LEXINGTON — When she looked around the dugout at the beginning of the season, Makaree Chapman saw a lot of unfamiliar faces staring back at her.
The only senior on a roster that includes five freshmen, Chapman could have alienated herself. Instead, Lexington’s sure-fire All-Ohioan and Division I recruit embraced her new role.
With Chapman leading the way at the plate and inside the pitcher’s circle, Lady Lex punched its ticket to this week’s Division IV state tournament at Akron’s Firestone Stadium. Lexington (24-3) plays top-ranked Kenton Ridge (30-0) in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday.
“Being the only senior is a little strange, but each year is a different year and a different team,” Chapman said after pitching Lady Lex past Lake and into the regional championship game last week in Clyde. “I think our young ’uns have done a great job of stepping into new roles and new responsibilities and showing the world what they’ve got.
“They have so much potential and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Lexington reached the Division II regional championship game a year ago, but that team leaned heavily on talented group of seniors that included Ohio Cardinal Conference first-teamers Jillian Morr, Kaylie Eichorn and Kylie Galownia. All three played college softball this spring, Morr at West Liberty (W.Va) and Eichorn and Galownia at Otterbein.
The cupboard was hardly bare, however, as coach Todd Galownia welcomed back a core group led by Chapman, last year’s OCC Pitcher of the Year and a Northern Kentucky recruit.
“Makaree is our only senior and she has taken a leadership role,” Galownia said. “She’s a three-sport athlete so she wasn’t with us in all of our off-season workouts, but the younger kids respect her and look up to her.”
Chapman is batting a robust .571 with 47 runs batted in and 12 home runs. Of her 48 hits, 24 have gone for extra-bases.
In the circle, Chapman is 24-3 with 261 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched. She has surrendered just 68 hits and 20 earned runs, good for a 0.97 earned run average.
The hard-throwing left-hander allowed three hits and struck out 12 as Lady Lex won its first regional crown since 2002 with a 6-1 victory over Bryan. It was a rematch of last year’s Division II regional final, won by Bryan.
“One of our goals was to get back to where we were last year,” Chapman said after the regional semifinal win over Lake. “For us to do that is huge. We know Bryan is a great team.”
So is Kenton Ridge. The Cougars reached the Division II Final Four last spring, falling to eventual state champ Canfield in the semifinals.
Chapman will have to be at her best against a lineup that includes Ohio University recruit Brenna Fyffe, a junior catcher with 52 RBIs. If recent history is any indication, Chapman will be up to the challenge.
Her young teammates will be, too.
“I’m extremely proud of our young team,” Chapman said. “They have put in the blood, sweat and tears to get where we are now.”