Reigning Division II softball state champ Tallmadge enters postseason with 'special group'

Tallmadge entered this softball season with high expecations as the reigning Division II state champion with six returning starters.

Tallmadge has had its memorable moments in 2024, including two wins apiece over Barberton, Copley, Cuyahoga Falls, Highland, Kent and Revere, and additional victories over Chardon, Keystone, Stow and Mogadore.

There have also been frustrating moments this year, with two losses to Aurora (12-2 and 13-0) and losses to Conotton Valley, Hillsdale, Lake, Manchester and South Range.

"We are trying not to get too ahead of ourselves and we are just working one game at a time," Tallmadge senior shortstop Ashlyn Severns said. "We are not really thinking too much about state. We are focusing on each game.

"... We have a lot of fun and we don't really think about the team that we are facing and their strengths and weaknesses. We just focus on ours and we work together very well."

Severns, senior pitcher Riley Jackson, senior catcher Lexi Gray, senior third baseman Sydney Becks, junior outfielder Leila Staszak and junior designated player Katie Huth are Tallmadge's returning starters from the 9-0 win over Canfield in the Division II state final in 2023 at Firestone Stadium.

"We know our full potential," Staszak said. "We have done a good job working towards that and we have done a great job of not letting the pressure that could come with being a state champion coming into the next year get to us."

The Blue Devils graduated three senior starters off last year's state title team — first baseman Jocelyn Caffelle, left fielder Marley Queen and second baseman Emma Garbinsky. Mia Zappola, a senior this year, is out with an injury after starting in center field last year.

"We have a lot of the same people from last year and we all get along well, so it makes easier to play together and have fun," Jackson said.

Jackson and junior Larissa Taylor are Tallmadge's primary pitchers and Gray is the catcher. Tallmadge's starters in the infield are senior Kathryn Headrick at first base, junior Payton Almond at second base, Severns at shortstop and Becks at third base.

"A lot of us have been playing together for all of our lives, so we will work together well," Becks said. "We all know what we are doing. We communicate well, we work together well and we get along well."

Severns and Becks have committed to play softball at Walsh University, and Gray is set to play at Baldwin Wallace.

"This is a really special group of girls," Headrick said. "Tallmadge is obviously a very softball-driven community, so I think that it is really special that we have all grown up playing together and that we have all stuck together for this long. What we did last year was really, really cool, and we are ready to do it again."

Freshman Aubrey Almond and junior Gabby Harp split left field, Staszak is the center fielder after playing right field last year and junior Marissa Charton is the right fielder.

"We have been training really hard," Huth said. "Obviously, we know it is not going to be easy to go back-to-back, but that is our goal. In preseason, we lifted multiple days a week and our practices during the season are very intense, which prepare us very well. ... Overall, our mindset is very positive."

Becks and Gray also bring a different perspective to the team as three-sport athletes. Becks competes in cross country, basketball and softball. Gray plays volleyball, basketball and softball.

"It is nice to see how different people work together, what different people's mindsets are and how they work best," Gray said. "Obstacles are challenges, and it is interesting to see how people overcome those. Being able to see all of that, it is easier for me to help people out because I know things can be hard and things can be challenging, but also since I see it everywhere, I know how to help people overcome that."

Tallmadge coach Brittany Lightel said the majority of Tallmadge's players competed on summer ball teams together as children and appreciate the "legacy" and "strong foundation" within the youth and high school programs.

"We have a fantastic youth program," Lightel said. "It has always been very successful. We have always been a city of baseball and softball. That is something that keeps kids together. ... They are pretty close on and off the field. They know how each other plays, they know how each other throws and they know how each other hits. They know the ins and outs of each other.

"They have been in that position before. They know and can expect what it takes. They know how long the run is, what it is like to be playing at Firestone [Stadium]. We were telling them it is an unreal experience, so don't psych yourselves out. They know that feeling and remember that feeling."

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tallmadge on a mission to repeat as OHSAA softball state champion