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Jessica Marie Sito
Jessica Sito and the 2009 Elyria East LL
10-11 yr. old State Champions!!!
Front Row: Jessica Sito, Katie Travers,
Courtney White, Angelique Prunty, Elizabeth Ellis
Back Row: Coach Shawn Travers, Madison Fullmer, Carly Bachna, Cierra McClure,
Olivia Morris, Manager Chris Sito,
Jami Bender, Margot Novak, Taylor O'Dell, Coach Mike Ellis, Cassidy
Kowalski
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Elyria East wins state softball title
Jerry HensonCONNEAUT — The Elyria East Little League 10-11 year-old softball all-stars didn’t want to delay a state championship victory party any longer.
So, manager Chris Sito and the girls defeated host Conneaut 5-2 on Tuesday to claim the title.
“This is one awesome team that we put together,” said Sito. “They played as a team throughout our tournament run. That goes for everyone from the starters to the substitutes. They put the pressure on our opponents with their whole game.”
East put the pressure on right away, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.
With two outs, Elizabeth Ellis singled and stole second. Madison Fullmer followed with a single before Katie Travers stepped up to the batter’s box.
Travers was hit on the fingers by the first pitch before a passed ball moved Ellis and Fullmer up to third and second.
Travers proceeded to single Ellis home with the game’s first run, and Fullmer raced home on another passed ball.
In the top of the third, Courtney White drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a fielder’s choice ground ball.
Winning pitcher Carly Bachna singled home White before a strikeout put an end to the rally.
Conneaut scored both of its runs in the bottom of the third and threatened to cause further damage in the fifth.
Conneaut’s first two batters in the fifth reached on a single and an error, putting runners on second and third. Bachna then caught a hard line drive and beat the Conneaut runner to the bag at third for a double play before a ground out squelched the threat.
Travers led off the Elyria sixth with a single and trotted home on an Olivia Morris double. Morris later scored East’s fifth run on White’s fielder’s choice ground ball.
Ellis faced four batters in the bottom of the sixth, striking out two of them to earn a save.
“We capitalized on mistakes when we could,” said Chris Sito. “This is a
great group of girls to manage. Our coaches – Mike Ellis and Shawn Travers –
did a tremendous job of getting the girls to be aggressive and to look for the
next base.”
Bachna went the first two innings, allowing no hits or runs and walking three
and striking out three.
Ellis came in for the third and fourth innings and finished the game up in the sixth as she gave up two runs three hits, walking two and striking out six.
Jessica Sito pitched the fifth and allowed a hit as she set the stage for Ellis to wrap up the win and to allow the victory party to get started.
“Our pitchers played their roles very well throughout this tournament,” said Chris Sito. “It was really nice to see us shut Conneaut down when they threatened in the fifth inning. We brought Ellis back in to pitch the sixth. She knew how to do the job and got it done.”
Fullmer and Travers finished the championship game with two singles apiece, while Bachna, Angelique Prunty, Ellis, and Jessica Sito each had a single and Olivia Morris had a double. Bachna, Prunty, Travers, Morris and White each had an RBI.
Conneaut 10-11 stars stifled by ElyriaKARL PEARSON
Star Beacon
CONNEAUT — To the victor goes the spoils. Generally, the team that plays the opportunist and remains focused is the one that claims the spoils of victory.
The District 3 team from Elyria displayed a keen sense of opportunism and the ability to stay in the moment in Sunday’s winners’-bracket championship game of the 10-11-year-old state softball tournament at Skippon Park. It made the most of just three hits by capitalizing on three errors and several other mental mistakes to earn a 5-1 victory over the District 1 representatives from Conneaut.
It all paid off handsomely for Elyria, allowing it to go back home to sit and await its next opponent in the championship round Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Skippon Park. That opponent will be determined today at 6 p.m. in the losers’-bracket championship game between Conneaut and the District 11 team from Wheelersburg, which Elyria had beaten, 11-1, in the opening round Saturday.
Elyria manager Chris Sito said he constantly emphasizes to his team how important it is to remain focused on the task at hand.
“At this level, there are a lot of great teams,” he said. “You’ve gotta make plays. You have to stay focused.”
Conneaut manager Dawn Zappitelli said her team’s mental lapses, along with a few physical errors, were its undoing. At the same time, she tipped her hat to Elyria’s alertness.
“We definitely were a little unfocused,” she said. “But give credit to Elyria. They were ready to play and made some plays.
“We had opportunities at different points in the game, but we didn’t come through on them. We also made some mistakes at very inopportune times.”
Elyria’s ability to seize the moment really was on display in the fifth inning when, already leading 2-1, it delivered the knockout punch. Leadoff hitter Carly Bachna provided the telling blow, tripling home Olivia Morris, who was pinch running for Margo Novak, who started the inning with a walk, and Courtney White, who had also walked.
But Bachna didn’t just stop at third. When it appeared the play was over, she kept inching her way up the third-base line and took off for home when Conneaut pitcher Lexi Zappitelli turned her back while returning to the mound. The speedy Bachna beat Zappitelli’s throw for the final run.
To both Bachna and Sito, the Elyria third baseman was just doing what was expected of her.
“We had two people on base and I had to get them home,” Bachna said of her triple to the left center-field fence. “Then (Sito) told me to watch what (Zappitelli) did and I just went home.”
“We tell the girls never to take their eye off the ball until it’s back in the circle,” Sito said. “Carly was just practicing what we preach.”
The rest of the responsibility fell on Elizabeth Ellis, who pitched the first two innings, gave way to Jessica Sito for 1-2⁄3 innings, then returned in the fourth to stifle Conneaut’s last serious threat and close out the game. She finished with five strikeouts and no walks, striking out the side to end the game.
“(Switching back and forth) isn’t that difficult,” Ellis said with a bright smile. “I was comfortable out there.
“We had a lot of fans drive out from Elyria to support us and my teammates helped me out a lot, too. And I’ve got a real good coach.”
Conneaut actually outhit Elyria, 4-3, but just didn’t capitalize. It had something going off Ellis in the second when Michelle Tisdale led off with a single, but she was erased on a line-drive double play off Alexis Nelson.
Ellis hit Angela Slapnicker with a pitch with two outs and she moved to third on two wild pitches. But the inning ended on Alyssa Bennett’s grounder to first.
Conneaut had another chance in the third when Emily Lower singled with two outs and moved to second on an error. But the inning ended when she was forced out at third.
The real telling blow for Conneaut came in the fourth, however. Tisdale led off with another single and went to second on a walk to Alexis Nelson. But Tisdale was forced at third by Slapnicker.
Still, Conneaut kept the inning alive as Alexis Nelson came around to score on two fielder’s choices and an error on Brenna Nelson’s grounder. It loaded the bases with two outs when Kayla Masirovits walked and Brenna Nelson reached. But Ellis stopped the threat there when she induced Lower to hit a comebacker and she threw Slapnicker out at the plate.
Elyria got all the runs that were really necessary in the second. Cleanup hitter Madison Fullmer singled, went to second on a passed ball and scored on an error on Katie Travers’ grounder. Travers went to second on that play, to third on a wild pitch and scored on Cassidy Kowalski’s perfect sacrifice bunt.
Dawn Zappitelli knows her team must awaken quickly to get at least one more game against Elyria.
“I told the girls they have to have their heads and their hearts here (today) when we play again,” she said. “We have to come to play and to show our character. Or we can come in ready to roll over. Then we’re in trouble.”
The Elyria contingent has enjoyed its time in Conneaut immensely so far.
“We had a good time (Saturday) swimming at the Days Inn and then going down to the beach (at Conneaut Township Park),” Sito said.
“We’re hoping to come back Tuesday and have a real big party,” Ellis said.
Little League softball: Elyria’s big innings too much for Avon
Jerry HensonAVON — Elyria’s 10- and 11-year-old girls turned a pitchers’ battle into a relatively easy 9-1 win over Avon in a District 3 tournament game at Veterans Memorial Park on Tuesday.
“The final score doesn’t reflect how good a game this was,” Elyria manager Chris Sito said. “It could have easily been a one-run game if we hadn’t had those two big innings.”
Elyria’s first big inning came in the bottom of the third when it needed only one hit to score four unearned runs.
First baseman Cassidy Kowalski walked to lead off the inning but was promptly picked off trying to steal second. Teammate Courtney White walked on four pitches before Jessica Sito struck out.
Leadoff hitter Carly Bachna reached on an error when the Avon center fielder dropped what appeared to be the inning’s third out. Pinch hitter Sami Bender walked on a 3-2 count, sending winning pitcher Elizabeth Ellis to the batter’s box.
With a 1-2 count, Ellis singled home White and Bachna with the game’s first two runs. Two Avon errors before the next Elyria batter stepped in allowed Bender and Ellis to score.
Elyria shortstop Katie Travers walked on a full count and stole second as she took advantage of Avon napping. But the Avon girls recovered and were able to tag out Travers before she could make it to third.
“Our girls have learned to be assertive on the bases,” Chris Sito said. “They’ve learned to take advantage of the next base and to score whenever possible.”
Catcher Erin King scored Avon’s lone run in the fourth. King singled after Julie Burzanko reached base on a walk. Sarah Warnkin followed King’s single with one of her own.
Elyria center fielder Taylor O’Dell fielded Warnkin’s hit cleanly and threw the ball into Ellis, who promptly threw home in time for catcher Olivia Morris to tag out Burzanko.
Amanda Barley’s 1-3 groundout brought home King before a strikeout squelched the rally.
Ellis once again was the hitting star in the bottom of the fifth when Elyria scored five insurance runs. Ellis doubled home Sito and Bachna with Elyria’s fifth and sixth runs, while Madison Fullmer and Kowalski had run-scoring singles in the uprising.
“I’ve been struggling with my hitting,” Ellis said. “So my dad worked with me a lot since Saturday (a tournament-opening 12-0 win over Tallmadge). That extra work really paid off tonight as I wasn’t so timid.”
“We took advantage of things when we had to,” Chris Sito said. “You
have to do that at this level in order to survive.
“Elizabeth pitched a great game. And our defense was behind her. I’ve really
been happy to see that our girls aren’t afraid to make the plays that they
need to do.”
“We committed some errors that cost us,” Avon manager Jeff Barley said. “We also couldn’t get our bats going in this game. We made contact but it always seemed to be at someone.”
Elyria now awaits the winner of Thursday’s losers bracket final between Avon and Tallmadge. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at Veterans Memorial Park with the winner traveling to Elyria on Saturday and needing a win to stay alive in the double-elimination competition.
Contact Jerry Henson at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
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Jessica and her favorite younger brother Eric at the Nation's Capital.
March 22, 2008
First Communion, Sunday May 1, 2005
Click below to see Jessica's 1st Communion Movie
Sitos/Jess/Jess1stcomm.MOV