High school softball: Amherst turns it around, hammers Avon Lake

AVON LAKE — The softball postseason is right around the corner and Amherst is asking itself if it's ready. The answer is yes ... and no. One day after getting shellacked 11-0 by North Ridgeville, the Comets scored four times in the first and that was more than enough for starting pitcher Karina Shuster, who allowed just four hits while striking out seven over seven innings in an 11-0 win over Avon Lake in Southwestern Conference play Friday night. The win keeps Amherst alive for a share of the SWC championship after improving to 13-8 overall and 9-4 in the league. The Comets will have to beat Olmsted Falls on Tuesday and then get help from the Bulldogs against league-leading Berea-Midpark when those teams meet in the final conference game of the season next week. Midview, which also needs a Titans loss to earn a share of the title, has a 10-4 record after completing its SWC schedule. "We're getting there," Comets coach Lacey Reichert said when asked if they were ready for the tournament. "My answer after the Ridgeville game was no, but my answer today is yes-ish. "In the tournament you have to be at your best because everyone is going to give you their best because its one-and-done. We must be more consistent and play more like we did today." One day after being shut out by the Rangers, Amherst made sure that didn't happen again as the first four batters of the game reached base and scored for a 4-0 lead. Briana Blankenship walked to open the game and went to third on a single up the middle by freshman Sienna Rebman, who finished with three hits including a seventh-inning triple that drove in a pair of runs. Leah Sprague drove in the first two runs with a double, Makenna Dorobek made it 3-0 with a double to right-center and Shuster hit a ground ball to complete the first-inning scoring before even throwing a pitch. "It was really good to get those early runs and build momentum for the team," Rebman said. "It was really nice after what happened (in the Ridgeville loss)." Despite a leadoff single by the Shoregals' Briana Webster, Shuster set down the first 10 Avon Lake batters as Morgan Lymer cut down a pair of would-be base stealers after Webster's hit and after Audrey Kunzelman reached on an error in the third. Avon Lake (9-12, 4-10 SWC) was able to pick up solid hits in the next three innings, getting a runner to third twice, but Shuster was able to get out of trouble in each inning. Mary Sue Sittema singled and was stranded at first in the fourth, Isabel Brunner doubled and stayed at third after a passed ball on a Shuster strikeout to end the inning and Sittema had a two-out triple to deep right-center but Shuster got a grounder to third to end the inning. "That four-run first was great support and gave me a lot of confidence to pitch well today," said Shuster, who did not walk a batter. "I just kept getting the ball in the strike zone and my defense really made every play for me today." The Comets picked up lots of insurance in the late innings, getting a pair of runs in the fifth and another five runs in the seventh. "We have four freshmen on varsity and just getting them dialed in after getting games under their belt has been the difference in the second half," Shoregals coach Brandon Webster said. "We just couldn't consistently get our bats going against Shuster. We just couldn't string hits together today." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.