Norwayne edges Champion in thrilling softball opener

Area softball kicked off with a bang March 21, with Norwayne highlighting the way with a 7-6 nine-inning win over Champion. The Flashes, a program that perennially contends for state, owners of nine state titles, including three straight from 2017-19, came in as a very familiar opponent for the Bobcats. In 2024, Champion ended Norwayne’s season at regionals with an 11-2 loss, a result that wasn’t far from the memory banks.

“Honestly, I came in, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Last time we played them, this was not a pretty game,” said Bobcats senior C.J. Moore. “They are a great program, and I was a little nervous coming in. Knowing that we confidently beat them with great energy makes me feel better about seeing Hillsdale first in the league.”

Coming into the game, Moore wasn’t expecting to pitch for Opening Day, but plans quickly changed when staff ace Abby Workman was ruled out early in the morning. That changed plans considerably and put Moore front and center, just like she was a year ago when Workman went down. Again, just like a year ago, Moore proved that the moment wasn’t too big for her as she delivered a complete game with four strikeouts and scattered a dozen hits for the win.

“C.J. is a gritty player and a tough kid,” said Norwayne coach Bree Gill. “In our first scrimmage, she struck out every time and watched all those strikes go by. We were just like, ‘Dude, you can be amazing.’

“So really, it’s just been getting her confidence up, and she’s really turned that around in the mental part of the game the past two weeks, and it showed today. At the plate, on the mound, she’s just resilient, and that’s what we needed out of her today.”

Moore couldn’t have agreed more with her skipper.

“I told myself that I had to for my team," she said. "With one of our key players out, I knew that I had to step up in every way that I could. Even if that was just being verbal, telling teammates to keep their heads up and that they had this, and just trying to do the same with my performance as well.”

As for her thoughts on her performance.

“I am pretty content with how I pitched,” she said. “I started throwing a new pitch today, and that worked really well, mixing that in. So overall, it was a pretty good day.”

Early on, MaKenna Heyden put the ‘Cats up 2-0 with a first-inning two-run moonshot to dead center. In the fifth inning, Heyden delivered a 0-1 RBI single to cut the Champion lead to 4-3.

Still, the Flashes weren’t done as they put two more on the board with a solo homer in the sixth and an RBI single in the top of the seventh to make it 6-3 entering the bottom half of that frame.

That’s when the Norwayne bats came to life yet again. This time, Abby Workman drew a one-out hit by pitch, Riley Gwinn drew a four-pitch walk and Heyden loaded the bases with a single to bring up Moore. The senior delivered her biggest hit of the afternoon when she lined an 0-2 pitch into right field to plate a pair. Kenzie Narwocki tied up the affair with a sacrifice fly to send the battle to extra innings.

“That felt great,” said Moore about her clutch hit. “I’ve been in a slump for like the past year, so finding my confidence in my swing again and being able to have a hit to help tie the game up was a great feeling.”

In the eighth inning, Champion made a charge, as it had a pair of runners reach before Gwinn made an acrobatic catch behind the plate. Heyden flipped to third for the second out, and then Piper Moore squeezed the final out in center field.

In the ninth inning, Gwinn took front and center stage, blasting an 0-2 pitch over the wall in center field and hitting the scoreboard for a walk-off home run and a huge 7-6 win.

“I am so proud of her; I knew that she could do it,” said Moore. “I know she is a great hitter. That was a really great hit for her.”