The Crestwood Red Devils’ softball team was only one out away from sealing victory against Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division foe Chagrin Falls but the Tigers rallied to score two runs, and the Red Devils lost 8-7 in their second league game of the year last Thursday in Mantua.
“It is a growing pain of being a little younger,” said Coach Matt Helm. “That is the second game like the one against Struthers that we have to figure out how to finish and get past our one inning that we have our blips in.”
In a wild back-and-forth affair in which the teams combined scored nine runs in the final three frames, the Red Devils (2-5, 1-1) seized the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a pair of RBI-hits. Freshman shortstop Jocelyn Johnson plated a run on a single to center field and freshman catcher Jillian Hayes pushed Crestwood ahead 7-6 on a two-run single to right field.
According to the third-year coach, the Red Devils had bounced back throughout the game any time Chagrin Falls threatened to pull ahead.
“They are all scrappy,” he added. “They fight for everything that they go for. We try to make things difficult on the bases at times for opposing catchers. They know how to play and fight for everything they go for.”
Sophomore pitcher Bella Stier retired the first two Tiger batters in the top of the seventh, but Chagrin Falls engineered a two-out rally with a two-out single to shortstop and a walk, which proved costly for the Red Devils as the Tigers freshman pitcher Zoe Thompson delivered a two-run double to center field, and the Tigers went ahead 8-7.
The Red Devils could not respond as they went down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning, for their third loss in four games.
Helm acknowledged it was a bitter loss for the team to swallow. It was like the defeat they suffered against Struthers on April 3.
He said that ultimately, Crestwood’s lack of varsity experience in high-leverage situations has plagued them in late-inning defeats.
“It really is growing situation going into the entire season. Rolling into next year, we will have more experience,” he noted. “It is something that I hope they look at and something they don’t want to feel again.”
Although the game had the makings of a pitcher’s duel in the first four innings with the score being deadlocked at 2-2, the Red Devils’ bats came alive, pounding out clutch hits starting in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hayes sparked the Red Devils’ offense by going four-for-five at the plate, recording one double, and driving in five runs.
“A couple of weeks ago she had a game where she was zero-for-three with three strikeouts and she came up to me and asked ‘What am I doing?’ It is a simple fact that they need to stop trying so hard and do what they do and play the game that they have played for so many years,” Helm said.
In Crestwood’s first two league games, it has combined to score 18 runs.
Although the Red Devils stumbled against Chagrin Falls in the final inning, Helm said that he has high expectations for his squad to be a formidable team in the CVC Valley Division and the first two league contests have affirmed his optimism.
“We are going to shock some teams compared to last year,” he said. “Last year we only had two returning starters but this year with the influx of our few freshmen that are playing, it has ramped everything up. These girls don’t quit, they don’t get down, they fight continuously which is all I ask. Yesterday was a rough one, Struthers was another rough one to take, but we were down in both and either tied or were up with the opportunity, so it is there, and we must finish it.”
Helm said that the Red Devils will show their potential as they compete in a slew of league games in their next stretch of play.
“We are going to be seeing all-quality teams,” he added. “They are all quality teams this week; it is going to test them and show them what they are capable of, give them an idea of what is to come and what we can do.”
After a three-game stretch against CVC Valley Division rivals with a home contest against Berkshire on Monday, consecutive road duels against Rootstown and Wickliffe on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Red Devils will play Laurel on the road on Thursday, face Portage County foe Garfield at 1 p.m., then take on Portage County rival Streetsboro at Veterans Stadium in Streetsboro at 3 p.m.
