She plans to pursue her master's degree next spring and utilize her fifth year of eligibility stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. "We were only able to play doubleheaders and at that point we were going 1-1 with pretty much every single team. We knew that we had to start winning these series and win the games that we had the opportunity to win. That mentality of going all-out every single pitch has definitely been a factor in our success lately. We're just playing like it's going to be our last game." Walk-offs It's safe to say Maya Johnson (St. Joseph Academy/Columbia Station) has settled into her new home with Belmont. The Pittsburgh transfer holds a 1.91 ERA as a redshirt freshman.She's 11-4 with 117 1/3 innings pitched and 191 strikeouts to just 31 walks. She was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on April 4 after posting a program-record 22 strikeouts against Evansville, which at the time was the most strikeouts in a game in Division I.She has nine games of double-digit strikeouts, including another 20-strikeout outing April 11. Johnson also was named Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 14 after a three-win weekend in which she combined for 18 strikeouts in 12 innings, allowing six hits and one earned run. Two stellar freshmen are making an instant impact at Findlay. Kyla Dykin (Avon) holds a 2.75 ERA and an 8-3 record with 45 strikeouts in 51 innings. She threw a no-hitter against Malone on April 3 and allowed just one hit over the course of the double-header. Annika Bredel (Elyria Catholic) holds a .299 batting average with two home runs, 16 RBIs, 23 runs scored and five steals. Also of note, sophomore Rachel Mease (North Ridgeville) has a .352 average with a home run, seven RBIs and seven runs. Stephanie Griffin-Sanchez (Elyria Catholic) hit her first home run of her junior season for Wooster on April 7. The junior has a .301 average with 12 RBIs — which ranks ninth in the North Coast Athletic Conference — 12 stolen bases and leads the league with 24 runs scored. She also ranks eighth in the NCAC with 27 hits. Kaylie Griffin (Elyria Catholic) has a .301 average for Ohio Northern. The junior has two home runs, nine RBIs and 11 runs. UCLA's Lauren Shaw (Keystone) has appeared in 16 1/3 innings. The graduate student is 1-0 with a 3.43 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 11 appearances. Bowling Green junior Maycee Godbolt (Elyria) is hitting .247 with a home run, 12 RBIs and seven runs. Madi Nunez (Keystone) is hitting .207 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and 13 runs in her senior year for Morgan State. Cassidy Kettleman (Amherst) is making early contributions at Indiana. The freshman is hitting .222 with 15 starts and 27 at-bats, with a double, a triple and 13 runs scored. Senior Madison O'Berg (Amherst) holds a 2.30 ERA for University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with nine strikeouts in 21 1/3innings. Mallory McClellan (Avon Lake) is hitting .222 in her sophomore season for Fordham. Northern Illinois' Lily Cassell (Keystone) has appeared in 50 2/3 innings during her freshman season with 27 strikeouts and two saves. Ashley Strauss (Firelands) has pitched 9 1/3 innings in six appearances for Fairmont State, striking out 11 with a 2.89 ERA during her junior year. Senior Macy Taylor (Elyria) is hitting .342 with seven RBIs and 18 runs for Truman State. Junior Lexy Coggins (Firelands) holds a .284 average with 14 RBIs and 16 runs for Baldwin Wallace. Extra innings Alex Brill (Firelands) is hitting .280 with two home runs and 21 RBIs in 26 games for Ohio Dominican. The junior is picking up where he left off the past two seasons, also adding 17 runs and six stolen bases.Teammate Devan Nail (Elyria) — a senior in his second season after transferring from Kent State — is hitting .286 with one home run and three RBIs. Junior Michael Knapp (Elyria) and sophomore Nick Bockelman (Avon Lake) also contribute. Nathan Archer (Keystone) is hitting .260 with 28 starts for Bowling Green. The sophomore has four doubles, two triples and 11 RBIs in 100 at-bats. Senior Leighton Banjoff (Elyria Catholic/Nebraska transfer) is hitting .152 with 10 RBIs in 21 starts and 66 at-bats. Senior Mason Montgomery (Vermilion) and freshman Perry Miller (Avon Lake) also are contributing for the Falcons. Zach Maxey (St. Edward/Avon) has 39 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings during his junior season with Miami (Ohio). Akron sophomore Jacob Krausher (Vermilion) has seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings innings pitched. Sophomore Graham Solak (Amherst) is hitting .239 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 20 games for Lake Erie. Teammate Dominic Poltrone (Avon Lake) has 36 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings during his freshman season. Mark Mohnickey Jr. (St. Edward/North Ridgeville) is hitting .256 with four home runs and seven RBIs 20 games into his junior season for Baldwin Wallace, which is ranked No. 4 in the D3baseball.com national poll for the week of April 10. Ryan Starr (Avon) has 22 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings in his sophomore season with Denison, transferring from Miami (Ohio). Senior Deion Kurtz (Elyria Catholic) has two strikeouts in seven relief appearances spanning nine innings for Lourdes University. Sophomore Ty Weatherspoon (Amherst) has 25 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings with a 2-0 record, one save and a 3.20 ERA for Oberlin. Wittenberg's Connor O'Malley (St. Edward/Avon) is hitting .325 in 22 games with four home runs and 26 RBIs during his junior season. Junior Grant Mitchell (Avon) is hitting .317 in 22 games with three home runs, 22 RBIs, 23 runs and five stolen bases for Wooster. Hiram has 10 area athletes listed on its roster, highlighted by junior Connor Bansek (Elyria), who is itting .253 with five doubles and 12 RBIs in 23 starts. Senior Matthew Kardos (Midview) has a 4.05 ERA with four strikeouts in 6 2/3 relief innings, sophomore Jack Conley (St. Edward/Sheffield Village) holds a 3.72 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings and freshman Landin Wescott (Avon) has made nine relief appearances with 12 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings. Ryan Stefancin (North Ridgeville) is hitting .349 in 21 games for Ohio Wesleyan. The junior has seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, with eight RBIs. Match Point Anna Roggenburk (Magnificat/Avon Lake) has a 4-5 singles record and a 7-5 doubles record for Xavier. The redshirt junior is 2-1 at third singles and 6-4 at second doubles. Audrey Smitek (Magnificat/Avon) is 11-4 in singles with one match unfinished, and 10-3 at doubles with three matches unfinished in her freshman season with Western Michigan. Junior Kierstyn Yates (Midview) is competing at second singles for Baldwin Wallace and has a 1-9 record. She is 5-5 at first doubles. Sophomore Jack Hindman (Avon) is 3-1 at singles and 2-0 at doubles for Baldwin Wallace. Notable Locals Justin Wirtz (Avon Lake) took third in the discus for The University of California at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on April 8. The junior had a throw of 172-10. Junior Abby Schillinger (Avon Lake) has a goal and an assist in 10 games with two starts for Detroit Mercy lacrosse. Freshman Mariana Melgoza (Avon Lake) had a strong three-game run from March 22-29 for Baldwin Wallace lacrosse, scoring four goals with two assists. For additions, contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter.