- WEEKLY POLL
Oak Harbor softball rolling in Sandusky Bay action
By Mark Griffin
Special to the Press
sports@presspublications.com
Oak Harbor’s softball team isn’t beating opponents into submission with home runs this season.
In fact, senior clean-up hitter Danielle Zurvalec, who leads the Rockets with a .432 batting average, has 16 hits on the season — all singles.
Fourth-year coach Amanda Thomas said her team has relied on the strong pitching of junior right-hander Liz Weber and a solid defense behind her. It doesn’t hurt that the Rockets return nine letter winners and six seniors from a year ago.
“We had a lot of girls back, most of our entire team, and we added two younger girls — a freshman (third baseman/catcher Julia Konieczny) and a sophomore (left fielder Courtney Atwater),” Thomas said. “With six seniors, we’re hoping that this will be our year to make things happen.”
Through Thursday, the Rockets were 9-5 and 7-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Their only loss in the SBC is a 2-1 decision to Clyde on Monday.
On Wednesday, junior right-hander Liz Weber (9-5) pitched a one-hitter and struck out 12 in a five-inning, 11-0 rout of visiting Sandusky St. Mary. Weber, a second-team All-SBC pick last season, has a 0.91 ERA this season with 127 strikeouts.
“She was our number one pitcher last season, and she’s greatly improved,” Thomas said. “She picked up speed and some pitches. She works hard in the summer. She plays on a travel team and takes pitching lessons in the off season and pitches to her mom.”
Senior first baseman Brianne Buhro had a grand slam in the fourth inning, her first home run of the season, against St. Mary. Konieczny, the team's second-leading hitter (.350), had two doubles and a single.
The Rockets’ record would be a somewhat shinier if not for 1-0 losses to both Bellevue and Elmwood, which were state-ranked at some point this season. Oak Harbor made up for it, however, with a win over preseason SBC favorite Sandusky Perkins. The two teams met again on Friday.
“Things are going real well,” Thomas said. “We had a couple losses and took some of those losses and worked on those to become better players and a better team. The seniors all know how to do their jobs. They've played together since they were little, so it helps they have that camaraderie between them.”
Oak Harbor’s seniors are catcher Marisa Bergman, Buhro, second baseman Zurvalec, shortstop Annie DeTray and outfielders Allyson Rospert and Jaimee Slauterbeck. Returning junior center fielder Melissa Florio was a second-team All-SBC and honorable mention All-Northwest District selection in 2007.
“We play solid defense,” Thomas said. “Liz pitches a great game and all of our girls have the ability to hit. We don’t play a lot of small ball and we don’t have a great amount of speed, but they are smart when they get on the bases.
“They’re a good group of girls and they work hard. The underclassmen work just as hard. They give us their all every day. They’re each good at something different.”
Thomas said the Rockets’ number one goal is to win the SBC, then concentrate on the postseason.
“We take at one step at a time,” she said. “We want to make it out of sectionals and just go from there.”
- BUSINESS DIRECTORY
- COMMUNITY RESOURCE
