Softball | Aurora must replace three senior stalwarts from conference championship team

Not large in quantity, but massive in quality, the Aurora softball squad will have to fill gaps for senior graduates Kayla Ring, Mackenzie Krafcik, and Ava Ryncarz.

Veteran coach Sam Petrash noted the impact of this trio.

“All three of our seniors are four-year letter winners,” he said. “Kayla Ring has anchored that third base spot since her sophomore year. Ava Ryncarz has done the same in center field. Mackenzie Krafcik was put on the mound her freshman year throwing meaningful games.”

Petrash was recently named the Suburban League American Conference Coach of the Year along with Tallmadge coach Brittany Lightel.

Aurora finished 15-8 overall and 11-3 to share the league honors with Tallmadge.

“We do not accomplish our goals without these girls and we are going to miss all of them, yet we wish them a tremendous amount of success as they move on,” said Petrash.

“Krafcik will go on to pitch at Bowling Green. Ryncarz will go to John Carroll to play basketball and Ring will be going to Ohio University. We are proud of all of them.”

The gifted Krafcik was superb on the mound for the Greenmen. She had a 7-4 record and a 3.47 ERA.

In 74⅔ innings, Krafcik struck out 89 batters and walked 25. She also played at first base.

At the plate, Krafcik also had some moments as she hit .279 and led the unit with 12 walks. She had a .446 on-base percentage, 11 RBIs and five doubles.

One of the most experienced players on the team, Ring came up with clutch hits throughout her career.

This year, Ring hit .328 in 19 games with the team’s third-most runs scored with 20, plus she had 21 hits, two home runs, and 15 RBIs.

A standout defensive center fielder, Ryncarz led the team with 26 runs scored and placed third on the club with a .403 batting average, 29 hits and OPS (1.005).

In addition, Ryncarz had two triples, two homers, 18 RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .436.

Krafcik and Ryncarz were All-Suburban first-team picks while Ring was an honorable mention choice.

Petrash is excited about next season and the future. All-district second-team selection sophomore McKennah Metzger was sensational at the plate and in the circle.

Metzger was also recently named the Pitcher of the Year in the Suburban League American Conference.

On the hill, Metzger was 8-3 with a sterling 1.93 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 61⅓ innings with 19 walks. She was dominant in the team’s tough 2-1 Division II district semifinal loss to Canfield.

The powerful Metzger, who played first base, paced Aurora with five home runs, 37 hits and 17 extra-base hits.

Metzger tied for the lead with 12 doubles and was second in batting average at .446, RBIs (27), on-base percentage (0.500), and OPS (1.271).

Experienced junior Maggie McVicker also has great strength for Aurora at the plate. She hit .351 with three home runs, which was second on the team, and the third-best slugging (.597) and 20 RBIs, which was also third overall.

A three-year vet who plays right field and first base, McVicker also had 27 hits, 19 runs, 12 extra-base hits, and eight doubles. She was an all-league second-team pick.

Both Metzger and McVicker played in all 23 games.

Another athlete with loads of experience is junior Madison Zdanowicz, another three-year player who can play shortstop and in the outfield. She made all-league honorable mention.

Zdanowicz batted .314 in 21 games with 22 hits, 17 runs scored, plus was second on the team with 10 walks, and added eight doubles.

Sophomore Madeline Dalessandro hit .328 in 23 games with one home run and 17 RBIs. She also is a good defensive catcher and an outfielder, plus made all-league second-team.

Petrash said the squad will have a great blend of experience and youth next season and the future is bright. A glimpse of that promise was seen in fierce league play.

“Running off 10 wins against one loss since our 1-2 start is quite an accomplishment in this league,” he said.

When Aurora’s future is discussed, freshman Sophie Retton has to be at the top of that list! Retton was an all-league first-team selection and that is just the start of her contributions.

Retto led the team with a sizzling .522 batting average as well as 31 RBIs, on-base percentage (.545), and OPS (1.285), plus tied for honors in doubles (12).

In addition, Retton also was second on the club in hits (36) and slugging (.739) and tied for second with 20 runs scored. Retton had one home run and tied for second with 13 extra-base hits.

The team’s third pitching option behind the 1-2 punch of Krafcik and Metzger, Retton tossed a brilliant 85-pitch, 7⅓ inning gem as a starter in a doubleheader at Boardman in her only appearance. She allowed only three earned runs and struck out six with only one walk.

It’s safe to say that Retton will have a huge impact on the hill with the graduation of Krafcik.

Another sensational freshman for the Greenmen was Sophie Petrash. She was all-league second-team.

A stalwart hitter, Petrash batted .361 and had a team-best three triples, 16 runs and 15 RBIs, along with a .424 on-base percentage.

Freshman catcher Sophie Schechterman also had some bright moments as she had a .988 fielding percentage. She hit .278 with 10 runs in 17 games.

Julia Miller is a freshman who contributed a .350 average in 12 games and gained strong experience. She had 14 runs and five RBIs.

Other freshmen who got a taste of varsity action this year were Avery Qualters (nine runs, five RBIs in 13 games), Rayna Unverferth (nine runs in 13 games), Brooke Manav (eight runs in 13 games) and Sydney Rampton.

“All of the freshmen can play multiple positions,” said Sam Petrash, who was assisted by Sarah Ross, Curtis Barker, and Gregg Unverferth.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora softball will defend its Suburban League championship in 2023