Lady Dukes advance

by PAUL KING and KORY CONLEY

Sports correspondents

With the Division III-IV player of the year on the mound backed by a home run, four standup doubles, and two double plays, it's hard to lose a ball game.

On Wednesday the Lady Dukes (19-4) ousted the Chagrin Valley Conference Champ Independence Blue Devils (22-5) in the Division III semifinal match up. The Lady Dukes handed Blue Devil's freshman pitcher Holly Evans her first loss of the season. Entering the game Evans was 12 -0 with eight shutouts.

Division III-IV player of the year Melanie Conklin fanned nine and allowed just two hits in her complete game shutout but feels she can do better.

"I was off tonight," Conklin said. "My pitches didn't have good movement."

Conklin helped her cause at the plate as she was joined by teammates Callie McConnell with two hits apiece, and Cassie Gleisner who went 3-for-3. Gleisner got the Dukes rolling early with a home run to deep left center in the bottom of the first.

"It felt good, I hit it in the sweet spot," Gleisner added. She didn't plan on cooling off anytime soon as she doubled in the bottom of the third to score Conklin putting the Lady Dukes up 2-0.

The Dukes played stellar defense throughout the game. Brooke Lewis turned a double play in the top of the third and an inning later Amy Rader made a nice back-handed catch on a liner, then slung the ball to first to double up the runner. The bottom of the fourth was the Lady Dukes' most exciting inning with McConnell, Rader, and Christy King all hitting stand up doubles with Rader and King driving in an RBI a piece. The Dukes added another pair of runs in the fifth to go up six nil.

Wellington coach Tom Roth was impressed with the team's performance but knows there is much more to be expected from the Lady Dukes softball team.

"The kids played well, hopefully the bats stay hot," Roth said.

The win took the girls to the District final on Thursday to play the Columbia Raiders.

In the words of second basemen Brooke Lewis, "We started where we left off (against Independence)."

The Lady Dukes clinched the Division III District Championship for only the third time in school history. Wellington clinched the title in 2005 and once in the early eighties.

"Back then all we threw were fastballs but now the game has changed into a game of finesse," Roth said. "Today's pitchers manage to throw multiple pitches such as the rise ball, screw ball, change up, drop ball, and curveball. For example, Melanie Conklin felt that her pitches were moving much better today."

"My pitches had good movement today, I threw my curveball a lot and whatever else to keep the hitters off balance," she said.

Conklin managed to strike out eight and gave up only two hits off errors.

However, Conklin's superb pitching wasn't the only highlight of the game. The bats stayed hot for the Lady Dukes as they scattered 11 singles and a mammoth home run by sophomore Melissa Rennie putting the Lady Dukes up 1-0 in the top of the fourth.

When asked what pitcher Jen Solanics threw, Rennie smiled and said, "rise ball, her form was real low." It was just enough for the Lady Dukes to hold off the Columbia Raiders 1-0.

"Everything fell in place for our senior year," Conklin said.

The 20-4 Dukes move on to Massilon for Regional play on Wednesday, May 28.

"Awesome" was the one word that came to mind for all the players of the District Champion Lady Dukes softball team.