High school softball: Walsh Jesuit blanks Amherst in battle of state-ranked teams at the Prebis Memorial Classic

LAGRANGE — Lacey Reichert knows her Amherst Comets are a good softball team but Walsh Jesuit is just a little better. The Warriors, 11-0 and ranked fourth in the state, crushed two home runs, played error-free in the field and had a great pitching performance from Minnesota recruit Natalie Susa to beat Amherst 7-0 in a battle of state-ranked teams at the 18th Prebis Memorial on Friday. Amherst, tied with Brecksville at No. 9 in the state, lost for only the third time in 17 games. "We didn't play bad at all," Reichert said. "We didn't make any errors defensively. We made some phenomenal plays in the field to limit things. I thought, quite honestly, for a freshman going against a top-10 team in the state for the first time, I thought (Karina Shuster) was great. "She had some pitches that they took some swings on that were at the knees — great location. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the hitter." Shuster didn't appear overwhelmed facing the potent Warriors. Yes, Akron commit McKayla McKee clouted a no-doubt two-run home run deep over the left-field fence in the third inning and Kent State commit Caleigh Shaulis hit a solo shot to center field in the fifth, but Shuster kept the Comets in the game as best she could. Amherst's offense just could not supply enough punch. Senior Emma Nagy had two of the Comets' three hits. She and Leah Sprague lined hits in the second inning but with two outs, Amherst didn't score. "We came out thinking we were going to hit the ball in the first few innings," Nagy said. "But then we kind of fell flat. Susa got better and better. I'm proud of my team. I thought we did a great job." "You go up against a pitcher like Susa, if you can scratch out some runs you better hold them," Reichert said. "We were feeding off that energy after two big defensive plays in the outfield. We got two hits but couldn't get the third big hit. You get that in a 1-0 game and now it's 1-1 or maybe even 2-1 and now the pressure starts mounting on them." Great defensive plays came from left fielder Allie Jackson and center fielder Kristen Kelley in the bottom of the first to limit Walsh to just one run but Amherst couldn't capitalize. Jackson and right fielder Nevaeh Sadler made great plays again in the second to hold the Warriors to a 1-0 lead but the Comets offense never answered. Susa was lights out in the circle. She struck out nine, walked two and saw some great glove work behind her — and in front of her. Shaulis, her catcher, made an incredible catch of a foul pop off the bat of Jackson in the first inning. "Caleigh's our general back there," Walsh Jesuit coach Tony Scibelli said. "Her energy ... she basically runs the show for us on defense. She's a super athlete. Something like that, as impressive as it is, we've kind of come to expect that." Walsh Jesuit also turned a tricky double play on a wicked shot to Brianna Wise at second off Kelley's bat in the sixth to take away a possible scoring chance. Amherst will play two more games Saturday in the Prebis. The Comets will play Medina at noon and Warren Champion at 2. Both games are at LaGrange Community Park. "That's what we told them," Reichert said. "(Today) at noon, we're right back at it. We'll be ready to go and bounce back. Our kids after a loss will bounce back. They're going to be hungry for a win. The coaching staff will be hungry for another win. We'll give Medina all they can handle." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.