High school softball: Avon Lake holds off North Ridgeville for SWC win

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — The first time Avon Lake faced North Ridgeville this season it didn't score a run. On Wednesday, the Shoregals scored in almost every inning. Avon Lake (7-9, 2-8) scored at least one run in each of the first six innings, and it needed all of those as the Shoregals survived a late North Ridgeville rally for a 10-9 Southwestern Conference win to spoil the Rangers' Senior Night. From the opening pitch, Avon Lake set out to prove this game would be different. The first two Shoregals hitters reached base and freshman Mary Sue Sittema singled and scored the first Avon Lake run on a single by fellow freshman Addison Dunleavy. "That was huge," Sittema said. "Sometimes weather can be a factor and affect the mood of the team but we didn't let that affect us. We were just driven to come out today and do better." Sittema also made a huge play in the outfield in the sixth inning, catching a line drive off the bat of North Ridgeville's Brynnley Cole and making a perfect throw to third base to get the runner trying to advance from second to complete an inning-ending double play that squelched a rally. "Being able to get that done felt super. What a relief," Sittema said. "That's what we worked on (Tuesday) in practice and it really played into the game." Avon Lake lost all seven games its first time through the SWC. The Shoregals are 2-1 in league play in their last three games since starting the second trip through the league. "We hardly ever show a team something twice," Avon Lake coach Brandon Webster said. "The first time we played North Ridgeville they didn't see (starting pitcher) Erin Dean for a reason. And they didn't see any bunts for a reason. This game you saw Erin Dean and you saw bunts. We try to give teams something different and hope we come away with the win." While Dean got the start in the circle for the Shoregals, it was sophomore Grace Kugler who had the ball in her hand with the game on the line. Kugler retired Rangers leadoff hitter Maddie Chinchar, who had an RBI double in the sixth inning, on a fielder's choice grounder to end the game. "I was thinking if I didn't get this batter out it would be so bad for me but I knew my defense had me," Kugler said. "This win means so much. We have so much momentum now. When we get into the playoffs we're going to think about this game." Junior Isabelle Schilens had a second-inning inside-the-park home run for the Shoregals. She also drove in what proved to be the winning run with a sixth-inning sacrifice bunt. "Our team was fired up and we came out of the gate ready to play," Webster said. The loss dropped North Ridgeville to 7-8 and 4-7 in the SWC. The Rangers are just 2-5 in their last seven games. Defense was the missing component for the Rangers on Wednesday as five errors led to five Avon Lake runs. Cole and Emily Ramos both had two hits for North Ridgeville, which battled back from trailing 10-6 in the sixth inning to score three late runs. "Kudos to our seniors, they came out and they were ready to go," North Ridgeville coach Amy McMillan said. "They put it on the line for us. "Errors were the difference. Unfortunately when you make errors they come back to hurt you." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.