Softball: Reynoldsburg Raiders battle until season’s final out

With the Reynoldsburg softball team about to embark on the final two weeks of the regular season, coach Tony Rettke took extra time April 27 to talk with his players following a rough performance during a 10-2 loss to visiting Groveport.

“We just talked about having heart, giving effort every pitch and having a good attitude if you strike out or have a bad play, just staying up,” sophomore third baseman Marley Smith said. “We just need to stick together as a team.”

Those words didn’t keep the Raiders from struggling in the days that followed as they lost their next five games, but a 10-9 comeback win May 5 over Pickerington Central to close the regular season gave a seven-player senior class and a small group of underclassmen a reason to feel positive about the growth they showed.

The Raiders scored eight runs in the sixth inning, with Smith hitting a three-run home run to tie it at 9 and junior catcher Abi Pursell scoring the winning run on a sacrifice bunt by senior right fielder Kiki Whatley.

Reynoldsburg, which was seeded 33rd for the Division I district tournament, nearly completed another big rally when it scored six runs in the fifth and three in the sixth but lost 11-10 at home to 36th-seeded Westerville South in a first-round game May 10.

The Raiders finished 6-12 overall and 3-7 in the OCC-Buckeye Division after winning one league game a year ago.

“(The season was) like a roller-coaster,” Rettke said. “We jumped out 8-0 against Pickerington Central (in an 11-3 victory April 25) and had probably the best first inning we’ve had in a long time. Everything was clicking and we thought we were finally figuring it out. (We) just (weren’t) capitalizing on our (potential) and (weren’t) making adjustments. We (had) great potential.”

Smith and Pursell should form the offensive backbone for the Raiders next season, along with sophomore left fielder Alison Wodzisz.

Sophomore Ali Turner served as the No. 1 pitcher and should return in the circle along with junior Allison Fee.

The biggest loss to graduation will be senior Madelyn Rettke, the coach’s daughter, who started at first base, batted leadoff and also pitched.

Makayla Brooks (CF), Olivia Elston (2B), Lexi Romero (SS) and Whatley were other key seniors.

“It’s a blessing being with this team,” Smith said. “It’s been really fun and (the seniors) are the best. They’re all leaders in every single way and always make the game more fun.”

•After going 6-15 a year ago, Hartley topped that win total and reached a Division II district semifinal despite having just one senior in third baseman Riley Mann.

The Hawks were seeded 10th and beat ninth-seeded London 11-6 in a second-round game May 11 before falling 4-0 to top-seeded Jonathan Alder on May 16 to finish 8-14 overall.

Hartley also lost 10-0 to the Pioneers on March 29 in its opener.

“When you’re (seeded) in the middle and there’s no clear path, you have to fight for some wins,” coach Allie Smith said. “I expected a close game (against London). We’re a young team, but we’re really talented, so a lot of it is mental and having confidence. You have to be the one to want to make a great play and do that for your team.”

Sophomore catcher Ava McKee emerged as the team’s top hitter, batting .500 with 21 RBI.

Freshman center fielder Anaya Bumpus scored 21 runs.

Juniors Reese Beatty and Becca LeMay split time at pitcher, and other key players included junior Rachel Thompson (LF), sophomores Chloe Best (1B), Faith Campbell (RF) and Cassidy Smith (2B) and freshman Gianna Solinger (SS).

Against London, Mann went 2-for-3 and scored three times. Beatty and Bumpus also had two hits, and Beatty pitched a complete game with no walks.

The Hawks tied DeSales for second (3-3) in the CCL behind Watterson (6-0).

“Ava McKee (did) a great job and her on-base percentage (was) phenomenal,” Smith said. “I knew a lot about her coming into this season and she’s such a hard worker and plays a lot of club in the summer.

“My goal this year was to be at least .500 and we’re not quite there, but we’re close and we improved our record. We played some tough opponents. They fought hard to get some more wins this year and over the next couple years we’ll definitely continue that momentum.”

julrey@thisweeknews.com 

@UlreyThisWeek 

HARTLEY 

•Record: 8-14 overall 

•CCL standings: Watterson (6-0), DeSales (3-3), Hartley (3-3), Ready (0-6) 

•Senior lost: Riley Mann 

•Key returnees: Reese Beatty, Chloe Best, Anaya Bumpus, Faith Campbell, Becca LeMay, Ava McKee, Cassidy Smith, Gianna Solinger and Rachel Thompson 

•Postseason: Def. London 11-6; lost to Jonathan Alder 4-0 in Division II district semifinal 

REYNOLDSBURG 

•Record: 6-12 overall 

•OCC-Buckeye standings: Lancaster (10-0), Groveport (6-4), Pickerington Central (5-5), Newark (5-5), Reynoldsburg (3-7), Central Crossing (1-9) 

•Seniors lost: Makayla Brooks, Olivia Elston, McKayla Matter, Sonia Nkongho, Madelyn Rettke, Lexi Romero and Kiki Whatley 

•Key returnees: Allison Fee, Abi Pursell, Marley Smith and Ali Turner 

•Postseason: Lost to Westerville South 11-10 in first round of Division I district tournament

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Softball: Reynoldsburg battles until season’s final out