PEDRO — For the Clay Little League 10, 11, and 12 year old softball team, there was frankly no sneaking up on their opponents this time around.

Last summer, the Lady Panther All-Stars claimed the 10, 11, and 12 district championship en route to an eventual state runner-up finish at the state tournament in Ashtabula.

Heading into the 2023 summer, Clay coach JD Shaw, his assistants Nick Shepherd and Adam Smith, and their 12 All-Stars were planning for yet another deep run in the postseason.

Clay would claim its second straight district championship with an 8-5 win over host Rock Hill on June 26.

With their season extended into the second week of July for the ‘23 state tournament, this group of Lady Panthers were again playing for a state title.

Clay ultimately fell to state champion Austintown 7-0 in the state championship game, marking the Clay LL’s second-straight state runner-up finish.

A successful season by all accounts for their 12 players, which include Keira Hicks, Izzy Hannan, Elly Rider, Lillie Wolfenbarker, Khloe Adams, Makenna Vaught, Mia Lunsford, Karley Frantz, Ayrian Bennett, Elin Shaw, Heidi Smith and Peep Shepherd.

“We went into the district tournament with plans of repeating — that was our goal from the start,” Shaw said, of the prospect of winning a second straight district championship. “We knew what we had to do. It was tough, there was a lot of great teams like last year. We were able to surprise people last year, so we went into it knowing we were going to have a target and we would get everyone’s best shot.”

After falling to last year’s state champion Boardman in the opening game of this year’s tournament, Clay bounced back with a pair of wins to reach the state final.

They defeated Rock Hill 6-3 and in their second game of the tournament against Boardman, defeated the defending state champions 11-6.

“We wanted to see them (Boardman). They got us the first time this year, but were able to win against them the second time we played them,” Shaw said. “Austintown was a great team, talented top to bottom with a great pitcher; just fell short. It was a great season — everyone on the roster showed personal growth in their development. Good experience for this community, these girls, just tremendous.”

Five of Clay’s 12 were returning players from last year’s state runner-up squad, which certainly helped in the pursuit of their summer goals.

In the district tournament, Clay earned a 5-0 win over Northwest, a 4-0 win over Portsmouth, a 5-4 win over Wheelersburg, and 13-12 and their 8-5 championship wins over Rock Hill.

The Lady Panther All-Stars entered the state tournament with an unbeaten record.

“We had five returners from last year, what helped us that two of those were our pitchers. They were a year older and stronger, so we could spin the ball more instead of only trying to keep teams off balance. We brought up a lot of younger girls who weren’t a part of last season, but everyone bought in from the beginning,” Shaw said. “We started prepping for what we would see at the state level at the beginning of the little league season with our varsity coach, Coach Gearheart, throwing to the girls. Great having everyone on the team and our community buy in.”

Shaw, speaking on behalf of the Clay coaching staff, commended his players for being extremely coachable and willing to put in the extra effort that makes a championship caliber program.

“We’ve had a fantastic group of girls the last two years,” Shaw said. “The future is very bright for Clay softball. The best thing about being around this group is how committed they are: they live for softball. You don’t have to twist their arm to do the extra work, showing up early: they’re doing it on their own. It’s a joy to be able to coach them because they love it.”

Reach Jacob Smith at (740) 370-0713 ext. 1930, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @JacobSmithPDT © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved