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Toronto cruises to sectional title over Monroe Central

SLIDING HOME — Toronto’s Gina Fogle (7) slides safely into home plate after a wild pitch by Monroe Central’s Liz Roderick in a Div. IV sectional final on Thursday. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

TORONTO — Toronto sophomore softball standout Jamie Anderson continues to get the job done in the circle and at the plate for the Red Knights.

Anderson struck out 10 batters and limited No. 7 seed Monroe Central to just one hit inside the circle, and she doubled and belted a three-run home run at the plate leading No. 2 seed Toronto to a 10-0 victory in six innings in an Ohio Division IV Eastern District sectional final Thursday evening at Michael Simpson Park.

The Red Knights have now won back-to-back sectional titles.

“She keeps getting it done, absolutely,” Toronto (16-7) head coach Steve Trifonoff said about Anderson. “She threw really well. She was perfect through four innings. She just keeps getting better and better and better. She is able to move her fastball in and out when she wants to.

“Strike 1 is important. She is dangerous when she gets strike 1 because then she is able to throw her other pitches. One thing we have been working on all year is strike 1. I say it so much, she probably hears it in her sleep.”

Monroe Central (14-12) head coach Michgael Brock said Anderson is one of the best pitchers his team has faced all season.

“It was not our day,” he said. “Their pitcher is the best pitcher we have seen since about the 10th of April. She threw us off a little bit. We could not catch up to her in the first few innings.

“We made too many mental mistakes today. We made too many errors. They were definitely the better team today. I hope they go on and beat Strasburg. I hope they go on in the tournament and represent the Ohio Valley.”

With the win, Toronto advances to the district semifinal against top-seed Strasburg at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Minerva. Strasburg defeated No. 13 seed Fort Frye 29-3 in the other sectional final Thursday at home.

“Winning back-to-back sectional titles is good for the girls,” Trifonoff said. “Hopefully, the girls realize this is just another stepping stone. We have big things coming down the road.

“This program has come a long way. From where the program was when I started four years ago to now winning back-to-back sectional titles is a tremendous accomplishment. The girls have put in a lot of hard work. The girls come in the winter and hit.”

Anderson pitched a perfect game for four innings before giving up a base hit to start the top of the fifth. She walked a batter with two outs in the inning, and she walked one with two outs in the sixth.

Liz Roderick took the loss for the Seminoles. She struck out three, walked four and allowed 10 runs on 10 hits.

Riley Kinsey, Madison Sapp and Anderson all tallied two hits for Toronto. Kinsey collected a single and a double, and Sapp produced a triple and an RBI single. Gina Fogle and Sam Swearingen each finished with an RBI single, and Jenna Leasure and Shanna Reed each delivered a base hit.

“A big part of high school softball is putting the ball in play,” Trifonoff said. “You want to put the ball in play. You want to make them have to field it and throw it. You want to pick up extra bases. You want to put pressure on a defense.”

Kirsten Friday singled for the Seminoles’ lone hit.

Toronto plated a pair of unearned runs in the first to take an early 2-0 advantage. Kinsey singled with one out, and she came around to score on an error. Fogle, who walked, ended up scoring on a wild pitch.

The Red Knights recorded two more runs in the third to extend their advantage to 4-0. Anderson led off the inning with a double, and she scored when Sapp reached on an error with one out. Sapp then scored on a single by Swearingen.

The hosts broke the game open with three runs in the fourth. Kinsey and Fogle drew walks, and Anderson followed with her three-run home run to increase Toronto’s advantage to 7-0.

The victors put the game away with three more runs in the sixth. Kinsey doubled and scored on a single by Fogle to give the Red Knights an 8-0 lead. Next, Sapp singled home Fogle to make the score 9-0, and Sapp scored the game-ending run when Swearingen reached on an error.

Monroe Central is scheduled to play at 5:30 p.m. today at Fort Frye. The team also is scheduled to play a make-up a game against Frontier this season.

Toronto is scheduled to play United at 11 a.m. Saturday at home before playing Columbiana at 5:30 p.m. Monday at home.

“Our main goal is to win,” Trifonoff said. “Every time we walk onto the field we want to win. Our schedule is deliberately set up this way. Does our schedule get tougher once the OVAC season is over? Absolutely. Those games help us get better.”

Toronto played Edison and United this week after defeating Shenandoah, 21-2, in the sectional semifinals Saturday afternoon.

Toronto and Strasburg will now play in the postseason for the third straight season. The Tigers won each of the first two meetings.

“This is the third year in a row we matched up against them,” Trifonoff said. “The first time did not go well at all. Last year, they beat us in the district finals. We did not play bad, a couple of plays here and there and it could have been closer. Strasburg is one of the most iconic softball programs in the state we look forward to playing them.”

Tuscarawas Central Catholic will play the winner of today’s game between River and Frontier in the other district semifinal.

“It was my decision to put us where we are on the bracket,” Trifonoff said. “I made the decision. It doesn’t matter if it is the district semifinals or the district finals. You are going to have to play them sooner or later.

“The bracket has fallen like I thought it would with the exception of Bridgeport losing. The three, four, five and six teams all went to the bottom of the bracket. I knew they would go down there. Bridgeport and Shadyside would have gone down there if we went down there. I do not want to take anything away from Monroe Central, but I did not want to have to play Bridgeport or Shadyside in this game. Things are going as I expected except for Bridgeport falling.”

Toronto 10, Monroe Central 0

Monroe Central 0-0-0 0-0-0 — 0 1 3

Toronto 2-0-2 3-0-3 — 10 10 0

MONROE CENTRAL (14-12): Roderick (LP, CG, 10R, 9H, 3K, 4BB) and Giesey.

TORONTO (16-7): Anderson (WP, CG, 0R, 1H, 10K, 2BB) and Reed.

TWO OR MORE HITS: Monroe Central none; Toronto 3 (Kinsey 2, Anderson 2, Sapp). DOUBLES: Monroe Central none; Toronto 1 (Anderson). TRIPLES: Monroe Central none; Toronto 1 (Sapp). HOME RUNS: Monroe Central none; Toronto 1 (Anderson). RBIs: Monroe Central none; Toronto 6 (Anderson 3, Fogle, Sapp, Swearingen).

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