ROSS TWP. — Ross High School softball coach Christi Luckett got choked up when she started talking about senior captain Myrissa Combs.
“I’m so proud of her,” Luckett said. “I’m just amazingly proud. That kid is fantastic.
“She’s the first one at every practice by at least a half hour, if not 45 minutes. She’s the last one out the door. She’s the first one to jump in and help set up and do whatever needs to be done. The girls really respect her. I love her.”
Combs tied the school record in career doubles, freshman pitcher Paige Baker had 11 strikeouts and the Rams secured the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title outright with an 8-1 victory over the visiting Franklin Wildcats on Friday night.
Combs is the lone senior on a Ross squad that consists of one junior, six sophomores and six freshmen. But the Rams have played like a group of seasoned veterans throughout their entire first year in the SWBL.
“If I’m honest, it feels pretty damn good,” Luckett said. “It really does. I think that’s what makes it more special is because they are so young, and hey, we’re going to do it now, so they get that taste of it. We’re not going to stop — just keep fighting is all you’ve got to do.”
Ross (13-8, 7-1 SWBL Southwestern) snapped a three-game losing streak. Prior to Friday night, the last time Ross beat Franklin was a 13-6 postseason victory in 2015.
Franklin (15-8, 5-3 SWBL Southwestern) has won 12 of its last 15 and the previous two meetings against Ross that included a 6-3 victory on Wednesday. A win would have granted the Wildcats a piece of the conference title with the Rams.
“It was the same mindset,” Wildcats coach Jim Miller said of the rematch. “We always come ready to play. We knew we had to play well enough to win because we had to play well to win earlier in the week. We didn’t play as well as we did earlier in the week.
“They’re a good team. They’re a solid team all the way around. Well coached, great pitcher, great catcher. They put the ball in play, and they just beat us. It just didn’t work out today.”
Luckett said she was concerned with her Rams’ recent slow starts, and Friday night panned out the same way.
Franklin got the scoring started with a Harlee Lamb RBI double in the top of the first, but Emilee Peters responded with an RBI double of her own to tie it up in the bottom half.
The Rams proceeded to score eight straight.
“This time it was kind of an understood thing that we’re not leaving this field with our heads down, and they did that,” Luckett said. “They definitely came to play. This is a good time to start getting a spark as we head into the tournament next week. I’m proud of them. I’ve very proud of them.”
Baker had nine strikeouts in the first four innings, and Ross scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead that was highlighted by Joslyn Crowley’s two RBI single.
“Before this game, we’ve had a couple losses, and I feel like we’ve worked extra hard in the hitting room getting our mind right,” Baker said. “We also had some motivation. We have a past with this team, and words were said, and now we have a little boost to get us going.
“I was getting in the right mindset in warmup all day today. I was kind of locked in on my game. Even at school, I was all focused. When we were warming up, I was just doing my best, I guess.”
Kam Commins singled and later scored on an Aurora Wallace ground out to extend the Ross lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
The next inning, Crowley had a bunt single and scored on a Juilianna Combs bunt single. Myrissa Combs then clubbed her 40th double to send her sister across the plate, tying 2021 graduate Ashley Shelton for most career doubles.
“That was incredible, considering I’ve been struggling for the past couple of days,” Combs said. “It feels great, especially because I played with the player who holds the record right now. It’s just something incredible.
“It really gets us going. It keeps the hype going. It keeps us excited and not coming out flat. It keeps us positive that we can do it.”
Crowley (2 for 4, two RBI, run), Commins (2 for 4, run) and Baker (2 for 4, run) paced the Rams at the plate.
Franklin’s Tatum Riddiough pitched four innings, gave up five earned runs and struck out three before Susan Gray came in the final two innings. Meredith Zehring went 2 for 3 with a run scored to lead the Falcons offensively.
“I always tell the kids to give ourselves a chance,” Miller said. “We don’t harp about this being the most important game. We don’t do that. We just tell them to give themselves an opportunity at the end of the year to be in the race, and they did.”
Luckett said the Rams were able to use a 12-6 loss to Talawanda on Thursday as motivation. They gave up an eight-run second inning to the Brave, which didn’t sit well with the third-year coach.
“We were talking in the middle of that second inning of the Talawanda game, ‘We’re going back to the school and we’re going to practice until 8:30 or 9:00 tonight,’” Luckett elaborated. “That’s how upset I was. Then they just kind of kept digging in, and they didn’t give up. So, when I went home last night after that, I was like, ‘OK, I ain’t mad at them.’
“On a game like today, we shouldn’t have to pump them up for it. If this doesn’t pump them up on its own, then I don’t know.”
GROUNDS CREW SHOUT OUT
Playing conditions weren’t in the best shape leading up to gametime Friday, but Ross coaches, players and other school members worked hard to get the softball field ready.
The game started just after 5:30 p.m. once multiple bags of Diamond-Dry were dropped and the rakes were put away.
UP NEXT
Ross hosts Edgewood in the first round of the Division I tournament at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Franklin finishes its regular season at Madison at 11 a.m. on Saturday before hosting Alter in the first round of the Division II postseason tournament at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
