Sophomore shortstop Ava Blake went deep twice, hitting two of the more impressive homers you’ll see in high school softball. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Blake swung at the first offering she got from Parkersburg South starter Alexi Dellinger and sent the ball well over the scoreboard in left-center field.

“I was looking for pitches right down the middle, normally they throw me away,” Blake explained. “I was just trying to get adapted on the first pitch, seeing if I had to change my zone, but it was just right there.

“It came right down the middle and I just swung hard and hoped for the best.”

Later in the game, Blake came up to the plate with one out and the bases loaded as JM led 5-1. Blake made it a 9-1 advantage as she hit a ball out to dead center field on a line for her third grand slam of the season and her sixth home run overall.

photo by: Photo by Cody Nespor

John Marshall shortstop Ava Blake (14) celebrates while running home after hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning of Wednesday OVAC semifinal against Parkersburg South.

“When she gets a hold of it, she hits it pretty good,” veteran JM coach Ed West said of Blake. “I told her before she went in that she had to be patient, sometimes her biggest weakness is that she gets a little too anxious and she’ll start swinging at pitches outside of the zone, but she did a nice job (Wednesday) hitting good pitches.”

Blake said she has found success this season by striving to stay calm at the plate, even in high-pressure situations.

“I had an issue with this last year, I would get all antsy and I couldn’t really think good enough,” Blake admitted. “I’ve really learned to just regroup, take a deep breath and stay calm.”

Playing under the Ohio mercy rules, the game continued with JM leading 9-1. Not for too long, however, as Adrianna Skrzyneki followed up Blake’s grand slam with a shot of her out over the fence in left field and Kadence Pettit got in on the fun right after with a majestic home run out to center field. The back-to-back-to-back bombs gave the Monarchs a 10-run mercy-rule, 11-1 victory.

“I actually thought the wind was kind of pushing (the ball) in at the beginning,” West said. “I was pleased that we hit the ball hard several times.”

Photo by Cody Nespor John Marshall shortstop Ava Blake (14) is met at home plate by her teammates following her solo home run in the first inning of Wednesday's OVAC semifinal against Parkersburg South.

Blake finished her big night with four hits and six runs batted in. In addition two her two longballs, Blake also had a single in the third inning and an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.

Skrzyneki also finished with four hits, three singles and her solo home run. She collected three RBI. Pettit had two singles and her walk-off home run. Together, Blake,Skrzyneki and Pettit — JM’s three, four and five hitters — combined for 11 hits, four home runs and 10 RBI.

“(We wanted to) get good swings on good pitches and we did a pretty good job of that (Wednesday),” West said.

Megan Daugherty also drove in a run in the bottom of the fifth on a groundball fielder’s choice to second base.

Blake’s solo shot in the bottom of the first gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead as Pettit was on cruise control through the early innings.

Pettit began her evening with three perfect frames, striking out four as only one ball got out of the infield, a harmless flyout to right field.

After picking up her fifth strikeout to begin the top of the fourth, Pettit surrendered her first hit as Taylor Lamp hit a triple on a ball that hit off the glove of a diving Isabella Linton in center field.

Kassidy Timble brought Lamp home one batter later with a single to knot the game up at 1-1.

Pettit faced more trouble in the fifth and sixth innings, but she was able to strand three Patriot baserunners in scoring position with five total punchouts.

South’s best scoring chance came when they got runners to second and third with one out in the top of the sixth. However, Pettit struck out the next two batters she faced to end the threat.

“They had the top of the order coming up, I was glad to see her get out of that,” West said. “She doesn’t panic, she’s got a lot of confidence, a lot of experience and a lot of skill.”

West said Pettit was pitching on a bit of a sprained ankle. It didn’t show, however, as Pettit fanned 10 Patriot hitters and did not issue a free pass. She scattered five hits across six innings, allowing just one run.

The victory sends the Monarchs to an OVAC Championship matchup against New Philadelphia Saturday at 2 p.m. on the same field. The Quakers defeated University in their semifinal game Wednesday afternoon.

“We played them last year and they’ve got a really nice pitcher,” West said. “She does a nice job and keeps the ball up and we’ll have our hands full. It’ll be a tough game.”

OVAC Semifinal

Class 5A

John Marshall 11, Parkersburg South 1

PS 0-0-0 1-0-0 — 1 5 2

JM 1-0-0 0-4-6 — 11 14 0

PS — Dellinger lp (2K, 3BB), Johnson (0K, 0BB) and Lemus. Lamp T; Timble 2S, rbi.

JM — Pettit wp (10K, 0BB) and Adkins. Tucker 2S, Blake S, D, 2HR, 6 rbi; Skrzyneki 3S, HR, 3rbi; Pettit 2S, HR, rbi; Daugherty rbi.