Elyria entered the Division I Avon Lake District semifinal with a 24-3 record and No. 5 state ranking.
The Westlake Demons were not intimidated.
Westlake seized advantage of some Elyria errors for an 8-3 district semifinal win May 21, ending Elyria’s reign as district champs of 10-straight years.
‘Any given year, anybody can beat anybody,’ Elyria coach Ken Fenik said. ‘It’s just not commonplace for us. We’ve had a run for a lot of years and I’m not surprised. Sometimes stuff goes against you but you keep on, you keep practicing. You keep trying to get better.’
Westlake used a three-run first inning to get ahead early.
Center fielder Danielle Dill led off the game with an infield single and third baseman Lainey McCue followed with a single up the middle. With one out, left fielder Gina Campo delivered the first big blow, a two-run double over the left fielder for a 2-0 lead. With two out, second baseman Macie Menichini singled to center to score Campo.
‘They came out and they put it to us that first inning,’ Fenik said. ‘They hit the ball hard and then throughout the game, we gave them extra outs. We can’t do that. … They had three runs before I could even scratch my head. They were ready coming out of the gate. You’ve got to be ready when you play these games.’
Westlake added a run in the third.
The Demons mounted a four-run fourth inning in response to a trio of Elyria errors. They also tallied three hits in the inning, including another from Campo.
‘I just said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to field the ball,” Fenik recalled. ‘I said, ‘Right now, we’re just not doing things that we’re capable of doing.’ They loosened up, they laughed a little bit, and that’s all you can do.’
The Pioneers entered the game with a .945 collective fielding percentage. They ended the afternoon with five errors.
Westlake pitcher Katie Lew cruised through four innings without yielding a hit, despite Elyria plating one run in the bottom of the third as Kelsey Plato drew a lead-off walk and pinch runner Dierra Hammons scored on a sacrifice bunt during which the ball was thrown out of play.
Elyria tacked on another run in the fourth as pitcher Elizabeth Ellis drew a lead-off walk and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by catcher Alex Dick.
Second baseman Mackenzie Phares managed Elyria’s first hit in the fifth inning, a two-out single to left that led to runners in scoring position, but the Pioneers could not cash in.
Lew ended the afternoon with one strikeout, surrendering four hits, three of which came in the sixth inning for Elyria’s final run.
With one out, shortstop Carly Bachna singled and advanced to second on a single by Madison Fullmer. Plato followed with an RBI single to left, setting the score at 8-3.
‘Our goal coming into the game was not to strike out,’ Fenik said. ‘We hit the ball, we hit it right at them the entire game. It was just one of those days that it didn’t work out for us.’
The Pioneers end the season 24-4 and will bid farewell to five seniors. During the last four years, Elyria was state runner-up once (2013) and reached the state final four twice (2012, 2014) for a 100-21 overall record.
‘They won quite a few, they’ve been to the show a couple times, to state,’ Fenik said of his senior class. ‘They should be proud of themselves. They were good for the program. They left their mark. Someday, maybe they’ll even get inducted into our sports hall of fame.’
