Freshman Chloe Glass had the lone hit for Kenton Ridge, which finished 28-5.
“Obviously, it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to, but it was a heck of a game,” said Cougars coach Sarah Schalnat. “(Kyanne Tyson) did a great job pitching. We didn’t get the bats going. It was a great game. You can’t complain about a 3-0 ball game and (Tyson) kept us in it.”
Canfield (26-3), last year’s state runner-up, will play either Bryan or Circleville Logan Elm in the D-II state championship game Saturday in Akron.
Toth kept the Cougars hitters guessing at the plate. After Glass flew out to start the game, Toth struck out eight straight batters.
“She definitely hits her spots and has a great rise ball,” Schalnat said. “She kept the kids off balance. She’s a great pitcher. We didn’t perform today and put the ball in play. She did great.”
Sophomore Caylee Ortiz hit a home run in the second inning to give Canfield a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals put runners in scoring position in third, fourth and fifth innings, but Tyson was able to work out of the jam. They broke through for two more runs in the sixth inning on singles by junior Marina Koenig, Ortiz and sophomore Jenna Triveri.
Tyson threw a complete game, allowing six hits and three runs with four strikeouts.
“I just went in there with a clear mind, and I was thinking that if they get on, you just have to keep going,” she said. “You can’t think about giving up that home run. We knew we had to score, and we weren’t going to win (without a run). You’ve just got to keep going.”
In the seventh inning, the Cougars finally broke through for a hit. Glass was the only Kenton Ridge batter put the ball in play all three at-bats, connecting with a single to left field that broke up Toth’s perfect game.
“My team was really happy,” Glass said. “I was really just focusing on the pitch and driving it to the left side.”
Toth, a Buffalo commit, retired the next two batters to send her team back to the state championship game.
The Cougars finished the season as Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division champs for the second straight year and won the program’s seventh regional championship after falling one game short of Akron each of the past two seasons.
“These girls put in a lot of work in the offseason, lifting and hitting,” Schalnat said. “They want it and that’s the thing that’s nice about it. Three years ago, we finally made it to regionals and being able to play in those games, we were finally able to break through this year.
“I hope having a young team that (the state experience) will fuel the fire and they’ll want to come back here and be a part of it,” Schalnat said.
The Cougars will graduate two seniors from this year’s squad in Natalee Fyffe and Dakotah Timmons, both four-year varsity players. The duo won three district championships, two CBC titles and played a key role in sending Kenton Ridge back to the state tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
The experience is one they’ll never forget, Fyffe said.
“It was definitely different than any atmosphere we’ve been in so far, especially during our four years,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve been in such a big arena or stadium, and it was a really fun experience just being here yesterday to watch the other teams. It was pretty cool.”
“I hope these girls get it many more times,” Timmons said. “It definitely wasn’t the ending we wanted or expected, but coach always says it’s the luck of the game and they had the luck today.”
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