Fixed on a fantastic finish

Bob Fortuna, Plain Dealer Reporter, June 19, 2009 7:12 a.m.

Elyria senior pitcher Tess Sito was determined - after three straight Division I state softball runner-up finishes - to do whatever she could to help her team win a state title, and with an incredible postseason at bat and in the circle, the Pioneers did just that. - (Joshua Gunter | The Plain Dealer)

Winning the Division I state softball championship be came an obsession with Elyria senior Tess Sito.

"I thought about it every day because every day someone would ask me if we were going to win it all," said Sito, The Plain Dealer's Softball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. "It was hard not to think about it."

Sito kept her emotions intact but allowed her actions to speak loud with a phenomenal postseason that resulted in the program's second state crown via a 10-1 victory over Hudson in the title game.

The Cleveland State recruit compiled a 7-0 record on the tournament trail during which the opposition batted .033 against her.

Sito surrendered five hits and five walks in that span, gave up two runs (one earned), posted a 0.15 ERA in 47 innings and struck out 100 of the 158 batters she faced.

She also mustered a .476 batting average in the playoffs in 21 at-bats with two doubles, two triples, a home run, two RBI, eight runs scored, five walks, four stolen bases, a .905 slugging percentage and a .577 on-base percentage.

Elyria's state title run ended three straight years of frustration at the final four when it had to settle for runner-up status.

"I started believing we could win it all when we came from behind in the last inning to beat [Columbus] DeSales, 7-6, at the Keystone tournament," said Sito. "And I felt nothing but relief after we won state because this was my last chance.

"It would have been real hard to take if we didn't win it this time."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4665