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From loading the bus to being escorted out of Greenville, the Lady Wave
left early Wednesday morning for
Akron to play for a state title in
softball. “Unfinished business” is the motto for this team. One player
said it best, “silver is not an option.” CNO Photos by Joy D. Greer
Friday the Wave
will begin the final step
Lady Wave heads to Akron...
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- With the sun shining, the Greenville Lady Wave softball
team loaded up the bus for the most important trip of the year.
The trip to Akron in search of State Gold.
“Bringing home the silver isn’t even an option,” said sophomore Brionna
Greer, the Wave second baseman.
“Unfinished business,” something the seniors have on their minds.
When we lost the semi-final game to Lakewood in 2010, that was tough,”
said senior shortstop Kelly Martin. “We are ready to play and win it
all. We were ahead in that game and they started hitting the ball and
we were making the little mistakes that you can’t make in a game. We
just fell apart.”
On that 2010 team, Martin and Paige Wolter were starting as sophomores.
Even though the wave missed the state scene in 2011, losing to Tipp
City in the district, the memory is still fresh and the drive is there
to complete the mission.
“We have the motivation,” said Wolter. “We are more motivated now than
we ever were.”
As for senior Kayla Harshbarger, the return to Akron is a sweet one.
“When I was there as a sophomore, I had a broken nose and didn’t get to
play,” said Harshbarger. “Not being able to play stunk but I know we
have a team that can do it.”
And then there’s Lady Wave Nation.
“They are awesome,” Martin said. “At first we were rocky at the start
of the season but they stuck with us. Our support is bigger than it’s
ever been in the four years I’ve been here. We have people coming out
to watch us that we’ve not seen all year. It’s awesome.”
The last time Greenville lost a game was on April 6 to Lebanon, (30-1),
a final four team playing in the D-I game against Elyria (26-2). After
that loss, the Wave was not looking like a state contender, holding a
7-4 mark.
Since then, Greenville has won 21 straight games, including two
sectional games, a district and to in the regionals.
In a recent interview, Wave coach Jerrod Newland commented about
similarities between the 2007 and 2012 teams. Wolter took it a step
further.
“We are similar in a lot of ways to that team,” Wolter said. “I think
the biggest thing is the fact that we all grew up together and played
together since we were little. We have that same kind of bond like they
did. They were a really good team and we have a really good team.”
The agenda for the day Wednesday was to be on the road for a little
over two hours then having a walk through practice before lunch.
Greenville will hook up with Circleville Logan Elm at 10 am Friday
morning. The game can be heard on wtgr and wtgr.com.
In the other D-II games, Poland Seminary, 26-2, will square off against
Lagrange Keystone, 30-0.
In other games of interest, the Covington Lady Buccs, 25-4, will take
on Vienna Mathews, 24-5, in the D-IV game. The winner will meet the
winner of the Strasburg-Franklin/Convoy Crestview game.
In the event Greenville wins its semi-final game Friday, the Wave will
play Saturday at 4 pm.
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