High school softball: Keystone clinches LCL title share with win over Columbia

COLUMBIA STATION — Keystone will need to make room for another Lorain County League championship trophy. Behind the pitching of Brooklyn Modock and an offense led by power-hitting second baseman Bristol Foster, the Wildcats clinched at least a share of their sixth title in the six-year history of the league with a 12-1, six-inning win. Keystone (15-4, 8-0 LCL) squandered a bases-loaded opportunity in the first inning but broke the game open with a five-run third. The key hit in the inning was Foster's fourth home run of the year, a three-run blast to left field that scored Tatum Holzhauer and Anna Wright to give her team a 3-1 lead. "I was just looking to get my team going," Foster said. "I knew we needed that so I started the rally and it felt great." According to Keystone coach Anna Saxton, two of her team's goals are to win the conference and get double-digit hits in every game. The Wildcats were able to check off both boxes, as they pounded out 12 hits. "We're on the right track and we're right on our offense goals," Saxton said. "There's key moments where we need one little out on defense or one solid hit on offense and we've been getting those." Modock has had limited opportunities to pitch this season but she made the most of her chance, limiting Columbia to five hits while striking out six. The only Columbia (11-5, 7-2 LCL) run came in the second inning when senior Lexi Miller scored on a Jessica Jacobs ground out. The teams endured a 35-minute rain delay in the third inning. Modock didn't allow the delay to become a distraction and faced the minimum number of hitters twice in her final four innings. "Being able to take some time and refocus as a pitcher was great," Modock said. "I love this team so much. There's something about the chemistry of this team. We're all a big family." Modock also had a big day in the batter's box with three hits, including a double and three RBIs. Modock, Keystone's No. 7 hitter, and Corinne Lamb, who batted eighth, combined to drive in seven of Keystone's final nine runs. "I believe when the bottom of the lineup is able to clean anything up or is able to get something started, that's a really great thing for the offense," Modock said. "It shows we have each other's back." Since the start of the 2021 season, the first year of the LCL, Keystone is 75-2 in conference games. "Winning conference is our goal every year, it means a lot to us," Foster said. "If we play like this every game, we're going to be unstoppable. Everybody is just coming together." Prior to Monday, Columbia had won five of its last six games, with the only loss coming to 18-1 Maplewood at the Prebis Memorial Classic. Raiders coach Jeff Lavinder said the team will learn from the loss as it gets ready to defend its Division Vi district title. "I'd rather play a good team to get ready for the postseason," Lavinder said. "We have to have a short memory. We can't let this loss get to us. I reminded the girls the same thing happened last year when we went to Revere and got our butts kicked. We learned our lesson from that and came out and played pretty strong. I expect these girls will do the same thing. They'll forget about this and be ready to go." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.