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On a mission, Lions hit, steal run for victory
(by Tony Lange - April 13, 2012)
On a mission, Lions hit, steal run for victory
By TONY LANGE
The Orange softball players were on a mission during their game against Hawken School last week -- swing at strikes, steal bases and score.
The Lady Lions had 24 hits and 18 stolen bases in just four bottom-half innings of their 19-5 run-rule triumph against Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division opponent Hawken.
That win for Orange came just two days after a 7-6 season-opener loss to Wickliffe -- also a Metro Division rival.
Orange head coach Ernie Ley adopted a mantra after that game, he said.
"I've kind of challenged the girls that, once they play a game, afterwards when we evaluate, we ask ourselves what it is that we want to do today to make tomorrow better than yesterday," he said. "I think, for some of the girls, we were disappointed in the loss at Wickliffe. So, against Hawken, we wanted to go after first strikes, be aggressive at the plate and be aggressive on the base path."
Leading the offense for the Lady Lions, Julia Papesch, Ari Moss, Leslie Sensibello and Leila Abraksia -- Orange's 2-3-4-5 hitters -- combined for 15 hits and 13 RBIs during their 16 at-bats.
On her birthday, Abraksia treated herself to two home runs, a triple and five RBIs.
"My teammates put a lot of pressure on me at first, but, with all the cheering going on, I think it really helped my hitting and getting on base," she said. "I haven't had two home runs and a triple in a game before, but, after my first home run, everyone was saying nothing is going to seem as good, and then I hit another one. So it all felt really good."
Going four-for-four, Moss hit two singles and two doubles with four RBIs and seven stolen bases. She also led the Lady Lions on the mound, pitching a complete five-inning game, giving up six hits and one walk and striking out six Hawks.
"It was kind of different. I haven't pitched in a while, so I just needed to get into the groove," said Moss, who pitched 49 strikes and 22 balls during the game. "Going up 7-0 after the first two innings, it takes the ease off of runners on base. I'm not worrying too much about one runner on but more about getting an out and pitching strikes than them scoring a run."
On offense, Moss stole bags every time she got on base.
"When you're out there on the base, you have the mind-set to be aggressive," she said. "You have to get to the next base to score a run. It's pretty much how you score in softball. It's not just all hits. It's stealing. So that's really my mind-set -- to get to the next bag."
Meanwhile, Papesch went four-for-four with three singles, a triple and two stolen bases, and Sensibello went four-for-four with four singles, three RBIs and four stolen bases.
Ley said he tells his players to identify their opponents' weaknesses before the game starts.
"I try to tell them sometimes to pick up on some of the nuances of the game," he said. "What did you notice in warm-ups? A couple of them said the catcher doesn't have a very strong arm, and so I told them to make sure we capitalize on that and take advantage early and make sure we establish the pace of the game."
While the Lady Lions soared out to a 7-0 lead after two innings, the Lady Hawks bounced back with a strong third inning and scored four runs to make it a 7-4 ballgame.
"I called them over at that point and challenged them to step it up. I felt that they were underperforming at that point," Ley said. "In terms of offense, I think they answered pretty well with 12 runs over the next two innings."
With the win, Orange improved to 1-1.
Hawken, on the other hand, fell to 1-1 after winning the season opener, 13-2, against Richmond Heights.
Leading the way for Hawken against Orange, Hannah Meropol was two-for-three hitting with a single, a double, four RBIs and three stolen bases.
Up next, Orange hosts Beachwood at 4:30 p.m. April 13, while Hawken travels to Jindra Park at 4:30 p.m. April 13 to take on Wickliffe for CVC Metro Division matches.
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