GRADISHAR HITS FOR THE CYCLE IN CHAMPION SWEEP
WARREN OH- Champion put on a show Monday, blasting Liberty twice and flexing both their power at the plate and dominance in the circle.
Adalyn McIntosh was a nightmare for Liberty in the opener, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, and a single as Champion rolled to a 16-0 win.
The Flashes didn’t waste any time. Taylor Rouan tripled to open the scoring in the first, and then the floodgates opened in the second. Champion dropped seven more runs, highlighted by a two-run bomb from McIntosh and big doubles from Sam Strock and Ava Sylvester.
Champion poured it on again in the third, racking up eight more runs on nine hits. Strock tripled home two, McIntosh doubled in another, and Josie Perhach and Haley Bungard both doubled to keep the hit parade rolling.
Gabby Gradishar was lights out in the circle, fanning 10 in four shutout innings while giving up just two hits and walking none.
Champion finished with 17 hits in the game, with Sylvester, McIntosh, and Rouan each stacking three hits. Strock led the RBI party with four.
If Game 1 wasn’t enough, Gabby Gradishar made sure Game 2 left no doubt — hitting for the cycle and leading Champion to a 12-0 win to cap off the sweep.
Gradishar got the party started with a solo shot to center in the third, then added a triple in the fourth, a double in the fifth, and a single in the first. It was a complete clinic at the plate.
Champion kept the pressure on from the start, taking advantage of a Liberty error and a groundout to go up 2-0 early. They broke it open in the third with four more runs, then buried Liberty in the fifth with five hits and five more runs, including RBI knocks from Sylvester, Perhach, Strock, and Rouan.
McIntosh took the ball in Game 2 and carved up Liberty, striking out nine and allowing just one hit in five shutout innings.
Champion racked up 14 hits in the second game, with Strock, Sylvester, and Rouan each driving in a pair. The Flashes also ran wild on the bases, swiping four bags. Champion will look to keep the bats hot when they welcome Louisville on Wednesday.
