Lakota West uses their bond to mount a comeback for a 13-5 win over North Canton Hoover in OHSAA softball Division 1 state semifinal

AKRON, Ohio – When Lakota West found itself down 5-1 to North Canton Hoover after the first inning of the OHSAA Division I softball state semifinals on Thursday night, the Firebirds didn’t panic. They relied on their bond to mount a comeback for a 13-5 win and a berth in Saturday’s state championship game.

“Both teams gave each other a run or two early,” Lakota West coach Keith Castner said. “The great thing about it was as the game got going, they responded with experience and confidence in knowing the team will fight back.”

Fight back they did, as Lakota West scored four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings and then three more in the sixth inning to erase the early deficit and take a big lead of their own late in the game.

While the four-run hole might have seemed like a challenge to most teams, Lakota West knew it had time on its side.

“I told them to stay together and make sure we aren’t getting on each other and play as a team and we will chip away,” Castner said. “I told them it’s a long game.”

Coming from behind on the big stage might have seemed daunting. But for the Firebirds, they had confidence throughout.

“Actually I thought it was kind of easy,” Lakota West shortstop Molly Grace said. “We are really good at hitting. My mind was one run at a time because if you did the math, we had six more innings so if we get one (each inning), that’s 6-5.”

Pitcher KK Mathis was setting down the Hoover offense without giving up another run after that first inning to give her team a chance to mount the comeback. She wasn’t looking too far ahead, as she was focusing on the next hitter at all times.

“Every time we go out on the field it is just one out at a time,” Mathis said. “Learning how to play in that atmosphere, we have to take it one out at a time to be successful in this game.

It looked like Hoover was going to strike again in the second after a leadoff double by Faith Reicosky. The next hitter popped up near the Hoover dugout in foul territory. Lakota West catcher Kendall Forren got to the ball and made the catch. Reicosky tagged up and tied to advance to third, but Forren whipped around and made a perfect throw to third baseman Haley Hibbard for the double play.

“It was in the back of my head that (Reicosky) was there but I heard Molly and Haley yelling at me to go three, so I turned around,” Forren said. “They basically helped me a lot there.”

It was the kind of heads up play that championship teams make when the game is in the balance.

“We try to learn to finish plays,” Castner said. “She turned around and she threw a bb to third. It was right there. That was a big-time play. It was just teamwork. They know each other so well.”

That knowledge of each other is what held the Firebirds together in the toughest of moments Thursday night.

“Just having the mindset of playing for each other, playing for your family, playing for your sisters,” Mathis said. “It’s awesome to have a team with this kind of leadership and the bond we have.”

That bond was on full display as Lakota West started making its comeback in the fourth inning. Belle Hummell started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by a 2-run single by Mathis. ThenGrace scored on a fielder’s choice by Forren to give the Firebirds their first lead of the game.

The offense wasn’t done.

Forren came through with a 2-run single in the fifth, followed by RBI singles from Hibbard and Lily Volmer. Mathis then doubled home two runs in the sixth and scored on a single by Forren.

As all of this was happening, the Lakota West players were cheering each other on from the dugout, no matter who was at the plate.

“Each person that was up to bat, we wanted them to be up to bat,” Forren said. “At several points, there were people in the dugout yelling things like ‘we want you up there, this is your moment.’ We all do it for each other.”

The bond that has been formed among the players is what makes them believe in each other and want each of their teammates to succeed on every play. It is also why they trust that each player will do their job when called upon.

“I have been playing with a lot of these girls since I was 12,” Mathis said. “So the bond that we have had, I can trust them. I know they are going to make that play, they are going to come up with that clutch hit. It’s just awesome to watch your best friends get after it and make plays.”

And on Thursday night, the Firebirds made those plays and got those hits when their backs were against the wall. The way they responded made their coach proud.

“You just have to find a way to fight through that adversity,” Castner said. “And those girls, they did. Each and every one of them.”