Lady Giants sweep 72-run, 65-hit doubleheader on Senior Day

FREMONT – Playing for the final time on their home field, Fremont Ross’ senior softball players looked as though they were playing the doubleheader that would never end.

Then again, it can be hard to stop when you’re having so much success.

The Lady Giants played a marathon doubleheader against Sandusky Perkins Saturday, sweeping the twinbill by the exhaustive scores of 13-12 and 30-17, the second of which ended in five innings.

Though the doubleheader took about five hours to compete, and featured several rain showers – though no stoppages in play – when the Lady Giants’ defense made the final out, it struck a bittersweet note for some of their eight seniors playing their final game at home with one more game scheduled next week.

“Watching the scoreboard lights turn off was a kick in the heart. It’s painful,” senior Gabby Zuniga said. “I could play longer. I have work at 4:00, but I don’t care, I’d call off.

“It’s devastating. We play on such a beautiful facility with great coaches behind us, family and friends to support us. Walking away from it all is painful.”

At least the Lady Giants made their final games at home memorable ones.

Game 1 began with Perkins taking a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Ross answered with four in the bottom of the third and three more in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead. The Lady Giants looked as though they had a comfortable lead, 10-6 entering the sixth inning, but the Pirates scored six to take a 12-10 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Braelyn Horn hit a hard grounder that found its way through the first baseman to drive in two runs, including what proved to be the game-winner.

Horn played her first game since injuring her knee sliding into second base on April 20 against Findlay. For the day she totaled three hits, including a triple in Game 2, with five runs batted in.

“It’s been a rollercoaster this year, with me hurting myself, and not knowing if I would be able to play, and coming back and being able to hit, it was pretty fun to end it out like that,” Horn said. “I played with some of these girls for an extremely long time and I have a spot in my heart for all of them.”

After the teams combined to score 25 runs in Game 1, little did anyone know they were just getting warmed up.

Thanks to an 8-run second inning, the Lady Giants, who were the visiting team in Game 2, held a 14-4 lead midway through the third inning. But the Pirates didn’t go away. Perkins climbed back in the game with six runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut Ross’ lead down to 14-12.

Then the Lady Giants produced a two-out rally that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Ross saw 16 consecutive batters reach base safely, including a run of eight-straight hits, with back-to-back triples from Horn and Zuniga. The Lady Giants hit around the order twice, sending 20 batters to the plate and scoring 16 runs on 13 hits.

“I didn’t want to run the score up,” Ross coach Tony Hill said. “I’m looking at the scoreboard the whole time thinking, ‘Ok, how many can we score, while remaining classy, but not have to play a sixth inning?’ I used to coach some of those kids on travel and I was a JV coach there, and I told them, ‘I wasn’t trying to run the score there,’ they were ‘No, we know.’”

Hill was right to pile up some extra runs as Perkins scored five in the bottom half of the inning and came in shouting distance of climbing within 10 runs to continue to game at least another inning.

Zuniga had eight RBIs in Game 2 and, for the day, went 7-for-11, with three extra-base hits, including another triple in the marathon fifth inning.

Hailey Taylor also closed out her home career in fine style, she went 7-for-9 on the day, with a double and eight RBI.

Along with Horn, Zuniga and Taylor, Morgan Englund, Addie Burmesister and Paige Risch are closing out their four-year varsity careers as are fellow seniors Claire Ochs and Laura Szymanowski.

“This senior class has meant a lot for us,” Hill said. “Hopefully this is the class that turned things around here. Lots of firsts this year. This is the first time we’ve won nine games in a year in the at least the last five. We haven’t had double digits since 2013.

“It couldn’t happen to a better class. We’re going to miss them for sure, their productively and their leadership, but there are bright things ahead for this program.”

The Lady Giants improve to 9-16 overall and conclude their season Tuesday at St. Joseph Central Catholic.

 

Saturday’s doubleheader by the numbers:

Innings played: 12

Runs scored: 72

Run-per-inning average: 6.0

Total outs: 69

Runs scored per out: 1.04

Batters to reach base: 100

Total hits: 65

Extra-base hits: 20

Percentage of hits for extra bases: .307

Errors: 18

Ross batting average: .444 (32-of-72)

Perkins batting average: .477 (31-65)

Combined batting average: .460 (63-137)

 

Player Name	Grade Level
Adriel Benavidez	11
Zachary Bishop	11
TaeDen Brown	11
Jackson Busold	10
Chase Culbertson	10
Brandon Fry	10
Andrew Hanes	10
Cole Kinsey	11
Charlie Kramer	09
Carson Lewis	09
Emilio Mendez	09
Ayden Moore	12
Kenneth Pierce	12
Jackson Swinehart	10
Logan Wensinger	09

 

2024 Softball: Varsity Team

Player#	Player Name	Position	Grade Level
2	Rileigh DeAnda	P/IF	11
3	Rubi Almaguer	SS/OF	9
4	Lilly Halbeisen	OF	10
5	Mady Hammer	IF	10
6	Kenna Tooman	Utility	11
13	Alivia Weisenauer	C/Utility	11
16	Ella Warner	OF	12
20	Allison Gazdecki	P	11
24	Riley Habeisen	Utility	10
25	Addy Schoch	1B/3B	11
27	Samantha Hardy	Utility	12
30	Sara Gross	3B	11
31	Lauren Gazdecki	Utility	09