'Not a weak spot': As Guglielmi breaks out, Granville softball knocks out Licking Valley
GRANVILLE ― You never know who is going to provide a jolt in Granville softball's formidable lineup. On Thursday, it was junior second baseman Alyssa Guglielmi's turn.
"She's been solid all year, and she hit her first high school home run at the perfect time," coach Brooke Warehime said after Guglielmi's three-run shot and two-run double powered the Blue Aces to a 10-2 win against visiting Licking Valley in a Division II district second-round game. "Sometimes, our best hitters are not as hot, but others step up, and today was her time to do so," he added.
Lamented Panthers' coach Chad Dennis: "They put pressure on you throughout their lineup. They're pretty talented, and there's not a weak spot."
After a career day by its seventh hitter, and a grand slam from cleanup star Emily Travis, second-seeded Granville (19-7) advanced to another home game at 5 p.m. Tuesday against eighth-seeded Highland (11-10) in the district semifinals.
"We've accomplished what we wanted to, to this point," coach Warehime said, "with a chance for a lot more."
The Blue Aces benefitted from sophomore Megan Lodge's four-hitter with seven strikeouts, after sixth-seeded Valley (14-8) lit her up for 11 runs a week ago in a Panther win on the same diamond.
"We really wanted to come back against them, after they beat us on Senior Night," Warehime said. "We had a lot of energy, and it really picked up in the third inning."
It needed to, because Valley had jumped ahead 2-0 thanks to Sylvie Devore, who led off the game with an infield single, went to second on a throwing error and ran home on a Liz Korns hit to right. In the third, she beat out another infield hit, and losing pitcher Abbe McNabb lined an RBI double into the right-center field gap. However, Guglielmi averted further damage with a diving stop of Taylor Renick's infield pop-up and threw to second for a double play.
That seemed to ignite the Blue Aces. Ninth hitter Sydney Cottrill singled, Morgan Layne walked and Taylor Warehime reached on an error, loading the bases with one out. Travis then unloaded them with a blast over the center field fence for a 4-2 lead. Then, in the fifth, Travis walked, Sophia Patena singled and Guglielmi clubbed a shot to left field making it 7-2. In the sixth, Avary King's sacrifice fly scored Layne, who had doubled, and Guglielmi's rope into the left-center field gap plated two more runs and set the final margin.
"I saw where they had shifted in left, and knew to expect that inside pitch," Guglielmi said of her home run. "I got it but didn't expect it to go over the fence. It was exciting for my team, firing them up and giving us the energy to go on to the win."
Lodge was the beneficiary in the circle, and it gave her a boost as well. "That was pretty awesome," she said. "She has come up clutch in every single game, and today, she showed why."
Meanwhile, as ace Ally Ernsberger is still recovering from injury, Lodge continues to improve after being thrust into the starting role. Her dad provided some confidence on Thursday, texting her reminders of some of her best games.
"During these two weeks, with 'Erny' out, I've gotten more and more confidence," Lodge said. "Yesterday after practice, coach talked about us being positive and staying focused. It really helped."
Coach Warehime noted that Lodge took extra warmup throws before the game to get ready, and it carried over. "Megan gets stronger as she goes, and scoring early like we did relieved some of the pressure on her," he said.
Added Guglielmi: "In tough situations, Megan usually gets out of it, and she's matured a lot."
Dennis said his team may have been feeling its youth a little on Thursday. Despite racking up 10 wins in its last 11 games following a 3-6 start, it remains true that the Panthers only have two seniors.
"Our inexperience showed today at the plate," he said. "We scored 11 runs on them last time, with this exact same lineup. We have to learn to compete at a high level, at all times, and don't let the moment get to you. There's been a lot of growing. We had two freshmen who played every inning of every game, and that's something to build on."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: As Guglielmi breaks out, Granville softball knocks out Licking Valley
