'It's really cool for them': Seniors lead way for Alliance softball's memorable season

ALLIANCE — It’s been a season of many highlights and firsts for the Alliance High School softball team.

The Aviators (12-8) were accorded the No. 7 seed in the Division II sectional-district tournament, believed to be the highest seed in the history of the program. They also finished tied for second in the final Eastern Buckeye Conference standings with Carrollton, the best league finish AHS has ever enjoyed in the sport.

“It’s definitely one of the best seasons, yes,” beamed fifth-year Alliance head softball coach Emily Grindley, who has done a tremendous job of building the program. “It’s pretty nice.”

Grindley pointed to a key early-season win over tradition-rich West Branch as a catalyst to the Aviators’ success.

“I would definitely go with our first matchup with West Branch,” she noted of her team’s 8-6 triumph over the Warriors in nine innings on April 11 in Beloit. “I couldn’t even tell you the last time Alliance beat West Branch. It was great for us.”

That win propelled the Aviators to a 6-4 finish in the always-strong Eastern Buckeye Conference which included league sweeps of West Branch, Salem and Minerva.

The Aviators have had many players play key roles in their success, but Grindley says it all starts with her six seniors of Emma Reese, Cameryn Mullaly, Brianna Yoder, Megan Hippely, Brooklyn Campbell and Julisa Johnson (unable to play after recovering from a knee injury).

“Our seniors are what has made this season the way it is,” lauded Grindley. “It’s really cool for them.”

The Aviators have a number of statistical leaders, led by Reese, who paces the team with a .514 batting average.

“She’s been phenomenal for us,” said Grindley of Reese, “and Brianna Yoder has my second-highest batting average and she also has set two single-season records for us already. She currently has nine home runs and she has 36 RBIs, and Cam Mullaly is in the top four (batting averages).”

When it comes to pitching, Reese and Hippely have been stellar in the circle.

“The majority of my pitching has been Emma (Reese) but Megan Hippely has also stepped up a lot for us this season,” explained the AHS pilot. “She’s definitely had a lot more games this season than we expected her to, just with the amount of games we’ve played in a week.”

Grindley, who recently celebrated winning her 50th game as the Aviators’ head coach, said the poise the seniors have shown — on and off the field — has paved the way for the success the Aviators are now enjoying.

“I think what’s really cool is the maturity that the seniors have had,” said Grindley. “They were freshmen when COVID hit, so they didn’t get their freshmen year. They didn’t get those four years that everybody’s so used to, and the amount of maturity they have had the last three years has really been a reason our program is where we are right now. They are great leaders and they help the underclassmen.”

And speaking of the underclassmen, the Aviators have gotten huge contributions from them as well.

“Our underclassmen have truly stepped up,” observed Grindley. “If our seniors are struggling and maybe having a bad night, our underclassmen come right in. (Sophomore) Nyah Fox is our starting catcher this year and she has silently led this team defensively with just the way she is with her composure behind the plate.”

Another first for the Aviators’ program is their beautiful new all-turf softball field, one of the few in Ohio.

“It’s incredible, we are extremely fortunate to have it,” said Grindley of the all-turf playing surface, which has a brown turf infield and a bright green turf outfield.

“It’s one of those things where it can rain all night and morning and as long as it’s not raining  by 5 o’clock, we’re playing,” she added. “That’s big for us, especially in Ohio with the weather, because you never know what you’re going to get. Just with our JV’s the other night, it was snowing on Wednesday morning and Wednesday night we were playing.”

With the Aviators now in the tournament season — they play in a sectional final at 5 p.m. Thursday at Warren Howland — Grindley has another goal she would like to see them attain.

“Our biggest goal right now is to get to that district final,” she remarked. “That’s somewhere we haven’t been yet. We have always talked about that — of getting a banner up in our gym, and the girls really deserve it. That’s our big goal right now is to get that banner up here — something to be proud of when they come back.”

Stay tuned.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance softball starts OHSAA tournament with perhaps best seed ever