Team Ohio Red 16U lights up final game of pool play at Colorado 4th of July

By Savvy Rafkin

ARVADA, Colo. – Don’t take your foot off the gas pedal. 

That was the mindset that Aurora Lescody and Team Ohio Red 16U entered their final pool play game with on Wednesday night and the mindset they intend to carry into bracket play beginning on Thursday afternoon at the Colorado 4th of July tournament.

With three wins already under their belt and their hardest competition ahead, Team Ohio knew Mojo – Vickery was not an easy team to beat. 

In a three-inning bout at Harold D. Lutz Sports Complex in Arvada, Mojo – Vickery dropped the game 18-0 in two and a half innings. Team Ohio jumped into action early, stacking six runs in the bottom of the first inning and riding the momentum into their 12 run second.

“We had this team circled in the beginning of our pool play because they’re one of the better teams here,” Team Ohio head coach Shawn Bray said. “Obviously they didn’t show that game, but we watched them in pool play yesterday and we knew they hit well. They were up for this game, they were prepared.” 

Bray was pleased with the team’s performance. Suffering only one strikeout and executing twelve hits, two of which were home runs, is a display any coach would be proud of. Bray attributes the successful game to the hard work and focus of his players. 

Even though Team Ohio is placed favorably in the standings, the team is focused on staying humble, mostly because the team chemistry hasn’t always been this dynamic. 

“At the beginning of the season, our bats weren’t out as much,” Lescody said. “When we came to Colorado, it was like a click. We were all just coming back and snapping back as a team, and this is what happens. I think when we play a lot of games in Ohio, we play a lot of games and know the competition, so when we get a fresh start with girls we don’t know, we aren’t as nervous and we know we can beat of all of them.” 

And even though Team Ohio will be walking into bracket play undefeated, not getting comfortable is the key to winning. 

“I think we’re going to see a lot of good competition; we definitely cannot take our foot off the gas pedal,” Lescody added. “We have to keep going and we have to keep fighting. That team we just beat was one of the number one teams and they’re really good, so we need to keep going at it how we are.”