“I couldn’t have done it without my catcher here and the rest of my team,” Rastatter said. “They always have my back, and I know I can trust my spots because my defense is so good.”
The Cougars (29-0) advanced to play Newark Licking Valley (23-5) at 5 p.m. Friday in the regional final at Mason. Licking Valley beat Clinton Massie 2-1 on a walk-off single.
Kenton Ridge won a D-II regional championship last season before falling to eventual state champion Canfield in a state semifinal. Since that loss, the program has been laser-focused on getting back to Akron’s Firestone Stadium, home of the state championship tournament, Fyffe said.
“I’m super excited to get back (to the regional final),” she said. “I can’t remember when we lost, but ever since then, we’ve just been working. I gotta give credit to every body on my team because we push each other. It’s a sisterhood. We have to keep each other accountable.”
Fyffe (2-for-4, solo home run and three runs) and Rastatter (2-for-4, home run and two RBIs) led the offense, with sophomore Jayden Davis adding two RBIs and Chloe Glass going 2-for-3. The Cougars outhit Taylor 11-2.
Kenton Ridge took the lead in the first inning. Freshman Lily Foulk walked and scored on an error committed after Fyffe bunted. Davis followed with a single, scoring Fyffe to make it 2-0.
“I felt like we did a great job being disciplined at the plate,” said Cougars coach Sarah Schalnat. “There were times that we chased a little bit, but all in all, I thought we did a great job at bat. We played solid defense. I know we had the error late, but it didn’t hurt us. We were up a little bit, and that happens. I thought we did a great job getting the bunt down tonight, too.”
Fyffe led off the third inning with a monster home run that nearly landed on the baseball field across from the centerfield wall to make it 3-0.
“I’ve been struggling to get a good barrel,” Fyffe said. “The whole time I was thinking, ‘Just get a hit, just get a hit.’ I gotta give credit to (family friend) Blaine Wright. He’s been working with me the last couple of days now. ... It paid off. I’m happy he’s been able to work with me.”
After giving up a single to start the game, Rastatter struck out 11 of the next 14 Taylor hitters before allowing another single in the fifth inning. Rastatter used a fastball, riseball and screwball to keep the Yellowjacket hitters off-balance the entire game.
“Everything was just on and it was clicking,” Rastatter said. “When it clicks, it clicks.”
By that point, the Cougars had a 4-0 lead. They added two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to make it 8-0.
“We’ve hit a lot this week getting ready for today,” Schalnat said. “We’ll go back and we’ll hit again and get ready for Friday. (Taylor) had a great pitcher. They’re a great team. We did our job today.”
The Cougars face another tough opponent in Licking Valley, who beat Kenton Ridge 6-5 in the 2013 D-II state final.
“It’s going to be another tight ball game,” Schalnat said. “That’s where we’re at now. Close games, putting pressure on each other and that’s what makes it fun. That’s why we’re here, we’re down to the final eight. This is what it’s all about.”
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