Austintown Fitch softball team wants to stay in Division I next year
A few extra notes from covering the state softball tournament last weekend.
Austintown Fitch wants to remain in Division I next season
The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s softball division assignments have not been released yet, but Austintown Fitch is expected to remain in Division I and compete for a third straight state title.
Head softball coach Steve Ward said Monday that his players want the school to take advantage of a measure passed last month which would allow schools to elect to move up and compete in Division I starting this fall
“I’m looking at the projections looks like will be Division II but I’ve already informed our athletic director that we’re requesting to move up to division one,” Ward said. “When they found out that chances are going to be Division Two, they they were not happy. They said they were Division I.”
Celebrating home runs with the ‘shockwave’
Austintown Fitch had an unique celebration at the state tournament for home runs.
When Sydnie Watts homered in the semifinals and title game, her teammates waited by home plate to meet her.. When Watts jumped on home plate, her teammates fell backwards.
“It’s the shockwave,” Ward said.
How Caylee Ortiz developed through the year for Canfield
Canfield sophomore Caylee Ortiz was the unsung hero of the Cardinals’ state title run.
She had several key hits in the tournament, including a three-run double in the bottom of the first of the state title game.
Canfield head coach Michael Kernan said Ortiz was a key factor for the Cardinals all season despite hitting lower in the order.
“So at the beginning of the season. I told my coaching staff ‘Kaylee Ortiz needs to be in this lineup, you know?’ And they’re looking at me like, Are you kidding me? So we play Fitch the first game of the year and Sydnie Watts throws one hitter against us. (Ortiz) gets the one hit,” Kernan said. “When we played them the second time and one two to one, she had a two run double off the fence. And she hit a double off the fence later in the year against a Georgia Tech commit from Triway.”
“And from there, she caught fire at the state tournament and we’re going to take it.”
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This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Austintown Fitch softball team wants to stay in Division I next year."