“There’s no pressure,” said Cammon, a junior third baseman. “You know the next person behind you is going to hit it.”
“We know there’s someone backing us up,” said Davis, a sophomore first basemen. “It’s all about Cougars.”
“It’s all about sisterhood,” Cammon said.
Davis hit a two-run home run and Cammon followed with a solo shot as the Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead and cruised to an 11-0 victory in five innings over Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in a Division IV district final game on Friday night at Valley View High School.
“We haven’t been visitors for awhile,” said Cougars coach Sarah Schalnat. “It’s always nice to be visitors and score first and we talk about that anyway when we’re the home team. I think scoring first always puts pressure on other people. We just tried to win the inning.”
Davis went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, Cammon went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and junior Annie Fincham and sophomore Chloe Glass each went 2-for-3 as Kenton Ridge improved to 28-0.
They advanced to face Cleves Taylor (17-6) in a D-IV regional semifinal game at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Mason High School. The Yellowjackets beat Waynesville 3-2 in nine innings to advance to the regional tournament.
Cougars freshman Lily Foulk singled to open the game and moved to second on a sacrifice fly by junior Brenna Fyffe. With a 2-0 count, Davis knew exactly what was coming.
“We had talked about how she was throwing first-pitch strikes,” she said. “I got two balls, so I knew automatically she was going to throw me one right down the middle or right there. It was a good pitch, but I just sat and waited it.”
The sophomore smashed a home run over the centerfield fence to give her team a lead it would never relinquish. It was her 13th homer of the season.
With two outs, Cammon launched another ball to left centerfield to make it 3-0.
“I was just prepared coming to the plate and I felt confident,” she said. “My team was back there supporting me and I could hear them. We definitely came in wanting to play and we came in and played hard.”
The Cougars added four runs in the second, three in the fourth and another in the fifth to seal the five-inning victory. Kenton Ridge had 15 hits in the game.
In the bottom of the first inning, CHCA leadoff hitter Ella Helms hit a line drive over Annie Fincham’s head for her team’s only hit – and baserunner – of the game. Freshman Ivee Rastatter sat down the next 12 hitters, striking out seven. Senior Kyanne Tyson threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning with two strikeouts.
“Both of them are doing a great job,” Schalnat said. “Ivee is very focused and so is Tyson. It’s nice to have both of them being ready and able to go at any time. Tyson knows the routine, go out, get loose and be ready to go. They’ve both done a great job this season.”
The D-IV top-ranked Cougars won their fourth straight district title. A year ago, the Cougars advanced to a D-II state semifinal game, falling to eventual state champion Canfield 3-0 at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
While the goal is a second straight trip to Akron, the Cougars are solely focused on the next game.
“You’ve got to win the next game,” Schalnat said. “We never look ahead… We’ve got to continue to stay focused and hit the ball.”
About the Author
