Natalie Susa, McKayla McGee lead Walsh Jesuit to Division I district semifinal win

Massillon Division I District Semifinal

Walsh Jesuit 4, Painesville Riverside 2

McKayla McGee showed staying power for the fifth-seeded Warriors (16-3) in a win over the fourth-seeded Beavers (19-3) at 190 Sports Complex in Massillon.

After striking out in two of her first three at-bats, McGee, a freshman, roped a two-out single to the gap in right to score Keeley Clinton and Sienna Tepley.

"You're going to have nerves with everything," McGee said. "I was trying to focus on myself. I focused on my hands. That's usually what I do to calm myself down. I was just staying relaxed and knowing I had nothing to lose. [When I saw the ball drop in play] I was just thinking, 'Thank God.' Everything that I wanted just happened."

Natalie Susa (12-2) struck out 14 to pick up the win and hit a a two-out, two-run home run to right in the first innings.

Walsh moves on to face third-seeded New Philadelphia (21-4) or 14th-seeded Boardman (11-14) on Wednesday.

Austintown Fitch Division I District Semifinal

Green 11, Perry 0

McKenzie Collinsworth and Madison Pukansky each drove in two runs in the first inning to lead Green (17-4) to a victory over Perry, the defending Division I state champion

Green continued to score later in the game with contributions from Kaylie Duskey (RBI double), Pukansky (RBI triple), Brooke Janelli (sacrifice fly) and Mallory Gearhart (three-run home run).

"This probably was our best hitting game all season," Green coach Sarah Shullick said.

Avery Robinson pitched a shutout with eight strikeouts for Green, who advances to play host Austintown Fitch in a district championship game at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Mentor Division I District Semifinal

North Canton Hoover 11, Chardon 4

The Vikings (16-6) dispatched the Hilltoppers (15-9) with two big innings — four runs in the first and five runs in the sixth — en route to a win at Mentor High School.

Hoover's Sydney Koosh (12-4) earned the win pitching and also had two hits, including a home run, scored two runs and had two RBI. Her sister, Sienna Koosh, also had two hits and had three RBIs. Sadie Carroll added two hits, two runs and two RBIs.

"We came in with a strong mindset," Sydney Koosh said. "We wanted to win. We needed to keep the energy up after they led early. We emphasize that high energy."

Chardon's Sarah Sutton hit a home run and Sidney Nagaj had three hits and one RBI.

"The kids came ready to play," Hoover coach Jerry Goodpasture said. "With our team, it's about coming in with a lot of energy. When we do that, the results are much better. It's always nice to get some runs in the first inning."

Mentor Division I District Semifinal

Jackson 8, Mayfield 1

Julia Gossett (15-3) struck out 20 of the 22 batters that she faced to lead Jackson (18-5) to a victory at Mentor High School.

Angeleah Saltenis had Mayfield's only hit off Gossett when she hit a home run in the second inning. Jackson's offense was paced by Morgan Christopher (5-for-5), Ashley Hauritz (3-for-4, two RBIs) and Alexis Sin (two hits).

Hoover and Jackson return to Mentor for a district title game at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Avon Lake Division I District Semifinal

Amherst Steele 11, Firestone 1

Rachel Miller hit a two-run double in the first inning and a two-run home run in the second inning to lead the Comets (16-8) past the Falcons (16-4) in five innings.

Steele's Eliza Marcano, Bri Sadler and Brianna Waldecki each hit an RBI single and Kristen Kelley contributed a two-run single. Anna Morrow had two of Firestone's five hits and Katie Emery delivered an RBI single.

Sierra Dorobek pitched a complete game for Steele, who advanced to play in its sixth consecutive district final at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Avon at Avon Lake.

Norton 13, Ravenna 0

The Panthers (16-7, 10-2 MAC) rolled to a five-inning win.

"Chloe Bird and Fallon Donley combined to pitch a no-hitter with nine strikeouts," Norton coach Dick Castilow said.

Norton's hitting leaders were Baily Acord (triple, two run, RBI); Avery Morr (single, triple, three run, two RBIs); Nikki Cowx (single, triple, three RBIs); Bird (single, double, three runs, two RBIs) and Ava Dreher (single, double, run, RBI).

BASEBALL

Richfield Division II Sectional Semifinal

Coventry 9, Woodridge 3

Junior Brayden Clark led the Comets past the Bulldogs on the mound and at the plate. Clark (5-1) got the win by throwing 6⅓ innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out seven.

Clark also went 2-of-3 at the plate with a three-run double. Coventry also got a two-run single from Eric Hennon and RBI singles from Johnny Clemente, Brenden Lushes and Keo Plant. Woodridge hurt itself with three errors and a balk in the loss.

Division II Richfield Sectional Semifinal

Revere 6, Sheffield Brookside 1

Pitcher Aiden Weiland earned the win, Nolan Williams had three hits and Devin Donich contributed two hits and four RBIs to lead host Revere (11-12) past Brookside (7-12).

Ellet 1, Tallmadge 0

Josh Faulconer, Chase Merring, T.J. Brown and Cameron Allen led host Ellet (12-8) to a win over Tallmadge (16-8).

Faulconer (1-0) pitched 6⅔ scoreless innings to earn a win and Merring recorded the final out to get a save and finish off Ellet's seventh shutout. Faulconer allowed two hits.

Cameron Allen hit a single in the second inning and scored when T.J. Brown hit a double to right-center field.

"When we play with the right spirit and play together as a team, we seem to have enough to play with anyone and also win. We are not scoring a lot of runs, but we continue to get good pitching," Ellet coach John Sarver said.

Allen finished with two singles. Tallmadge's Keagan Gilbride (4-2) pitched a complete game and allowed five hits.

Archbishop Hoban 10, Barberton 0

Caleb Kepler, Drew Bantum and Michael Ciavolella combined to pitch a shutout with 11 strikeouts, three walks and two hits allowed for Hoban (15-9).

Ciavolella hit two singles and one double, scored two runs and had an RBI. Hoban's Nolan Holmgren (hit, two RBIs); Nate Shimmel (two hits, hit by pitch, walk); Shawn Parnell (hit, two runs); Andrew Karhoff (hit, two runs, two RBIs) and Masud Jennings (two runs, RBI) also made an impact.

St. Vincent-St. Mary 9, Norton 8

Ty Williams hit three singles and scored two runs to help host STVM (15-9) win at Summit Lake Park's George Sisler Field

STVM's Nick Tura had two hits, an RBI and scored a run. Teammates Zack Kurkey (hit, two RBIs, run); Michael Bronowski (hit, two runs); Nick Cody (hit, two RBIs); Shane Adamczyk (hit, RBI) and Aistis Miskinis (hit, RBI) also played key roles.

Norton's leaders were Owen Easterling (two hits, RBI, run); Carter Metz (two hits, RBI); Daniel Hopkins (hit, RBI, run George Antal (home run) and Jacob Ford (hit, two RBIs).

Twinsburg 5, Boardman 2

Kris Kimmel, Jayden Dye, Chris Bryant and Trevor Horvath each went 2-for-3 at bat and pitcher Colin Kelly earned the win to lead the host Tigers (16-5). Both of Kimmel's hits were doubles and he had one RBI. Horvath had one double and two RBI.

North Canton Hoover 4, Green 2

Pitcher Mason Bille earned the win and got the save Carson Dyrlund for Hoover (14-7, 7-5 FL). Ryan Harrigle had three hits and two RBIs for Green (12-8, 7-5).

CVCA 7, Salem 3

Otto Rogers hit a three-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Andrew Hendrickx (5-1) earned a win to lead CVCA (23-2) past Salem (16-8) in a game at Kent State. CVCA's Ryan Wiehe hit an RBI triple and scored a run, Luke Wiggers singled and scored two runs and Tyler Wise smacked a triple and scored a run.

— Compiled by Brad Bournival, Michael Beaven, Michael Leonard, Steve Doerschuk and Jeff Deckerd

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Natalie Susa, McKayla McGee lead Walsh Jesuit to district final