Aurora softball sparkles in 7-1 Division 2 sectional final win over Perry

AURORA, Ohio — Aurora broke out the silver eye glitter and then broke out the bats for a 7-1 win over Perry in a Division II softball sectional final on Thursday evening.

The Greenmen jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning, as Sophie Retton led off with a double and scored on a bunt by Kayla Ring. Perry made a throwing error on the play which allowed King to make it around to third base. Aurora took quick advantage of the mistake when Ring scored on a bunt by Madeline Dalessandro.

After Aurora put up a run in each of the third and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead, Perry got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI single by Maddie Infalve, her second hit of the game. 

But like she had done in the second inning, Aurora pitcher Mackenzie Krafcik held the Pirates without any further damage when she induced a groundout by the next hitter. In the second inning, the senior hurler worked around a situation with two runners on by picking up a strikeout to end the inning.

“One thing about Mack is she is composed," Aurora coach Sam Petrash said. “You wouldn’t know if she just gave up a three-run home run or if she just struck a girl out.”

In its half of the fifth inning, Aurora got that run back and more. A one-out double by McKennah Metzger was followed by a single by Retton to give the Greenmen two runners on base. Ring drove in a run with a single and then Dalessandro drove in her second and third runs of the game with a single to make it 7-1.

“We were playing loose, we were playing fun,” Dalessandro said. “We were really prepared coming into it and it was a really fun experience.”

That was more than enough for Krafcik, who allowed just one run on three hits and struck out 10 batters.

“I just think it was our mental preparation going into everything,” Krafcik said. “We knew that we had to come out and play strong from the beginning. It was nice because this is probably our last home game and I am a senior, so I was like ‘let’s play with a purpose here and get a win.’”

If it was indeed their last home game, the Aurora players came out looking a little different than they had all season in front of the home fans. The players all had silver glitter under their eyes, a look that they waited until this game to debut in 2022.

“This is our playoff sparkle,” Krafcik said. “We haven’t done it all season and we brought it out today for something fun and to get some energy and something new for playoffs.”

With the win, Aurora now advances to the district semifinals to play Canfield on Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Little League Complex.

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