'You have great and amazing players behind you': Aurora softball picks each other up

TALLMADGE — Two state contenders took the field Tuesday in Tallmadge.

One needs no introduction.

The host Blue Devils won last year’s Division II state title.

The other, Aurora, may not be as well known outside Portage County and the Suburban League. Well, it’s time to get to know the undefeated Greenmen, who announced their presence with McKennah Metzger’s searing grand slam over the center-field wall.

The Coastal Carolina commit also limited the Blue Devils, who returned much of last year's Division II state championship roster, to two runs on five hits.

Aurora's 12-2 win over Tallmadge was eye-opening but not necessarily surprising given the Greenmen split last year's season series and actually won the league title by a game.

"It means a lot," Metzger said. "This is a game we've been looking forward to since the season started, and we always know they're going to be a great team, so coming out here and getting this win is big for us."

This week, the Blue Devils are state-ranked.

Perhaps next week, the Greenmen will be as well.

Aurora more than Metzger Mania

If Metzger's grand slam was the game's defining moment, there were less spectacular but no less important moments that created that opportunity.

After Sophie Schecterman worked a full-count walk and Madeline Dalessandro followed with a bunt single to lead off the second, Tallmadge nearly got out of the inning unscathed.

Following a strikeout and an unsuccessful safety squeeze, the Blue Devils were one out from returning to the dugout down just 1-0.

One strike, actually.

With a 2-2 count, Aurora shortstop Rayna Unverferth tapped a low fastball back to stay alive, then lofted the next pitch just in front of the left fielder for an RBI single.

"When it came to that 2-2, I just wanted to keep fighting and making sure I kept our rally going," Unverferth said. "I didn't want to end that."

The Greenmen's Sophie Petrash then reached on a chopper down the third-base line. That gave Metzger her chance with the bases loaded, and she lined the first pitch of her second at-bat well over the center-field wall.

An inning earlier, it was Metzger who needed to be picked up, as she had a rare bad at-bat, lunging at a couple of outside pitches to strike out with runners on second and third and no outs. The next hitter, Sophie Retton, had Metzger's back, plating Aurora's first run with a sacrifice fly.

"Obviously, you have McKennah Metzger and she is a phenomenal softball player, but I hope people don't lose sight of the fact that there are eight other players behind her or even more," Greenmen coach Sam Petrash said. "Now, we have 14 on our [roster], so you have — what? — 13 other players behind her that can come in and contribute."

Aurora shows mental toughness throughout Tuesday's win

Metzger was frustrated after her first at-bat. No, more than frustrated.

"I was pretty pissed after that first at-bat," Metzger said. "I was pretty upset but you just have to reset. It's such a game of like mental toughness, I guess."

Metzger showed that toughness, going from a strikeout with two runners on in the first to a grand slam an inning later.

Schecterman had to overcome her own frustration, as the catcher had a couple of wild throws during pregame warmups, then an early error that allowed the Blue Devils' second run to score.

Like Metzger, Schechterman showed her ability to shake off a bad play, blasting a two-run home run in the sixth. The junior's shot just kept carrying, a testament to her work in the weight room.

"As much time as I can," Schechterman said. "When we don't have practice, I try to get in there as much as I can."

That is what softball is all about. Mental (and physical) strength in a game of failure.

"We talk about it, 'What are we going to do to get the momentum to come back our way?'" Petrash said. "Make some plays, try to grab momentum and bring it back."

The Greenmen have the kind of depth that if one player fails, the next can pick them up. Three players are hitting above .600: Metzger, Retton and Petrash. Five more are hitting at least .400 in 20-plus plate appearances: Lailah Bohanan, Avery Qualters, Dalessandro, Schecterman and Unverferth.

"Even if you make an error, you strike out, not a good AB, whatever it is, you have great and amazing players behind you that are going to pick you up," Unverferth said. "One of you might be having a bad day, but then the rest of them come along and they just pick up anything that you're dropping and we just have a great team all around."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora High School softball's perfect start includes win at Tallmadge