FREMONT – The Fremont Ross Lady Giants are playing as a team, having fun and riding the program’s first four-game win streak in five years.
Morgan Englund
Not bad for a team that just a couple weeks ago was on the verge of coming apart at the seams.
Following a disheartening 2-1 loss to Toledo Central Catholic, frustrations boiled over. Players threatened to quit and felt they were being held to unfair standards. Coaches maintained they were trying to instill accountability. The emotions on both sides prevented them from hearing one another.
Though it was only three weeks ago, the Lady Giants are a whole new team now.
“We’ve all been working together great,” senior pitcher Morgan Englund said. “I feel like we’re more of a family now. We all click. Before we had issues and drama on the team, but now we’re a family and we play together. It’s actually a great feeling.”
For coach Tony Hill, the conflict made the team stronger.
“We took that long weekend to cool down,” Hill said. “The coaches looked in the mirror a little bit, the players looked in the mirror a little bit, and we’ve kind of been gelling and I think our record is reflective of that.
Kaylee Dodson
“Good things are coming for us. I’m excited for what we’ve got going and we’ll see what happens from here.”
The Lady Giants’ current four-game win streak began on Monday when they traveled to Toledo and picked up their first league win of the season against Toledo Central Catholic, the team whose win on Ross’ home field led to the team’s issues coming to the forefront.
With the Lady Giants having come full-circle, they’re eager to show the TRAC what they’re capable of before the season concludes.
“We want to make our presence known to people and we want people to now we can compete with (teams like) Whitmer and Notre Dame,” sophomore Kaylee Dodson said.
Tuesday saw two more TRAC wins with a doubleheader sweep of Lima Senior.
Wednesday, Ross’ winning ways continued in an 18-0 five-inning win over Toledo Woodward. The Lady Giants were vastly superior to the Polar Bears, as Ross twice ended innings despite Woodward not yet getting three outs.
The Lady Giants viewed Wednesday’s game to fine-tune details, such as eliminating base-running mistakes.
Ross did that and more. The Lady Giants totaled 10 hits and nine walks while Woodward committed nine errors. The Lady Giants stopped advancing extra bases by the end of the second inning and eased off on the scoreboard.
Hailey Taylor
“It’s a day that we took as a practice on steroids, so to speak,” Hill said. “We’re just trying to get better, but it beats practicing.”
In her only two at-bats on the day, senior Hailey Taylor hit a two-RBI double each time to continue her week-long hot streak at the plate. In her last four games, Taylor is 10-of-13 with four doubles, a triple and seven RBIs.
“I figured out I’ve been doing too much before games and kind of psyching myself out,” Taylor said. “Monday, I didn’t get a chance to warm-up my batting, (practicing follow-throughs) that’s the only thing I did, and I went 3-for-4 that day. I was like, ‘Wow, I’ll try this again.’”
The Lady Giants used a trio of pitchers, Englund, Audrianna Melchor and Addison Burmeister who combined to allow Woodward two walks and no hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.
A pregame thank you
Before Wednesday’s game, the Lady Giant softball team recognized groundskeeper Cory Hull for his efforts in upkeeping Ross’ facilities.
The Lady Giants recognized Fremont Ross groundkeeper Cory Hull prior to Wednesday’s game. Hull’s efforts in maintaining the school’s ball fields were awarded Ohio SportsTurf Field of the Year Award for 2017.
2022-23 Swimming & Diving: Boys Team
| Name | Grade |
|---|---|
| Evan Beardmore | 11 |
| CollinBooher | 11 |
| Parker Brown | 10 |
| Blake Dymond | 9 |
| Eric Elder | 10 |
| Derek Haeusser | 11 |
| Eliot Haitonic | 11 |
| Trenton Harkness | 12 |
| Jackson Kiddey | 10 |
| Zavier Lopez | 10 |
| Quentin O'Brien | 11 |
| Robert Rich, Jr | 10 |
| Bryceton Sabo | 10 |
| Landon Seikel | 11 |
| Logan Weisenauer | 12 |
| Aidan Zimmerman | 12 |