Hot Stove softball: Firelands walks it off to beat Lorain and advance to state tournament

SPENCER TWP. — Firelands had to rally to win its regional. The Falcons scored three runs in the sixth inning, walking off its Hot Stove softball Class A (ages 9-10) regional final against Lorain on a wild pitch for an 11-10 win at J.B. Firestone Memorial Park on Monday night. The No. 3 seed Firelands advances to the state semifinals and will face No. 6 Wellington, which defeated No. 1 Firelands Black 10-9 in a regional final, at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will advance to the Class A championship Thursday. "The girls showed that they love the sport and they didn't let the pressure get to them," Firelands coach Kari Cooley said. "They sat in the box and they did exactly what they needed to do. We knew that it was either they get three outs or we score three runs and they didn't want it to be done. They worked hard, did what they needed to do, running the bases, and made contact with the ball." Firelands jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind a second inning where it scored four runs without putting the ball in play. The Falcons had four hit batters with three walks while all three outs were strikeouts. Three of the hit batters came with the bases loaded while the fourth run scored on a wild pitch. The Titans, however, responded with four in the third. They started off the inning with three straight one-out hits followed by a walk. However, three of the runs scored on errors, with the fourth coming on a wild pitch. The lead didn't last long as Firelands responded with two in the third, including an RBI double from Avery Kisner, who finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs. "Avery is a fantastic young girl who plays softball well," Cooley said. "She was behind the plate for us as catcher and I think that sets a tone for us and a focus. When she's up to bat, she brings that same focus. She was able to hone in on that ball and deliver what we needed in that moment." Lorain led off the fourth with back-to-back walks and Leeana Crist drove the first of three runs in with a double to right field. The next two scored on wild pitches, giving the Titans an 8-6 lead. Crist finished 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI while also pitching three innings and striking out five. "Leeana is one of the young ones on the team, she just turned 10," Lorain coach William Silos said. "She was our starting pitcher last year, but understanding her role and everything she became a better batter. She's probably one of the best batters on the team. Today she came in with so much confidence. She didn't hold her head down. She came in here, got a big hit and gave us two big innings to keep us in the game." A pair of unearned runs in the fifth gave Lorain a 10-8 lead heading into the sixth, but the Titans were retired in order by both Firelands pitchers. Starter Corrine Viock recorded her ninth strikeout then Riley Fox retired the next two. Fox finished with three strikeouts. The first four Firelands batters reached base on a hit batter, a walk and an RBI single by Parker Haponek. Paycen Cooley tied the game with a single past second and the winning run scored one batter later on a wild pitch. "We came into this season more prepared than our first season," Silos said. "Last season we only had three victories, came into the tournament and lost our first game. But throughout the offseason we put in a lot of hard work. There was a lot of dedication with the girls. We overcame the problems we had last year, went 11-3 in the regular season and won our first game in the tournament. Coming into here, going into the final inning with the lead and the girls giving it their all, I couldn't be more proud of them." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.