High school softball: Big sixth inning helps Lorain fight back, pull out 12-10 win over Clearview

LORAIN — It was a combination of several factors that led Lorain to a come-from-behind 12-10 win over Clearview in non-conference softball action Wednesday afternoon at Campana Park. A four-run sixth inning was the game-breaker for Lorain, which improved to 2-0. The Titans overcame a 9-8 deficit after the Clippers (0-2) scored twice in the top of the sixth to regain the lead. Vada Blankenship scored the first run for Lorain in the sixth, coming home with the tying run on Jayden Figueroa's single. Shyann Gonzalez Swiger then scored from third on a wild pitch to put the Titans back up by one. Figueroa came around to score with the help of a couple of wild pitches to make the score 11-9. Alonna Coleman added an insurance run when she walked, went to second on Alayna Warren's single and scored on an error. Alysandria Lighty, who saw action at shortstop and catcher, scored two of the Titans' runs and kept their defense solid throughout the game. Blankenship's performance at the plate proved particularly powerful for Lorain thanks to a big three-run home run over the right fielder's head in the first inning. "I'm very proud of my team," Lighty said. "I wanted this and they wanted this. This game meant so much to me. This game (softball) is so mental. You just have to stay on your toes. Thursday's a big game (versus Elyria)." "One of the things that I like about our game was they played together," second-year Lorain coach Jaydee Charlton said. "When one person was down their teammates tried to uplift them. I was very proud of them for that. "Man, I tell you, they're fighters. I love that. We're 2-0 right now. I'm happy about that. I'm very happy about that. We have a hard fight on Thursday against Elyria. I just hope that the girls go home and relax, take it easy and be ready for Thursday." Most of the Clippers' offense came in the first two innings when they jumped out to a 6-4 lead, thanks to a five-run rally in the top of the second. Alivia Ocasio's RBI triple and Giabella Cadez's run-scoring single were the big blows. "We lost the softball game but we won the dodgeball game," first-year Clearview coach John McDermott said. "I don't know how many hit batters we had (seven total), but it had to be a world record, let along a state or a school record. We hit everybody. We dug ourselves holes that we couldn't come out of. "To be honest I think we're in good shape if we avoid some of those mistakes and fought through them. We're a young team. That's what we're going to have to swallow for a while. It wasn't even the weather. Today was much better than our game on Monday against Rocky River. The previous coach (Mark Majoras) had a nice run and ran a very good program (for seven years). I told the girls that once they buy into the things our staff is teaching them we're going to be OK." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.