Tag Archive for: Emily Holland

SITTING EM DOWN

YOUNGSTOWN OH- Ursuline softball has been rolling this season. The Irish have quickly become one of the top teams in the area, winning 18 games in a row before losing their first. The Irish are ranked #1 in Division III. They also are the one seed in the northeast district for tournaments. A big reason for Ursuline’s success is the leadership and dominance of their senior pitcher Emily Holland. Holland as become a mainstay for the Irish inside the circle, and also has brought power and consistency to their lineup. Holland has plenty of experience not just with Ursuline, but with travel ball. That experience shines through when you watch Holland play.

Holland has put up impressive numbers not just in the circle, but at the plate as well. In the circle Holland has thrown 61.2 IP. That leads the team. She has a ERA of 2.04. Holland has struck out 56 and walked 14. She has only given up 18 earned runs on the season. At the plate Emily is hitting at a clip of .477. Holland has hit 3 HR and knocked in 27 RBI.

Holland also fields her position well, only making 2 errors this season. Emily has signed on to play softball at the next level with Old Dominion. The Panthers just won the Great Midwest Championship, so Holland is stepping in to an already successful program.

Emily took the time to chat with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig about her senior season. They discuss the Irish team chemistry, hitting and pitching, and so much more. Irish fans won’t want to miss this exclusive interview with another softball senior. The latest Irish Softball Player Profile “Sitting Em Down” is live!

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qVuGVL2_ik[/embedyt]

HOT CORNER: HAPPY WORLD SOFTBALL DAY

Yes softball fans yesterday was the day the world gets to celebrate this wonderful sport! World softball day was all over social media as travel college, and professional teams shared memories of the game we love. What are your favorite softball memories? I’ll get to some of mine later, but first let’s check in with Ohio USSSA Pride-Scarlet.

An exciting Friday as after a 7-1 blowout of Ohio Lightning, Sommer Bourne hit a walk off home run to beat Ohio Slamforce-Hudson. That was the first of 4 home runs this powerful offense would hit on Friday. Maris Barbato hit her 5th of the summer, and Sydney Mercer hit a pair, including a grand slam. The Pride went 1-1 on Saturday. And after winning their first 3 games today, they fell to Valley Extreme 5-4.

I was not able to attend this weekend’s games but thanks to our friends at GameChanger I was able to follow the games closely. It also gives me access to the numbers this Pride team is putting up so far and…wow! As a team in 22 games played the Pride have hit 28 home runs. Sydney Mercer leads that category with 8, Maris Barbato has 7. Mercer is hitting an eye popping .537 with 28 RBI. Barbato is hitting .508. This offense is  so deep you can’t pitch around anyone. I think it’s really smart that they usually have Barbato as a lead off hitter. Coach Szolek doesn’t fall for misconception that your HR leaders need to be 4, and 5 in the lineup. Having Maris lead off a game immediately puts pressure on an opposing pitcher, and they can’t start with a lead off wall and pitch around her. She’s everything you want out of a leadoff hitter, and she adds significant power to that resume. Emily Holland had an amazing Sunday hitting 3 HR’s including a grand slam. She brought her average up to .333 and boosted her RBI total to 17.

Liana Morreale and Tori Long get the majority of the starts in the circle for the Pride, and they’re both solid. Liana is a commit to Old Dominion and has great movement on her pitches. Long does a great job countering her with a different approach. Morreale has 28 K’s on the summer, and Long has 22. With their offense has potent as it is, they really don’t have to be perfect in the circle. It takes a lot of pressure off those two and you can tell in the loose nature they bring to their pitching. We’ll continue to follow the Pride and other local travel teams as the summer goes on. Follow their team twitter @OhioScarlet.

Now back to celebration of World Softball day. I owe so much to the sport of softball. I did play special Olympics softball for 4 years with the Mahoning County Public Warriors. It was a great outlet for my competitive mindset to get out and compete at a sport. But really the thing that softball has brought to me the most is amazing friendships. I’m not exaggerating when I say that a large percentage of the friends I keep in my circle I have met from the game of softball. My love for the game started gradually as I was in high school. South Range’s softball team at the time was very successful. They won 28 ITCL games in a row during my junior and senior year, and made trips to the regional tournament both years getting to the final once. Not too far down the road at the same time in Poland, Erin Gabriel was making a national name for herself. My family knew Erin, her dad and my mom worked together so we always kept tabs on her career. When she announced that she was going to play for Tennessee, that’s when I really started to watch college softball. And man, does the game at that level get you hooked fast. Erin started at Tennessee in 2013, and she was on one of the best teams in the country. I fell in love with that team. I think since social media, especially twitter was fairly new softball fans including myself had so much opportunity for connections with the players on the highest stage. I could go on twitter and have conversations with some of Erin’s teammates who grew to be friends. Players like Lauren Gibson, Raven Chavanne, Ivy Renfroe, and Cheyenne Tarango made it so easy to get emotionally attached to the success of that team. Ivy got drafted by the Akron Racers, who I had no idea even existed before then. Once I went to Firestone Stadium to see her play, it was over. There was no going back to life without softball. And watching professional softball through the years has given me so many amazing friends. So to everyone involved in this beautiful sport happy belated world softball day.

Some of my softball memories to share with you.

I have some very cool special guests coming up soon on the Hot Corner. Softball fans won’t want to miss it. Keep following along as the Hot Corner merges the local softball scene and the elite level of the sport.

POLAND STAYS AHEAD STAYS PERFECT WINS DISTRICT CROWN

Despite seeing its four-run lead whittled down by the end, Poland still held off Ursuline for a 7-6 victory on Thursday and claiming the Division II Youngstown District Champiomship. Ursuline scored three runs in the failed comeback on a double by  Maris Barbato, a double by Destiny Goodnight, and a double by Gia Caldrone.

The Bulldogs pulled away for good with four runs in the second inning.  Brooke Bobbey drew a walk, scoring one run and Cami Lattanzio doubled on a 2-2 count, scoring three runs.

Ursuline scored three runs in the sixth inning.  The big inning  came thanks to doubles by Barbato, Goodnight, and Caldrone.

Ashley Wire led the Bulldogs to victory in the circle. She went seven innings, allowing six runs on ten hits and striking out five.

Emily Holland took the loss for Ursuline. She allowed four hits and three runs over three and a third innings, striking out one.

Lattanzio went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead Poland in hits.  The Bulldogs were sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Ally Nittoli made the most plays with  nine.

Ursuline tallied ten hits.  Caldrone, Goodnight, Barbato, Julia Nutter, and Alyssa Sheely all managed multiple hits for the Irish

Poland advances to play Mogadore in the regional semifinals at Akron Firestone Stadium on Wednesday at 5:00.

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IRISH HOLD OFF WARRIORS RALLY ADVANCE TO THE TITLE GAME

The Ursuline Irish advanced to the Youngstown district championship on Tuesday night with a 9-7 win over West Branch

Ursuline jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first with extra-base hits by Julia Nutter and Emily Holland.

West Branch answered back 5 runs in the top of the second largely in part to Riley Mesler, who finished 1-3 with 2 RBIs.

The score stayed at 5-3 until Ursuline got the offense going again in the 5th with 4 more runs, two more hit in by Holland. She finished 3-4 with 4 RBIs.

After the 6th, Ursuline was holding on to a 9-5 lead, but with two outs in the top of the 7th West Branch started to fight back. Grace Heath hit a two run homer to bring it within 2. Emily Holland was relieved by Emma Ericson for the final out when Peyton Alazaus flew out to first. Securing the 9-7 Irish victory.

Emily Holland led the way offensively for the Lady Irish with 3 hits and 4 RBI.  Maris Barbato also had three hits in the victory.

Ursuline advances to play Poland in the Youngstown District Championship game on Thursday night at 4:00 at YSU Softball Complex.

HOLLAND SCORCHES RANDOLPH HITTERS, LADY IRISH ROLL

MYRTLE BEACH, SC- Ursuline beat Randolph (NY) HS in 5 innings behind Emily Holland’s 13 strikeout, 1-hitter at the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand tournament. Holland struck out the first 10 batters and gave up a base hit with one out in the 5th inning.

Maris Barbato led off the Irish offense with a solo home run and also had a 2-run base hit. Emma Ericson singled and doubled for the Irish and Maci Humphreys added a 2-run double while Paige Brockway and Katherine Kali added RBI hits for the Lady Irish.

Randolph (NY)  – 0 0 0 0 0 – 0/1/3
Ursuline (12-2) – 1 8 1 4 X – 14/9/2

 

 

*Contributed by Mike Kernan