Morgan's ambush started early against Philo. Now the Raiders are eyeing another district

McCONNELSVILLE — Between an outburst from the offense and another stellar showing from ace Malayni Clemens, host Morgan left little doubt against visiting Philo on Wednesday.

Given the history between the neighboring rivals, it was quite a change of pace.

The Raiders scored three times in the first inning and blew it open late off three Electric pitchers in a 14-0 mercy in five innings in a Division II sectional game.

Morgan (15-4), the No. 3 seed, will now host Cadiz Harrison Central (16-10) at 5 p.m. on Friday for a berth in its third straight district semifinal. The Huskies edged Wintersville Indian Creek, 6-5, in their sectional game.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

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1. Another dominant day for Clemens

Clemens kept her team close in losses to Muskingum Valley League-Big School powers Sheridan and John Glenn on consecutive days to end last week, and she carried that momentum into Wednesday by successfully keeping the Electrics bats from squaring balls up.

The Electrics failed to get a hit in four innings, reaching base only twice after drawing walks. Clemens struck out six as she and Allia Rush combined on a two-hitter.

"We came in anticipating a slugfest," Morgan coach Jeremy Keirns said. "Fortunately, Malayni was on, and we were able to get the offense rolling, and things took care of itself."

Having pitched at least four innings the last three days, Clemens will get some much-needed rest on Thursday before again being needed in a must-win game.

"She will spend some time with the trainer, get some treatment and spend some time in the hot tub — all of the good things that come with it," Keirns said. "We will be ready for Friday night."

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2. 'Slugfest' never materialized

Wednesday's rout was a far cry from their previous meeting, when the Raiders needed a Myka Augenstein RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to salvage a 9-8 win.

Morgan let a 6-0 lead dissipate in that meeting, one of the rare times in 2024 when Clemens wasn't in total control. When the situation arose again on Wednesday — the Raiders led 6-0 in the third — Clemens slammed the door.

She allowed a walk to Karlee Southall to lead off the fourth. But catcher Blair Clawson caught a foul-tip for a strikeout and, in one motion, fired a perfect throw to second base to get Southall trying to steal.

It was emblematic of the Raiders' domination. They finished with 12 hits, with Clawson and Clemens among those slugging doubles. Chloe Baker, Clemens, Alivia Rush and Remi Keirns had multiple hits.

"We've been down before and come back, but we just couldn't come back from this one," Philo coach Michelle Moyer said. "I just didn't feel like we were ready. Like I told (the players), sometimes these things happen, and you have no answers for them. I wish we did."

Keirns said their history of a long, drawn-out battles with Moyer's teams through the years was a big reason he encouraged his team to not get complacent with the lead.

"We've been coaching against each other for seven years," Keirns said of Moyer. "She came over in the third inning and I said, 'There is no way I'm feeling comfortable.' They are a team that can get hot and pour it on. It was all about gas pedal down until the last whistle."

Rush's gargantuan blast to left field in the bottom of the fourth showed that the players listened. It was the freshman's second homer in three days, having also launched one against Crooksville on Monday.

"My first at-bat I hit one really far in the air, so I knew I was close to being on it," Rush said. "I just told myself that I've got to level out."

3. Loss emblematic of Philo's up-and-down season

Moyer felt the result of the previous meeting against the Raiders gave the players confidence that they could compete with them in its most important game of the season.

It was not foreign territory. The Electrics, while mired in the first losing season of Moyer's storied coaching career, still picked up wins against two of the MVL's top teams in Tri-Valley and West Muskingum.

Wednesday posed another chance.

"It happened to us throughout the season," Moyer said. "They get it in their head that John Glenn, Tri-Valley, whatever, are better than us. Then they see they can play with them. So I think we had a bit of confidence. Then everything went downhill from there."

Five seniors vacate the Electrics' program, including one of the MVL's top power hitters in Caitlin Rose. Two sophomore pitchers return in McGraw and Cassydi Himes, among others, and some talented underclassmen entering the program has provided optimism for growth.

She praised this group's work ethic and said she was "super proud" of their resilience.

"Every game they've kept their heads up," Moyer said. "A lot of people have counted us out. Did we have the record we wanted? I don't think so. We've won a lot of games that people didn't think we would win."

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Morgan softball starts early in sectional tournament rout of Philo