On Saturday afternoon, the 2024 Delaware County Softball Tournament semi-finals and championship game were set. In the semi-finals, the Yorktown Tigers (11-2) defeated the Delta Eagles (3-12) 9-0 to advance to the championship game. 

The second semi-final between the Wes-Del Warriors (11-4) and the Cowan Blackhawks (1-14) would lead to the Warriors advancing by a score of 13-3.

The championship game was set, Tigers vs. Warriors for the 2024 Delaware County crown. By the end of the afternoon, it was Yorktown running away, taking a 10-0 victory over the Warriors.

“After losing last year we’ve been thinking about this all season,” Yorktown head coach Jeremy Penrod said. “It was nice for the seniors to go out with a bang in their final year to get the championship back.”

Yorktown was able to start hot on offense thanks to an RBI triple from freshman Olivia Jaromin scoring two runs to kickstart the Tiger offense out to a 2-0 early lead.

“I look for a lot of first-pitch stuff if it’s there,” Jaromin said. “I just try and relax myself and have as much confidence as I can.”

For Wes-Del, the offense struggled out of the gate as Yorktown starting pitcher, senior Caitlin Laferney was blowing her pitches right past the Warrior batters.

“It’s all about her control,” Penrod said. “We’ve talked about her really trying to start ahead in counts and being a leader and taking charge in the circle, and today she really owned it.”

The maroon and grey continued to struggle mightily through the opening innings offensively and defensively. They couldn’t get runners on base, and Warriors starting pitcher junior Devyn Jaycox was struggling in the circle in the early going.

As a result, the Tiger batters were able to make consistent contact and get runners on base. The green and black offense was firing on all cylinders.

On defense for Yorktown, it all started with Laferney who registered no hits allowed through three innings, and going three up, and three down in each of them. Even when Wes-Del was able to make contact, the Tiger defense was making all the plays behind her.

“I try and stay one pitch at a time,” Laferney said. “I know that my defense has my back and knowing that allows me to keep a cool, calm composure.”

By the third inning, Yorktown was able to push their lead to 4-0 after an RBI single from sophomore Brooklyn Bartle. 

With the maroon and grey offensive struggles, they needed their defense to step up and give them some help to keep them in the game. The Warriors were unable to do so in the fourth inning allowing the Tigers to add six runs to give them a double-digit lead at the end of the fourth 10-0.

“It’s just what they do,” Swift said. “They are one of the best teams around and hitting is their thing. We did all we could, but at the end of the day, they were pretty good hitters over there.”

In a last gasp of desperation, Swift made a pitching change in the fifth to try and stop the Tiger offense from adding to their lead and was successful. However, the offensive deficiencies of the Warriors in the afternoon couldn’t be overcome.

Yorktown was able to close out the championship in five innings and hoisted the 2024 Delaware County Championship trophy.

“It’s really special after we lost the tournament last year,” Laferney said. “It’s a nice thing to have for your senior year and something to look back on.”

Even for the youth on the team like Jaromin this moment was special and allowed for her to look to the future of her own Yorktown career.

“There’s going to be a lot of good things in the future,” Jaromin said. “I’m seeing a lot of success, and it’s such a good group of younger girls.”

Wes-Del will be on the road at Centerville (8-6) for their next contest on May 6. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.

Yorktown takes on New Castle (x-x) in a road conference matchup on May 7. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63

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