The West Geauga Wolverines softball team is 4-9 following a thrilling come-from-behind walkoff win in eight innings over the visiting Jefferson Area Falcons, 5-4, on April 18.
The West Geauga Wolverines softball team is 4-9 following a thrilling come-from-behind walkoff win in eight innings over the visiting Jefferson Area Falcons, 5-4, on April 18.
The Wolverines trailed 4-0 into the bottom of the seventh and had some extra emotion coming off a 5-1 loss to the same Falcons team just two days prior.
But the team rallied to tie it, winning it one inning later.
“When they started hitting the ball, I started thinking the exact same thing,” Percassi said, remembering the loss. “We stayed in there, and I give Lely (Percassi) a ton of credit for as tough as she pitched in those jams. We hung in there, so for them to come back like that and give it a heck of an effort is a hat’s off to my girls. That’s a great team over there.”
Dayana Malone led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run — the first long ball of her career — to ignite the rally.
“I just wanted a base hit to start the inning. It was just the perfect pitch and I hit it, far,” Malone said of the homer.
Shaylynn Rogaski and Ava Borz each delivered RBI doubles, and Percassi knotted the game with an RBI single to force extras.
Rogaski came up to bat again in the eighth with two on and two out with a chance to win the game.
“It was nerve-racking,” she said of the at-bat. “I was scared going up to bat, but I saw the first pitch and I was excited.”
The senior delivered with the game-winning RBI single to left-center, sending her team into a frenzy.
A major player that helped West Geauga find success despite trailing 4-0, down to its final three outs, is the tough regular-season schedule they play.
The Wolverines, who were a part of the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division last season, play an independent, or non-conference schedule, all year.
This opens the door to play the toughest teams around.
“We knew we needed to be challenged, and we’ve taken our lumps, but it’s allowed us to see our weaknesses so we can get better,” Coach Percassi said. “We won at a high rate last year, and I felt like we weren’t learning a lot, and when we got into tough games, we didn’t have answers. But now we’re learning with opportunities to get better. Today was a great example of that.”
Those opportunities to get better came to fruition in the win.
“We’re playing way harder teams this year, and it’s been hard to adjust to that, but we’re doing good and improving,” Rogaski said postgame. “I’m very proud of our team.”
Malone followed, “It’s definitely more competitive, and after the Tennessee trip, we saw what we needed fixed, and we fixed it here. We’re just playing hard.”
Despite all of the trials and tribulations of the 2025 season through 13 games, when the time comes, those challenges could lead to a playoff run down the line for the Wolverines.
“Doing what we just did to a very good team is the evidence of what we’re building to,” Percassi said. “We’re still young, and we have five or six sophomores playing, with only a few juniors and seniors playing. We’re still young in many ways, but we’re talented. (The schedule) has exploited us so that we can get better. We’re losing games early in the season, but we’re learning. Today was a great example of that. We’re doing the little things that matter in big games, and that’s what I want for these because they need to be challenged. They’re competitive.”
The record sits at 4-9 for West Geauga, and coach Percassi knows he needs to make sure his team believes that the record doesn’t define them, trusting his seniors to lead by example.
“Every one of these seniors has the never-give-up attitude, they hustle, smile, and they play the game the right way,” Percassi said. “That rubs off on the others. They’re experienced, and our younger kids look to them in these types of situations. It’s like, ‘Okay, Shaylynn, you’re up to bat to win the game, what’re you feeling?’ Some of these young sophomores are looking to her, and she’s poised, ready to go.
Percassi said Allie Arigo had a huge hit, a sophomore who is just starting to hit the ball well. Another sophomore, Sydney Gallagher, who pinch ran for Arigo in the eighth, stole second and scored the game-winning run.
“Two sophomores who have not played a ton of ball had a huge impact in today’s game, and a big part of that is because they look to the older girls and emulate them, and watch what they do,” the coach said. “The seniors are tremendous, and I’ll ride with them all day long. We might not have the greatest record, but we’re going to be a tough draw for somebody in the tournament.”
The Wolverines were scheduled to play four straight games this week, hosting Willoughby South, visiting Geneva, welcoming in Wickliffe and taking a visit to Berkshire.
