As the spring season's state championships and high school all-star games come to an end, we are only about a month away from the beginning of fall high school sports practice.
Game photos click here.
As the spring season’s state championships and high school all-star games come to an end, we are only about a month away from the beginning of fall high school sports practice.
In one of the final all-star games of the 2022-23 school year, Geauga County senior softball players participated in the Ohio Varsity All-Star Classic.
Players selected for this game were split into two teams: one representing the Marines, the other representing the Air Force.
The Marines team was led by Cardinal Head Coach Haley Adams, and representing Geauga County were Shea Malone and Haley Ottman from West Geauga and Madison Zombory from Chardon.
Representing Geauga County for the Air Force team were Sophia Rowan and Gianna Messina from NDCL, Anni Bergmeier and Cam Leggett from Berkshire, and Amy O’Brien from Chardon.
The game remained close throughout, and the Marines won 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off base hit.
Geauga athletes made major contributions throughout.
O’Brien from Chardon got the first RBI of the game when she singled to put the Marines team up 1-0.
The Air Force team came back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning.
Malone from West Geauga drove in two of those runs with a double.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Air Force team extended its lead to 4-1 when Zombory from Chardon drove in a run with a single.
The Marines team then regained its lead in the top of the fourth by scoring four runs to take a 5-4 lead. Berkshire’s Bergmeier contributed to the rally with an RBI single.
The Air Force team entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 8-5 when Malone doubled to drive in two runs, making it 8-7.
After the Air Force team tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, Ottman from West G came to the plate and doubled to move the winning run to third base.
The Air Force team clinched it when Kirtland’s Madison Matijevic hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to drive in the runner from third base.
“We’re super grateful that we were able to be in this,” said Malone, a NCAA Division I commit who will attend Bucknell this fall. “We were up at the beginning and then it just kept going back and forth.
“We were able to pull it off at the end — it was awesome.”
“I think it was a great opportunity to meet all the names you hear on Twitter,” Ottman added. “It’s great to finally be able to play with them, even though we see them all season.”
In addition this game, Ohio Varsity also organized an underclassmen showcase game which was played first.
Geauga athletes participating in the Ohio Varsity Underclassmen Showcase included Celia Anthony (NDCL), Maggie Grant (Cardinal), Mackenzie Kilpeck (Chardon), Rylie Leichtman (Cardinal), Alex Mould (NDCL) and Lexie Simon (NDCL).
After the games, Steve Hare, Geauga resident and Ohio Varsity creator and owner, talked about developing the All-Star Classic and Underclassmen Showcase.
“We started all-star events back in 2011, and they’re great, I love doing them,” Hare said. “I love to make it a spectacle. I don’t want it to be, ‘hey show up and play.’ That’s where the military theme comes from, cool uniforms, and cool facility.
“For the seniors, it’s the last hurrah. (We) give them a fun opportunity to come out and play and just say good-bye to high school softball.”
Although Hare has been organizing all-star games since 2011, he explained that the company has been providing sports marketing services for high schools since the mid 1990s.
“We started in the mid 1990s covering high school football in Ohio, thus the name,” Hare said. “It started out as media coverage, then I started adding the all-star games, and then started adding other things to help schools and teams promote themselves.
“I like to say we are an all-encompassing sports marketing company for high school sports and club sports teams. We give them everything they need to compete.”
Geauga’s high school athletes will continue to train and compete in various school-sponsored mini-camps, scrimmages and leagues, and with their club and travel teams through July.
Then there will not be too much of a break before official practices begin for cross country, football, soccer, girls tennis and volleyball on July 31.
Fall competition begins Aug. 4 with golf and girls tennis, followed by soccer on Aug. 11 and the first Friday night football games on Aug. 18.
