Photo by Kim North John Marshall head softball coach Rob Blake, right, accepted the OVAC Tom Bechtel Class 5A runnerup trophy from Bechtel. The Monarchs fell, 5-1, to University.

ELM GROVE – One mighty swing of the bat Thursday propelled University High to its first-ever OVAC Tom Bechtel Class 5A softball championship.

With the second-seeded Hawks (20-5) trailing No. 1 John Marshall 1-0 in the top of the third, the Monarchs (23-5) elected to intentionally walk Sophia Lehosit – who had doubled off the fence in left in her first at-bat – to load the bases for cleanup hitter Olivia Masoner. One of four seniors on the team, the catcher sent a 1-0 pitch to deep center field for a grand slam. An unearned run in the fourth led to their 5-1 victory on Lisa’s Field at the I-470 J.B. Chambers Complex.

“It sounds great,” University High head coach Mindy Parks said of being the Class 5A champions. “This is my group. They won the 2024 (W.Va. Class AAAA) state championship as sophomores. Now they’ve added another milestone which is super awesome for them. They deserve it. They’re a great group of girls.

“We’re getting ready for our regional tournament next week and this is a great way to lead up to it,” Parks added.

Masoner was just looking to help her team get on the scoreboard.

“I had a big smile on my face. I was ready to do some damage and score runs for my team,” Masoner admitted. “I was just sitting there in the (batter’s) box waiting for that first strike to come. I knew it was gone as soon as it left my bat.

“It feels really good,” she said of the first OVAC softball championship in program history. “It was a good way to end this week and get ready for next week.”

John Marshall, ranked No. 1 in W.Va. Class AAA, took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Ella Finley’s popup down the line in left fell just inside the foul line and Paislee Babiczuk ripped a double to the fence in right-center that allowed Finley to circle the bases for a 1-0 lead. Babiczuk moved to third on the throw home, but would advance no further.

In fact, John Marshall would only get two more baserunners – both on walks – as Lehosit retired 18 of the final 20 Monarchs she faced. The righty struck out 12 and walked three.

“We’ve been hitting the ball really well of late, but we just didn’t do that tonight,” John Marshall head coach Rob Blake said. “For some reason tonight, we just couldn’t make contact.”

“One pitch was the game, but I’d do it the same way again,” Blake said of his decision. “There’s nothing we could have done any differently. I thought Lily (Dijkstra) pitched a really good game. She didn’t strike very many people out, but she got them to hit the ball on the ground a lot. She did her job.”

The grand slam came with two outs after Maddie Campbell singled and Maddie Shaver reached on a check-swing single. Lehosit was walked before Masoner went yard.

University, ranked No. 2 in W.Va. Class 4A, is the top seed in the W.Va. Class AAAA North Region and will meet the winner of Martinsburg-Wheeling Park.

Meanwhile, the Monarchs will re-group as they enter postseason play as the No. 1 seed in the Class AAA Region I bracket.

“We’re still in a good spot. We only need a couple of wins to get to Charleston and then we’ll take care of our business down there,” Blake noted.

GAME NOTES

– Former West Virginia University head football coach Neal Brown was an interested spectator. His daughter, Adalyn, is a senior centerfielder for University.

– John Marshall has won 14 OVAC softball titles, tied with Wheeling Central for the most. However, the Monarchs haven’t won since 2018 when they completed a seven-year reign.