TABS Bradford State Championship by arenspub

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BRAdFORd GIRLS’ SOFtBALL tEAm dOmINAtES StAtEwIdE tOuRNAmENt REGION 21 FINAL & StAtE SEmI-FINAL GAmES by Gary Godfrey There are 88 counties in Ohio. It only took the Lady ‘Roaders five games and a bye to advance to the OHSAA Division IV Region 21 softball championship game. It was the ultimate showdown - Bradford against Mechanicsburg. By far, it was the toughest team the Lady ‘Roaders faced and they played their hearts out in a 1-0 shutout. Both teams had excellent pitchers and defensive wonder women. Both crowds recognized excellent performances throughout the entire game, with stand-up applause and cheering from opposite sides for their opponent’s skill levels and perfect plays. As we were leaving, I overheard several supporters of both teams make similar remarks: “That was just like a State playoff match-up, what a game!” The next stop was the State semi-finals. People usually refer to this as the “final four.” The four teams: Bradford, New Riegel, Cuyahoga Heights, and Newark Catholic. The game was played at the Firestone Stadium in Akron, a very nice stadium and a great place to play the State semi-finals. My wife Ginger and I sat down about an hour before the first pitch. An elderly man sat beside Ginger, and she started a conversation about the New Riegel team we were going to face. Of course, I just listened. “Do you know anything about this team we’re playing?” she asked.

AUSTY & SKIPP MILLER ALL-OHIO FIRST TEAM • ALL STATE HONORS • BEST BATTERY IN THE STATE

“Yes, I do. I come to the State playoffs every year, and I try to watch as many games as I can,” he remarked. “New Riegel has a village population of about 250 people. They have 19 girls who play softball. I try to find out about each team on the Internet.”

And just like the twinkle in his eye, they were playing The National Anthem. Bradford was home team, and Skipp Miller soon showed the visiting players and the audience what was in store. Riegel’s lead off hitter walked. Miller then struck out Dryfuse and Bouillon swinging. Lininger (the cleanup hitter) grounded out to the catcher. It’s now the bottom of the first inning. Austy Miller doubles to left field. Abby Fike lays down a SAC Bunt. Austy advances to third. Skipp Miller walks. A. Barhorst pinch ran for Skipp Miller. A. Barhorst steals second. N. Beireis singled bunt, with RBI. A. Barhorst scores on a wild pitch. M. Manuel walks. N. Beireis advances to third on a passed ball. M. Manuel out at second, c to 2b caught stealing. N. Beireis scores on the throw. E. Canan doubles to left field. R. Canan reaches first on an error by ss; E. Canan scores, unearned. R. Canan advances to second on a wild pitch. S. Brewer singles to left field, RBI. R. Canan scores, unearned. L. Hamilton strikes out swinging. Bradford 5 – New Riegel 0. Before the pitcher had warmed up, our friend stood up and said, “New Riegel has never seen a pitcher this good. You don’t need me here to help you win this one. Have a nice day!” The Lady ‘Roaders scored three in the second inning, one in the third, two in the fourth. Run rule of 10 runs or more ended the game in the fifth inning. Bradford won 11 – 0 on 10 hits and Riegel’s four errors. Riegel left two players on base, while Bradford stranded three. When the box score finally came in, Skipp Miller had thrown her 12th no hitter of the season. If you were thinking what I was thinking, there were only two teams left, Bradford vs. Cuyahoga Heights. New Riegel never had a ball hit out of the infield. Wow!

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It’s About Time for the Final Game to Begin! • the coaches are ready • the team is on the field • the fans are in the stands

LeT’s PLAy BALL

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The 2021 OHSAA DIVISION IV STATE CHAMPION SOFTBALL TEAM

BRADF ORD RAIL ROADE RS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

Bradford VS. CUYaHoGa HEIGHTS for THE STaTE TITLE... Once again, Bradford is home team. Top of the first – Cuyahoga Heights batting Reyes popped up to 1b. J. Harris grounded out to ss. T. Studniarz singles to right center. K. Vallee grounded out to 2b. Bottom of first – Bradford batting Miller singled to left field. A. Fike grounded out to pitcher, SAC bunt. A. Miller advances to third. S. Miller reached on a fielder’s choice, SAC bunt, RBI. A. Miller scored. A. Barhorst pinch ran for S. Miller. N. Beireis struck out swinging. M. Manuel lined out to ss.

N. Beireis doubled to left field. M. Manuel singled to left center. N. Beireis advanced to third. S. Swick pinch ran for M. Manuel. E. Canan reached first on an error by 2b, SAC bunt, advanced to second on an error by 2b, RBI. S. Swick scored. N. Beireis scored. R. Canan popped up to 3b. S. Brewer doubled to left field. E. Canan advanced to third. L. Hamilton flied out to lf. A Miller doubled to center field, 2 RBI. S. Brewer scored. E. Canan scored, unearned. A. Fike lined out to 2b. Bradford 5 – Cuyahoga Heights 0 Bradford scored two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth.

Bradford 1 – Cuyahoga Heights 0

Bradford 8 – Cuyahoga Heights 0

The next two innings, neither teams scores.

Top of Seventh Inning K. Vallee grounded out to 1b unassisted. M. Vance struck out swinging. T. Conroy grounded out to 2b.

Top of Fourth Inning K. Vallee grounded out to 3b. M. Vance struck out swinging. T. Conroy struck out swinging. Bottom of Fourth Inning

The State Champions were running wild. The joy, the emotion, the tears, the dreams were all coming true. Good Job, Lady ‘Roaders!

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Determination and Hard Work Help to Make Champions!

After the trophy and medal presentations, ‘Roader players and coaches were given bottles of champagne (sparkling grape juice). What was intended to be a thirst quencher soon turned into a squirt-gun substitute. And who took the first shot?? We suspect it came from the unidentifiedl fellow at the front right in this picture.

PATTY’S

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W hat A Sweet Victor y For Our Lady ‘Roader

SOF TBALL TEAM

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‘Once a Railroader, Always a Railroader’

FOR THE

REC RD

By Gary L. Godfrey

Bradford was a thriving railroad town in its early history. It was built by hard work and determination to become a successful town. Likewise, it took a lot of “hard work and determination” by the girls’ softball team and their coaches to win the title of State Champion. On the front of a sweatshirt my wife Ginger likes to wear, it has this saying... “Once a Railroader, Always a Railroader” – which truly reflects the sentiment of residents of this great little town. Ginger and I thank all the girls and their coaches for their hard work and determination that makes us all proud to be Railroaders. May this pride carry on for generations to come.

TEAM HITTING (FINAL FOUR) 46 AB 17 HITS 19 RUNS 13 RBI’s 8 LEFT ON BASE (LOB) 4 BASE ON BALLS

Staying Loose in the Big Game

2021 STATS

By Gary L. Godfrey

OVERALL RECORD: 33-2 .94% WINS HOME: 14-2 AWAY: 12-0 NEUTRAL: 7-0 (PLAY-OFFS)

Thoughts du Jour “Most ball games are lost, not won.” ~ Casey Stengel “Losing is essential to anyone’s success. The more you lose, the more you want to win.” ~ Brett Hull “There’s wining and there’s losing, and in life both will happen. What is never acceptable to me, is quitting.” ~ Magic Johnson “I’ve never lost a game, I just ran out of time.” ~ picturequotes.com “The key to winning softball games is pitching fundamentals, and three home runs.” ~ athlonsports.com “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” ~ Michael Jordan

Every coach knows that, in the big game – especially in the final four for the State Championship – his team must remain loose. In Bradford’s game with Riegel, the Akron PA began to play the song, “Cha Cha Slide” by MC. I know this because I overheard a teenager yell it out when it first came on the speaker. As I continued to check out the Lady ‘Roaders, I noticed Abby Fike was listening to the music and began to dance to the Cha, Cha Slide instructions. In a matter of seconds, several of her teammates joined in, and they all knew what they were doing. At this point, I thought to myself that this was either a good thing (of staying loose) or it was a bad case of all of them not keeping their heads in this big game. As I looked over at the Riegel bench, they were all lined up in a row in their dugout, staring like a deer in Bradford’s headlights. One team was really having fun, but Riegel looked like death warmed over. The Cha, Cha Slide dance now looked like a chow line, and Coach Schaffer was nearby smiling at Ms. Fike. It looked like he was giving her signals like his battery does in each game. The music stopped, and the girls kept on dancing. The game ended 11-0 with a no hitter. I guess you could say the Lady ‘Roaders were really loose!

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‘ROADERS STARTING LINEUP TOP ROW L-R LF BUZZ BREWER CF RYLEE CANAN RF IZZY HAMILTON

MIDDLE ROW L-R 3B ZOE BREWER SS ABBY FIKE 2B EMMA CANAN BOTTOM ROW L-R CATCHER AUSTY MILLER PITCHER SKIPP MILLER 1B NYLANI BEIRIES

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KEEPING TABS, JUNE 23, 2021 - PAGE 9

The Winner! Zoe Brewer By Gary Godfrey, Sr.

Our Sincere anks To Bradford Residents Don Selanders and His Wife Brenda For the Outstanding Work ey Did on the Photos Of the Bradford Girls’ Softball Team For this Special Insert

It was the bottom of the sixth inning, Bradford was leading 7-0, and the coach pinch-hit Zoe Brewer for Lizzy Hamilton. Most of the crowd scratched their heads. Zoe, a sophomore, marched to the plate with more confidence than Kamala Harris. She took the first pitch, still smiling. She looked like she knew she was on camera. Whack! The ball sounded like a rocket went off. As I looked up, the line drive was a perfect hit to right center field. As she landed on second base, the roar of the crowd could have been heard in Bradford. I asked the coach, Shon Schaffer, “Why did you pinchhit Zoe for Lizzy?” His response was, “You know as well as I do that teen girls can get very emotional. Lizzy was having a bad day at the plate, so I let Zoe pinch-hit for her. As soon as she reached second base, Lizzy replaced her as a pinch runner. Austy Miller flied out to center field, for the first out. Abby Fike lined out to the pitcher, for the second out. Skipp Miller singled to left field, and advanced to second, RBI; L. Hamilton scored. Without thinking, I knew this game would be talked about for generations. The Millers and the Canans without question, but Zoe Brewer was the only Bradford player to bat a 1.000 percent. She will definitely go down in the history book of the Lady ‘Roaders Journal.

And that, my friends, is the bottom line.

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BRADFORD RAILROADERS SOFTBALL ROSTER ‘21 NAmE SkIpp mILLER mAGGIE mANUEL COURTNEy mONNIN BUZZ BREwER EmmA CANAN NyLANI BEIREIS AUSTy mILLER RyLEE CANAN ABBy FIkE ZOE BREwER ALEXIS BARHORST BELLA BREwER ISABELLA HAmILTON REmI HARLEmAN SARAH BECkSTEDT SHAyLEIGH SwICk TEGAN CANAN ALANI CANAN IZZy pAINTER

BRADFORD 2021 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

# GRADE 19 SR 10 SR 14 SR 6 SR 7 SR 26 JR 4 JR 22 JR 40 JR 9 JR 1 JR 24 SO 5 SO 34 SO 28 SO 3 SO 11 FR 12 FR 16 FR

HEAD COACH SHON SCHAFFER ASSISTANT COACH ERIC HART JV COACH GREG GORDON AD CHLOE THOmpSON HS pRINCIpAL mATT TRIpLETT SUpERINTENDENT JOE HURST

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Troy CourThouse IllumInaTed In orange To CommemoraTe Bradford gIrls’ sofTBall Team BeIng named sTaTe ChampIons On the night of Wednesday, June 16, the Miami County Courthouse in downtown Troy was glowing orange in honor of the Bradford girls’ softball team being State Champions in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Division IV State Softball Tournament. Commission President Gregory Simmons said, “These young ladies share a lot of pride in their victory. Being a State Champion is such a remarkable accomplishment. I’m sure it’s something they will cherish and remember for the rest of their lives.” Commission Vice President Ted Mercer had this to say: “We share Bradford with Darke County and the commissioners wanted to do something special, not only for these young ladies, but the entire Bradford community. It’s an honor not only to recognize the team but their families and fans, as well.” Commissioner Wade Westfall said, “Sports teach teamwork, discipline, and commitment. Bradford’s young ladies showed all these characteristics, and now they are State Champions. I’m sure they will be champions in whatever else they want to accomplish.”

We Are SO PROUD Of the 2021 Lady Railroader Champions! Our Family Serving Your Family Since 1922 PAGE 12 - KEEPING TABS, JUNE 23, 2021