MADISON–Madison senior standout and Otterbein commit Kara Mekulsia notched her 500th career punchout in a 20-1 win over visiting Conneaut in a Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division showdown on Wednesday.
Mekulsia entered the day just 12 strikeouts shy of the 500 mark and pitched a gem on her way to setting the record.
“It’s been unreal,” she said of her senior season through six games. “It’s surpassed my expectations. I’ve been building up from my freshman year. I knew I wanted more than just 99. It’s so surreal.”
Ally Negin got the Blue Streaks offense rolling with a two-run double, and Natalie Best followed with an RBI single for a quick 3-0 lead.
Tori Semple scored on a double-steal with Best swiping second, and Zoey Brown singled home Best for a five-run first frame.
Gianna LaMarco singled with one out in the second and then scored on a Semple RBI single. Best and Semple scored on a two-base, two-run error that put Addy Behm on second.
Hannah Welch smoked an RBI double for a 9-0 lead after two.
Mekulsia walked and scored on an error, and Best added a two-run double, then scored on a passed ball for a 13-0 lead into the fourth.
Mekulsia, LaMarco, and Negin all reached to start the bottom half of the fourth and then went station-to-station with a Semple RBI single, Cadence Deaton bases-loaded walk, and Welch’s RBI hit-by-pitch.
Adrianna Mussell cleared the bases with an inside-the-park grand slam, leading to a 20-0 lead into the fifth inning.
Conneaut avoided the shutout when Cali Partridge worked a two-out walk and scored on an Ashlyn Sherman RBI single.
Between Mekulsia’s pitching and the high-powered offense, Madison put it all together for a big conference win in five innings.
“Today was just another step in the right direction,” said Madison head coach David Negin. “It’s nice to see the bats come alive, and we need that production one through nine. Natalie Best is starting to get it figured out at the plate, and that’s huge for us. Our top three in our order have been on base a huge percentage of the time, and we’ve left them stranded at times. Having her and Tori Semple start to get those things going is good.”
The Blue Streaks are off to a 5-1 start overall and are 2-0 in league play and look to build off of an uber-productive offensive day along with the historic day for their senior pitcher.
“We just have to keep working hard on playing hard, being good, coachable teammates,” Negin said of the message moving forward. “We have a non-league game here against Wickliffe on Friday, and they bring in a very good pitcher. That’s going to be a great test for us and our bats, and we need those kinds of games to help us prepare for the tough league games ahead. We take on challenges and try to get better at our craft.”
LaMarco went 4-for-4 and scored each time, while Best finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored. Semple and Negin went 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Welch and Mussell each went 1-for-1, with the former adding in two RBI while the latter had four.
Mekulsia earned the win in the circle, going the full five innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with two walks and 12 punchouts.
Conneaut played its first game in the loss to the Blue Streaks, but it takes away some lessons learned after playing a high-level opponent.
“We watched how they communicate as a team and how they work with each other,” said Conneaut’s Ella Boroski. “As a younger team, we can all learn to grow into the team that they are.”
Boroski went 3-for-3 at the dish for the Spartans, and Sherman finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Lexi Brown earned the loss, going three innings and giving up five earned runs on 10 hits with six walks and three strikeouts, and Chloe Boyle worked an inning of relief, giving up seven earned runs on six hits with two walks.
Madison will host Wickliffe on April 11, and Conneaut welcomes Jefferson on April 14.
