LEXINGTON — Lexington catcher Morgan Zeigler can usually tell what kind of day battery mate Abbie Sgro is going to have before the first pitch is delivered to home plate.
“I’ll know during warm-ups,” Zeigler said after Lady Lex knocked off Clear Fork 14-2 last week. “I can tell if she is on before the game starts.
“I could tell she was on tonight.”
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Sgro was on top of her game as she pitched Lady Lex back into contention in the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship race. She beat backyard rival Clear Fork twice last week. She struck out eight and scattered four hits in Lexington’s 14-2 win over the Colts on Tuesday and followed it up with a three-hit, seven-strikeout performance in Lexington’s 2-1 win in nine innings Wednesday.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit,” Sgro said after Tuesday’s win. “What I’ve really been focused on is my spins and my technique. If I can get my spins down to my ability, it’s going to be really hard to hit a line drive. You’re either going to hit it straight into the ground or get a pop-up.”
“I just have to work on my techniques. It’s the little things that really matter.”
Sgro got plenty of help from her offense in Tuesday’s win. Lexington banged out 14 hits and took advantage of four Clear Fork errors.
“At a certain point in time when you get behind by that many against a pitcher like that, you know you aren’t going to come back,” Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried said.
The Ashland University-bound Sgro had six wins, a 1.30 earned run average and 123 strikeouts going into last week. The hard-throwing right-hander had 16 wins with a 0.83 ERA and a school-record 317 strikeouts last spring and was an All-Ohio second team pick. She was an All-Ohio honorable mention selection as a sophomore.
Lexington, Clear Fork, Orrville and defending champ Ashland are in a four-horse race for the OCC title. Orrville leads the conference standings with one OCC loss (courtesy of Sgro and Lady Lex).
Lady Lex plays Madison in a home-and-home series Tuesday and Wednesday. A rematch with Ashland, which beat Lexington 5-1 in April, looms Thursday.
“We need to be completely focused from the beginning of the game to the very last pitch,” Sgro said.
If Sgro is again on top of her game, Lex could hoist the OCC trophy for the first time since 2009. Sgro is ready to embrace the challenge.
“Most of the time it’s how I prepare for a game,” she said. “It’s all about concentrating on your pitch. I have been rushing things a lot, so if I just calm myself down and think about my pitch it works out.”
“It’s all about concentrating on your pitch,” said Abbie Sgro.
