Dover softball builds on championship start

Dover’s softball team has picked up where it left off — or at least that was the case through the first quarter of the season.

Coming off a state championship season and with a healthy contingent of returning players, the Tornadoes certainly have some expectations. They also will have plenty of eyes on them.

“The girls want to be there and play for each other every day,” third-year coach Hannah Duff said. “They are excited about the challenge.”

The Tornadoes headed into the season with some holes, with five of their starting nine having graduated. Those included pitcher/second baseman Jenna Molk, who went 5-for7 with two double and two home runs in the two state games. She also drove in five runs and scored five and pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

Molk, who was Dover’s No. 2 pitcher last year, is Ohio State’s No.1 this year. She’s 14-11 for the Buckeyes with a 2.84 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 123 innings. Most programs that lose a player of that caliber can’t simply plug and play.

The Tornadoes aren’t most programs. So will also gone are shortstop Avery Contini, who went 4-for-8 at state; center fielder Charlie Reese; first baseman Susie Peltz and left fielder Madeline Fockler, Dover has found more than adequate replacements.

Heading into the week the Tornadoes were 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference and had outscored the opposition 47-2.

“We have just been focusing on what our goals are,” Duff said. “Playing one game at a time and getting better each game.”

With senior Kara Lint again looking like an ace and freshman Abby Lint picking up where Molk left off, the Tornadoes have no problem in the circle. Each was 3-0 with a combined 0.42 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 35 innings.

The pair of hurlers has given the offense time to get going and, well, it’s going. The Tornadoes were hitting .389 with 27 extra-base hits through six games. Five Dover players already had at least one home run with sophomore Ariana Immel and junior Olivia McCue having slammed two each. Immel had seven extra-base hits among her 11 overall in 21 at-bats.

Other returnees from last year include junior Alli Hupp, senior Madi Bantum, sophomore Sophie Bantum and senior Hailey Kuecher. Newcomers include senior Chera Schmidt, freshman Elle Tonya and sophomore Hailey Huff. Every one of them can contribute.

“We have strong pitching/defense and our bats are getting more consistent each game,” Duff said.

With the new year under way, it’s never too late to take a glance back at the Tornadoes’ magial 2025 campaign.

Dover had to be at its best early in the postseason last year. At the sectional/district level, the Tornadoes won all three games 1-0, including their tournament opener, a 1-0 win over Tri-Valley, which they followed by beating rival New Philadelphia 4-3 in 12 innings. A 1-0 win over Thornville Sheridan propelled Dover into the regionals.

From there things got comparatively easier. The Tornadoes beat Archbishop Hoban 2-0 in the regional semis, then crushed Bloom-Carroll 13-2 to advance to the state final four.

At Akron’s Firestone Stadium, Dover first beat Mount Orab Western Brown 7-0 in a semifinal, then Holland Springfield 10-0 in the title game.

That’s a 30-2 difference in their final three postseason games. After an 8-3 difference in the first four.

Dover finished the year on a 12-game winning streak, its second-longest of the year. The Tornadoes headed into the week winners of 18 consecutive games. They have not lost since last April 26, when they fell 7-3 at Steubenville.