Austintown Fitch softball flies to first state title with 6-1 win over Anthony Wayne

AKRON, Ohio – Austintown Fitch shortstop Ayla Ray knew it. She just knew it.

The junior hit the ball, took three steps towards first base and raised the index finger on her right hand in the air.

What she knew was that the softball was going over the right field fence at Firestone Stadium for a solo home run to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead over Anthony Wayne in the top of the fifth inning of the OHSAA Division I state championship game.

“I knew it was gone,” Ray said. “That was my pitch, and I knew it as soon as I hit it.”

Fitch went on to win the game 6-1 to claim the program’s first state title.

After Ray’s homer, the Falcons put three more runs on the board in the inning.

Caitlin Mitchell singled and went to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball before scoring on a triple by Kylie Folkwein, who then scored on an error on the catcher on a throw back to the circle after a pitch.

“Kylie came and she put it all together,” Fitch head coach Steven Ward said. “She's a big playmaker. I mean, she's a three-sport letter winner. And she's probably one of the more dynamic athletes at the high school.”

Sam Severn scored the last run after reaching on an error and scoring on a wild pitch.

But the rally all started with the Ray home run. And her head coach knew it from his spot coaching third base just as well as she did that the ball was leaving the park

“I started doing my big happy dance,” Ward said. “It sounds cliche when we talk about this team, but big players come up big in big moments.”

Sophomore pitcher Sydnie Watts continued her masterful postseason, tossing a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts.

In her six postseason starts, Watts threw 40 innings and gave up just two runs on eight total hits, while striking out 88 with 15 walks.

“It's nothing short of I would say a record-breaking performance time and time again,” Ward said. “She trusts her defense behind her to make plays and wow, this whole tournament run the defense was behind her and that just gives her the confidence that she needs. And talk about her being 16 years old. What maturity.”

While Watts was on fire during the postseason, her jersey was on fire after the district tournament. She accidentally left it near a candle and the jersey was ruined, making her pitch the last four games with a jersey that was a size too small.

But Watts was never worried in the circle during the season or throughout the postseason.

“I wasn't nervous or anything,” Watts said. “I knew no matter what, whether I was getting 17 strikeouts or like seven, my defense will be there to back me up.”

The last time the Falcons made it this far was 1993, when Fitch lost in the state championship game. That team was on Ward’s mind in the postgame press conference.

“30 years since the 1993 team, we were able to come full circle, kind of a little redemption for them and get one step further because we have so much respect for that team,” Ward said. “Those girls are amazing. They keep in contact with us. They were some of our biggest supporters during this tournament run.

“So when we say Falcon family, you saw the community support. You saw the school system and support we had from so many teachers, principals, administrators here and above all, these young ladies playing their hearts out for each other.”