CLYDE — Nobody thought it would be this easy.

The battle for a trip to the Division I state tournament turned into a laugher Saturday as Elyria scored multiple runs in every inning to crush Toledo Notre Dame Academy 18-2 in the regional final at Clyde High School.

The large contingent of fans that made the trip from Elyria to cheer on the Pioneers were cheated out of two innings of ball, as the game was shortened to five innings by the 10-run mercy rule, but no one seemed to mind.

Elyria (26-2), headed to its ninth state tournament and sixth in the past seven years, will play Lebanon on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Akron’s Firestone Stadium in the state semifinals.

The Warriors (30-1) defeated Cincinnati Oak Hills 5-0 Saturday for the Mason regional championship.

“We really came out poppin’ today,” Elyria coach Ken Fenik said. “I am so proud of all of these girls.

“Honestly, I had doubts at the beginning of the season if we would be back here again because we lost so much talent from last year. But this team really worked their butts off and set their minds on getting back to the state tournament.”

If there were any doubts entering Saturday’s game, Elyria quickly put those to rest by scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. The big hit was a single off the bat of pitcher Caitlyn Minney that drove in a pair of runs.

“We came out strong in the first inning,” Minney said. “Everyone was hitting. We played well as a team today.”

Minney got to see that team shine in the bottom of the first.

Shortstop Marie Masters ran all the way to the third-base line to field a ball that leadoff hitter Katie McKenty tried to slap over a drawn-in infield. Masters cleanly fielded the ball and made a perfect throw to Alyssa Barker at first to get the speedy McKenty.

Two innings later, Masters showed she could also go to her left, diving behind second to steal a hit from Notre Dame’s leading hitter, Cassie Gillespie.

The Pioneers pounded out 18 hits but were also aided by nine Notre Dame (18-13) errors.

“Everyone one through nine in the order was hitting today,” Looney said. “That’s why we’re successful because everyone on the team contributes.”

Elyria’s only other extra-base hit was a triple by senior Alanna Williams in the third that scored Barker. Williams, who entered the regional hitting .500, was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.

“She threw really slow so I had to stay back and be patient,” Williams said of her triple. “I had to just go with the pitch and hit it in a good spot.”

Minney (21-1) gave up a pair of runs in the second inning but shut down Notre Dame the rest of the way, retiring eight straight batters before Gillespie doubled down the left-field line with two outs in the fifth inning.

That was the last batter Minney faced, as Looney threw a strike to third baseman Melanie Woodard to retire Gillespie trying to steal to end the game.

“It feels so good to get back here,” Fenik said. “I just want everybody to be able to enjoy this moment.”

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

BUCYRUS — Mercy, mercy. What an explosion.

Keystone’s top-ranked softball team put up 16 hits, four for extra bases, and seven different batters joined the fun Saturday in an 11-1 mercy-rule rout of Lima Shawnee.

Six players scored at least one run.

The onslaught came in a Division II regional final that sends the Wildcats back to the Final Four for the second straight year and 13th time in the history of the program.

It also created an intriguing drama.

At 12:30 p.m. Friday, the Wildcats (30-0) will meet second-ranked Poland Seminary in a state semifinal at Firestone Stadium in Akron. Poland defeated the Wildcats 4-0 in the state final last year, denying them a third state championship.

Keystone has had its sights on another state title since before the season began. Many of the Wildcats, and especially their eight seniors, have said they would welcome another shot at the Bulldogs and star pitcher Erin Gabriel, a Tennessee recruit.

They get it in less than a week.

Poland (26-2) pounded Akron Archbishop Hoban 8-0 Saturday to win the Akron regional, which was also played at Firestone Stadium.

The Wildcats launched an early assault on Shawnee. They batted around in the first inning and scored five runs on five hits and an Indians error. They sent seven more batters to the plate in the second inning and put up three more runs on three hits and two Shawnee errors.

“I’m so proud of these girls,” coach Jim Piazza said. “The way they responded today was just incredible. One of the things I told them before the game was I had a feeling that something special was going to happen to them, because we’ve worked way too hard and we haven’t played our best softball yet.”

Senior shortstop Erin Pond went 4-for-4 with a first-inning leadoff home run, a double, an RBI and three runs scored.

What must she have eaten for breakfast?

“Oreos and milk,” Pond said. “Actually, I had a few of those, but then we went to Choo-Choo’s (a LaGrange restaurant) for breakfast this morning. I had some toast and fruit.

“Every day it crosses our mind,” she added of last year’s loss and returning to Akron. “We focus on what’s happening right now, but it’s always in the back of our minds. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen this next game.”

Pitcher Kenzie Conrad (23-0) was also 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs. Relying mainly on her dropball, she pitched a four-strikeout, no-walk four-hitter.

“When we were warming up, the dropball wasn’t actually working the best,” Conrad said. “When I got out there, the adrenalin took over and everything was working really well. It was a great time.”

After the second inning, it was all over but the shouting. The Wildcats had at least one hit in every inning, including four in the sixth when they scored three runs in a game-ending rally that included doubles by Pond and Conrad.

The 11th run, which created the 10-run mercy-rule margin, was scored by sophomore Morgan McNulty, who courtesy-ran for Conrad in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings. She scored three times.

“I like that I helped the team get there,” McNulty said. “It just feels good.”

Keystone also had two hits from seniors Mallory Nagy —  who also scored twice — Bri Buckley and Alisha Silva. Sophomore Carleigh Herrington, who doubled in the big first inning, and senior Bee Shaw had the Wildcats’ other hits.

“This is an incredible feeling, even more than last year,” Silva said. “It’s all we’ve worked for, and now that we’re actually there, it’s an incredible feeling. We came ready to play today and everyone hit the ball real well.”

It was only the second loss in 10 decisions for Shawnee pitcher Sam Bullock, a senior, who joined the team in midseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery on her right elbow in October. She pitched her first full game only last week in the Miller City district.

It was Shawnee’s first appearance in a regional final and the second year in a row the Indians lost to Keystone in the Bucyrus regional. They dropped a 1-0 decision last year as Conrad pitched a no-hitter.

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.

MASSILLON — For six innings, Black River’s softball team went toe to toe with the defending state champions.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the final inning proved to be their undoing Saturday afternoon.

Sierra Blackson singled home Brooke Culler with two outs in the top of the seventh, giving Warren Champion a 1-0 victory over Black River in the Division III regional championship game.

The dramatic triumph propelled the Golden Flashes (23-3) into the state semifinals, while the Pirates (22-10) finished their most successful season ever.

“Whew, it doesn’t get any closer than that,” said Champion coach Cheryl Weaver, whose program has won four state titles. “I just had a feeling it would be this type of game because Black River is a very good team.

“The further along you get in the tournament, the more the games are like this, where one play could make the difference. That’s why we’re ecstatic right now. We still have a chance to repeat (as champions).”

Culler opened the seventh by drawing a walk, but it appeared she might be stranded after Pirates pitcher Dagmar Smith (16-3) retired the next two hitters on a pop out and ground out.

Blackson, though, broke Black River’s hearts by smashing a single into center field that scored the speedy Culler from second base. That was all the offense the Golden Flashes needed to close the curtain on the Pirates’ first trip to regionals.

“I really thought these were the two best teams in the state playing today,” Pirates coach Merle Simmons said. “It’s just too bad it happened in the regional final because this might have been the state championship out there.”

Neither squad got much going on a 91-degree day that saw the home plate umpire take five extended hydration breaks, which contributed to the tight game lasting nearly two hours.

The Pirates only put five runners on base against Golden Flashes pitcher Lindsay Swipas (20-1) — via two hits, two walks and one hit batter — and never seriously threatened to score.

Black River left fielder Kailey Summer accounted for both hits with singles in the fourth and seventh, while center fielder Jessica Chidsey was the only Pirates baserunner to get into scoring position.

Chidsey was hit on the arm by Swipas as she led off the second inning, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Swipas promptly struck out the next three batters to quell the threat.

All-Ohio honoree Swipas finished the game with 14 strikeouts, including seven in seven plate appearances by the bottom three hitters in Black River’s batting order.

“Lindsay is an amazing pitcher and I have enormous respect for her,” Smith said. “I really hope she leads Champion to the state title because she deserves it. You root for people like that because she plays the game the right way.”

Smith (16-3) also was terrific in the biggest game of her career. She scattered six hits and two walks while striking out eight Golden Flashes — despite a lingering back injury that forced her to miss 12 games earlier in the spring.

Champion didn’t push a runner past first base until the fifth, when Emile Hohvart and MacKenzie Kizer had back-to-back singles to start the inning. Smith struck out Culler and induced Swipas into a pop out before walking Darian Rogers to load the bases with two outs.

Black River got out of that jam when shortstop Nora Smith snagged a hard grounder by Blackson, and threw out Kiser on a fielder’s choice at third.

It was one of many fine fielding plays made by Nora Smith, third baseman Kayla Finkel and Summer, who helped their ace strand nine Golden Flashes.

“It’s been that way all season for us on the left side,” Simmons said. “Finkel and (Nora)

Smith have done an outstanding job together, and Kailey was very good both in left field and when she was playing third base because of injuries.

“It’s just a shame that they’re all seniors because we’re really going to miss their defense.”

Simmons then glanced toward his players in the dugout and added, “Really, we’re going to miss them — and all eight of our seniors — for a lot more reasons than that. We’re losing six starters, but we’re also losing the girls who have set the standard for our program.

“They’re the first Black River team to win 20 games and the first team to go to regionals. I’ll always be grateful for what they’ve done together.”

Contact Brian Dulik at 329-7135 or brisports@hotmail.com.

BEDFORD — It was a record day Saturday for Vermilion senior Emily Cunningham and junior Brittany Gates of Keystone at the Division II regional track meet at Bearcat Stadium.

Cunningham topped nemesis Lauren Schattinger, a senior from Cortland Lakeview, in a razor-tight finish to win her second 200-meter title in three years. Cunningham clocked 24.792 to 24.796 for Schattinger, the defending regional champ.

Even with a finish line camera and fully automatic timing system, it was nearly 20 minutes before the result was officially announced.

Gates won the first regional title for a Keystone girl since 2006 with a tremendous day in the long jump.

Gates soared a school-record 17 feet, 11¼ inches in the third round of prelims after a personal-record 17-2 a round earlier. Her mark in the prelims held up through the finals as she defeated CVCA freshman Autumn Young (17-9) for the regional championship.

It was the first time Gates broke the 17-foot barrier this season.

Cunningham’s winning 200-meter effort was a school record, breaking her time of 24.86 when she defeated Schattinger (24.88) to win the 2010 Ravenna regional.

“I’ve been thinking about this race since the indoor state meet (at Akron),” said Cunningham, a seven-time All-Ohioan. “I choked against her (Schattinger). I got scared when I got up to speed,” Cunningham defeated Schattinger in the 200 state finals in 2010 and last year when Cunningham was third (24.97) and Schattinger fourth (25.16).

Up until Saturday’s 200 final, Cunningham had to settle for second three times.

“She (Schattinger) has an amazing start,” Cunningham said. “It’s something I lack in. At about the 150-meter mark I was about one step ahead of her. Right when we got the to finish line we leaned at the same time. I didn’t even know at all (the result). If she would have won I would have been upset, but it’s still about Columbus. That’s the whole big picture that everyone needs to look at.”

Cunningham finished second (12.19) in the 100 meters to Schattinger (12.03), who won the event for the third straight year. Cunningham also anchored the Sailors’ second-place 800- and 400-meter relays.

She teamed with junior AuBree LaForce, sophomore Hannah Bartlome and junior Mallory Morris for a school-record 1:41.54 in the 800 relay. It’s the fastest mark ever for that event for schools in the Chronicle-Telegram coverage area, eclipsing Elyria’s time of 1:41.72 set at the 2001 Lake Erie League meet.

Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary won the event in a regional-record time of 1:41.14.

Cunningham also anchored the 400 relay which turned in a 49.15, but Canton South (49.05) held off the Sailors. Sophomore Abbey Bodeker, Bartlome and Morris ran with Cunningham.

Cunningham’s effort helped Vermilion to a third-place team finish with 50 points.
Gates was ecstatic in more ways than one.

She broke Jennifer Reimer’s 1989 school record of 17-7¾ with her winning leap, earning her second straight trip to Columbus in the process. Gates needed every bit of her big jump since her second-round jump of 17-2 would have only placed sixth, 3 inches shy of qualifying.

“It was the best thing I ever felt,” Gates said. “It was a huge PR (personal record) … huge. It was so nice. I knew I had to go big. I just had to attack the board. I knew the key on my jump was getting up high. I think I really did.”

Gates, who was second at the Midview district (15-9), had a previous career best of 17-1½ set at last year’s Patriot Athletic Conference championships.

“This season I didn’t have the jumps I had last season, but this past week or two I’ve really peaked,” she said.

Gates’ best mark of the season heading into regionals was 16-8½. She went 16-7 on her first attempt.

“When she jumped her first jump I gave her a high five,” Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer said. “I told her that she was here to jump today. She was smiling. She was positive.”

Keystone’s Emily Peters, a sophomore, just missed a state berth in the 200 meters, finishing fifth in a career-best 25.59. Vermilion’s Bodeker had a career-day in the 300 hurdles, finishing sixth (46.29).

Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Girls

Team standings (top 5): 1. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 100; 2. CVCA, 61; 3. Vermilion, 50; 4. Wooster Triway, 44; 5. Mantua Crestwood, 27. LOCAL SCHOOLS: 13. Keystone, 14.

Local Individual results

100: 1. Lauren Schattinger (Lakeview), 12.03; 2. Emily Cunningham (Vermilion), 12.19; 3. Autumn Young (CVCA), 12.22; 4. Alexandra Carnatha (Ursuline), 12.31

200: 1. Cunningham (Vermilion), 24.80; 2. Schattinger (Lakeview), 24.80; 3. Imani Davis (SVSM), 25.13; 4. Kieshawnna Burts (Akron North), 25.48; 5. Emily Peters (Keystone), 25.59

300 hurdles: 1. Tessa Brooks (Triway), 44.42; 2. Maria Hammer (SVSM), 45.22; 3. Hannah Boss (Manchester), 45.46; 4. Christy Griffin (Cardinal), 45.47; 6. Abbey Bodeker (Vermilion), 46.29

400 relay: 1. Canton South (Alexis Lancaster, Sydney Vaughn, Taylor Tompkins, Imani Bush), 49.05; 2. Vermilion (Bodeker, Hannah Bartlome, Mallory Morris, Cunningham), 49.15; 3. Cardinal, 49.49; 4. Beachwood, 49.51

800 relay: 1. St. Vincent-St. Mary (Kyla Carter, Imani Davis, Chelsea Laury, Julia Mendiola), 1:41.14 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:41.76 set by Akron Buchtel); 2. Vermilion (AuBree LaForce, Bartlome, Mallory Morris, Cunningham), 1:41.54; 3. Canton South, 1:43.03; 4. CVCA, 1:43.84

Shot put: 1. Megan Tomei (Akron SV-SM) 14-10, 2. Kenya Simmons (Painesville Harvey) 42-2, 3. Edith Svonavec (Garrettsville Garfield) 40-9, 4. Ciera Trybend (Salem) 40-3; 14. Emily Nagy (Keystone), 32-21⁄4

Discus: 1. Kendra Zbinovec (NDCL), 136-9; 2. Shannon Montgomery (Newton Falls), 133-5; 3. Mercedes Oliver (Streetsboro), 131-9; 4. Megan Tomei (SVSM), 130-8; 14. Savannah Mowry (Vermilion), 104-9; 16. Marrisa Engle (Brookside), 95-11

High jump: 1. Bartlome (Vermilion) 5-4, 2. Alyson Lindic (Canal Fulton) 5-4, 3. Kalienne Allis (Norton) 5-4, 4. Rebecca Fortner (Navarre Fairless) 5-3; 6. Victoria Gimben (Vermilion), 5-2; 12. Sydney Wright (Clearview), 5-0

Long jump: 1. Brittany Gates (Keystone), 17-11 ¼; 2. Young (CVCA), 17-9; 3. Brooks (Triway), 17-8; 4. Olivia Mayfield (Beachwood), 17-5; 15. Morris (Vermilion), 15-6

Pole vault: 1. Brooks (Triway), 11-3; 2. Alexa Jarrett (Orrville), 11-0; 3. Allyson Simmons (Fairless), 11-0; 4. Angel Myers (Wickliffe), 10-6; 9. Lauren Kingsboro (Keystone), 8-0

“We have windows.”

It’s the kind of proclamation that seems odd coming from a teacher of more than 30 years talking about Elyria High School. But choir teacher Mark Jessie said he remembers that not too long ago he was teaching in a dank, windowless room.

“Imagine the psychological effects of spending all day, every day in a windowless room,” he said. “You wouldn’t know if it was sunny out or if there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. Just to see a window you had to come out of the room and walk down the hall.”

Windowless rooms, a heating and cooling system that was comical at times, leaving classrooms ice cold in the winter and scorching hot in the summer.

Elyria High School teachers contend they had more to deal with in the old Elyria High School than educators tapped with the responsibility of teaching more than 2,000 students should. Yet prior to the pristine new building, teaching in an environment that was not conducive to learning was a way of life in the second largest public school district in the county.

It was common to have to shift a bucket from one side of a classroom to another to catch the drops of dirty water dripping from the ceiling.

But nearly two years after the district opened Phase 1 of the $70 million building constructed with local tax dollars and a hefty share from the state, teachers said they continue to be in awe of what the city has given them.

It’s easy to be appreciative, they said, when they remember the past.

“OK, I could talk for hours about the technology in this place, but let’s make one thing clear,” said Jessie, the veteran choir teacher. “The minute we stepped foot in this building, there was an increased level of respect for the building, for the teachers and for the school day that had nothing to do with the SmartBoards, computers and all the other technology. There was just a noticeable increase in the educational focus.

“The old building was an environment that just said, ‘You are not important,’ ” Jessie said.

Jessie has been with the district for 33 years, the last 21 at Elyria High School. It has only been since the start of the 2010-11 school year that Jessie said he could say the building he worked in was not an embarrassment.

“In the old building, you could have put up a sign that said ‘You are not worthy,’ and it would have fit perfectly,” added Julie Owca, an English teacher of 14 years. “And, I’m not just talking about the students, but the teachers felt that way, too. We knew we had the worst school in the state.”

With nearly half a century of combined teaching experience under their belts, Jessie and Owca said they have seen a lot of changes in the way students learn and the ways teachers have to deliver material. When Elyria High was being constructed and teachers could watch the building take shape from a lot adjacent to the old building, many said they wondered if the building would have everything district officials promised: a clean environment that would put technology at the forefront of the educational experience.

After all, the generations of students that would use the building for years to come was not the use-the-card-catalog-in-the-library generation.

“It’s like they expect technology coming out of the womb,” said math teacher Chad Heuser, also an Elyria High School alumni.

In more ways than one, the new high school delivers.

Heuser said he uses a Smart Board every day to teach lessons on algebra or pre-calculus. With a remote in his hand, he clicks through slides with ease. A microphone amplifies his voice to every corner of the room as he walks between the desks to eye the work of his students.

“I remember the days in the old building when I would be in a classroom without a Smart Board, I would literally lose 10 to 15 minutes of instruction time writing and erasing on a chalkboard or smudging out words writing on the overhead projector,” he said. “That is valuable teaching time lost.”

Now, teachers not only have the interactive whiteboards, but the school has hundreds of computers, laptops and iPads that teachers can use for lessons. The entire building has wireless Internet, so teachers can take advantage of it with just a few keystrokes or clicks of a mouse.

“I use Netflix and YouTube videos in the classroom all the time,” Owca said. “I would say my lessons are half classroom and half online. It allows students to expand beyond the classroom.”

Cell phones and electronic readers, once considered contraband in schools, are now seen as learning devices, allowing students to download or access dozens of textbooks or reference books in something smaller than one textbook. Study hall means going to the dining hall, the media center or the Wi-Fi cafe, where snacks are available for purchase all day long in a format that is more college book store than high school library.

“I remember what it was like just to show a movie in class,” Jessie said. “That meant planning at least a couple of days in advance, signing out a cart and then lugging it to the classroom while being careful not to tip anything over.”

Now, a full screen mounted to the classroom wall gives students instantaneous access to movies.

In a building that boasts a fully equipped performance arts center, it’s an understatement to just say the arts — vocal, instrumental, performance and dramatic — are a part of the school.

The arts are valued, Jessie said.

Imagine having a group of talented singers who want nothing more than to sing the national anthem at a Cleveland Cavaliers game and the only thing standing in the way is a demo that needs to be sent by email to those making the decision. That was the case earlier this year for a group of Elyria High crooners, but Jessie said the other part was simple.

“We just went into one of the practice rooms, adjusted the acoustic levels and recorded a demo right there,” he said. “We were able to cut it, make it into an electronic file and email it over in no time. There was no worrying about finding a quiet spot, setting up some microphones, hoping no one came in or said anything, making a CD and then dropping it in the mail.

“It was as easy as boom, boom, boom,” Jessie said as he snapped his fingers in quick succession.

Carey Dargo, a social studies teacher whose classroom in the century old Washington Building, the historical focal point of the 330,000-square-foot building, listened to all her fellow teachers go on and on about the new school. She shared their excitement, but from a different perspective, she said.

She was once a student at Elyria High. The old building was her alma mater, the place where she roamed the halls as a teenager, complained when it was too hot in the building that lacked air conditioning and fought hard to get computer time in one of the limited computer labs available at that time.

“I know what we used to have,” she said. “Our gym was in the basement and the locker rooms were disgusting. The students today have no idea what they have. I know I am proud of this school.”

Jessie said he knows students are as well. On a recent trip to Cleveland Catholic high school St. Ignatius, he said a group of students looked around the building with wide eyes. Then, they turned to him and proclaimed that although the school had a beautiful building, Elyria High was just as nice and maybe even a little bit better.

“Yeah, they are spoiled now,” Owca said.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

When Elyria Superintendent Paul Rigda grabbed the hand of board member Evelyn France and danced on the table to celebrate the passage of a bond issue to build the new Elyria High School, he thought the hard part was over.

Voters had done what many thought wasn’t possible when they signed off on a multimillion-dollar bond issue to replace the school that was in such disrepair, the state deemed it the building most in need of replacement in the state.

For years, school officials had campaigned for local support to build a new school and with a victory handed to them in May 2007, Rigda thought he would sit back and relish the vision of the new school being erected on the footprint of the old building.

Today, Rigda laughs at that notion.

“I will admit it. I was naive,” Rigda said recently talking about the project in advance of this week’s grand opening celebration. “We were ambitious and a little naive about the building process and what building a building of this size entailed.”

Sitting next to him was Building Services Director Rich Nielson. Of all the employees in the district who have walked the construction site over the past few years, Nielson is the one who knows the most about the project.

“Not naive, but this was definitely an eye-opening experience for us,” he said.

As students, parents and community members walk about the 330,000-square-foot building later this week, marveling at the terrazzo flooring, WiFi cafe, Rathskellar, college-style dining hall and expertly designed courtyard classrooms where science and art students flex their intellect in a hands-on way, Rigda said few will know how much behind the scenes work went into the project.

Work stalled for inclement weather on more than one occasion and a disagreement with a roofing contractor meant the district had to go looking for a new company halfway through the project.

“First, I would say it’s best to leave a lot of extra time,” Rigda said. “Then, don’t build on the exact footprint of an old building. It’s a challenge and disruptive to students.”

With a possible second construction project on the minds of school officials — the state wants to give the district more money for elementary buildings, but until they garner local support the project is a no-go — the biggest education the district received could likely prove to be the most important.

“We were not wise about the lowest bid process,” Rigda said. “Sometimes there is a reason why bids are low. We thought we could have some say in the contracts that were chosen so we could get the best quality for our taxpayer’s money, but that was not always the case. Even when it came down to subcontractors, we could suggest a local company only to see the main contractor use a sub he was familiar with in another part of the state or region.

“It was a little disheartening because we wanted this to be a very local project,” Rigda said.

That sentiment is understandable considering how invested residents became in the project before the first bit of dirt was ever turned.

The location of the school provided a fierce debate among community members who could not stand to see the historic Washington Building, the 118-year-old focal point of the school, razed. So the promise was made to residents that if they passed the bond issue, the building would not only stay but be renovated back to glory.

But promises like that should have a be-careful-what-you-promise caveat attached to them because retrofitting a building like the Washington Building had a lot of challenges. Unknown cracks in the foundation, water running from an unknown source under the school and bowing walls were just some of the things the district had to deal with, Nielson said.

“When you get into a project like this with a building that old, there are things you find after the fact that a building can’t tell you by looking at it,” he said.

Still, the end result is something beautiful to see in the three-story, Romanesque architecture-inspired classic. The Washington Building both stands out and blends in as the newly built portions of the school pay homage to the historic structure.

The three tall, staggered windows in the peaks of the dormers mimic the three sets of three windows, one at the top of the Washington Building tower, and two at the top of the facade next to the tower.

The window arches in the new building’s dormers echo the arch at the entranceway to the Washington Building. And the rough-hewn limestone nearly matches the sandstone in the Washington Building.

“This is a special place,” said Zora Kovanovic of the Architectural Vision Group of Westlake, which specializes in designing school buildings and designed the new Elyria High. “That is why we wanted to keep a symbol of it around the entire campus. It shows in the colors, textures and finishes.”

The dining hall is another example of the influence of the century-old building and the work that went into preserving it. The grand room, which has a color scheme to match school colors, faces the exposed west wall of the Washington Building, and the sandstone wall was built with hand-chiseled blocks to match the sandstone on the old building.

Now, with the accomplishment of a nearly complete building under its belt, Rigda said the district knows it will be ready should the residents decide they are open to new elementary schools.

“I think it would have been better to cut our teeth on elementary buildings,” he said. “But after Elyria High, we could probably build anything.”

VERMILION — Brandyn Sittinger always loved attending the Lorain County high school baseball all-star game, where he got a special kick from the announcement of Mr. Baseball.

“I’ve always watched guys walk up to get it, and it was always so cool,” said Sittinger a right-handed pitcher and shortstop for the Keystone Wildcats.

Now Sittinger’s one of them. He was named this year’s Lorain County Mr. Baseball between games Saturday at Vermilion High School.

Past winners received something Sittinger did not — a trophy. The award’s sponsor forgot to bring it, so it will be presented at a later date.

Sittinger said he didn’t mind not having the hardware in hand.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I used to dream about winning this. It’s surreal that I got it now.”

Sittinger got it after a season in which he helped lead Keystone to its second consecutive Division III district championship.

All he did was go 8-2 with a 1.04 earned run average. In 65 innings he allowed only 32 hits and nine earned runs, while walking 16 and striking out 103. He also hit .400 with 38 hits, 38 runs scored, 12 doubles, four triples, 24 runs batted in and seven stolen bases.

Sittinger, who will attend Marshall University on a baseball scholarship in the fall, didn’t play Saturday. He has committed to play in two other all-star games, which is the maximum number for a high school senior.

Besides, Sittinger threw 141 pitches over eight innings in the Wildcats’ 3-2 loss to Youngstown Ursuline in Thursday’s regional semifinal.

“I really am surprised I won,” Sittinger said. “I figured there were a lot of good seniors. I’m honored to get it.”

Sittinger is the first Mr. Baseball winner from Keystone since Kyle Shaw won in 2008.

“I would like to thank my coaches for all they have done for me, including putting out my name,” Sittinger said. “I would like to thank Coach (Dwayne) Callaway. He helped me with my mechanics. He has been a great mentor, and he’s a big reason I got this.”

Callaway coaches the North Coast Gladiators, Sittinger’s summer team.

“I’m proud of him,” Keystone coach Mark Clement said. “He’s well-deserving of this award. He was our top pitcher and this year he put the hitting together with the pitching. He’s a good kid and a fine student. He’ll do well in college.”

Sittinger carries a 3.6 grade-point average. He will major in sports management in college.

“He has always been tough on himself,” Callaway said. “Brandyn has always had high expectations for himself. That’s a reason he has been successful.”

Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or stephenbyrne@att.net.

ELYRIA — Mary Dann graduated from Elyria High School in 1942.

But as the 86-year-old woman will tell you, she has never lost her love for the school and knew she wanted to walk the halls of the newly constructed building just one time before dying.

“It’s my alma mater. I love it, and I remember I never missed school,” said the Elyria woman.

But terminal illness threatened to keep Dann from Saturday’s grand opening festivities and that was something her friend Tom Gard, 63, said he could not have.

So roughly six weeks ago, Gard contacted school officials with a request to provide a special tour for Dann, who, when in better health, purchased four bricks inscribed with her name and the name of three friends that are now in the memorial walkway of the school.

He wheeled the elderly woman through the doors and watched as she beamed with pride at the school that bears the same name as the one she graduated from, but looks nothing like the building she spent four years in.

“My school — it was just one of those things you didn’t talk about in the community because people knew it was falling apart and had been for so many years,” she said. “But the new school is all so beautiful. I am just so thrilled to be able to have lived long enough to see it. I would shout it from the rooftops.”

Gard calls the tour a belated birthday present to the woman he has happily helped take care of for the past 10 years. Gard, also an alumnus of Elyria High in the class of 1968, said he doesn’t believe people realize how much pride the community has in the new school.

“Of course, when I went to school there it looked old, but it really wasn’t falling apart yet,” he said. “But seven years ago I went back there with my father to get an old yearbook, and we were just appalled at how shabby and basically deplorable the school was at that time.”

Gard said his father did not live to see the new building. He can only imagine what he would say at the 330,000-square-foot building that now stretches two city blocks on Middle Avenue.

“He thought the old school was being held together with Band-Aids and duct tape,” Gard said. “He would have been thrilled with what Elyria has now.”

Gard talked rapidly about every feature of the school that blew him away — the Rathskellar, the Performing Arts Center, the Media Center, the television studio and the dining hall.

“Even the lavatories are just beautiful,” he said. “These kids don’t know how lucky they got it.”

But students — who must abide by strict rules intended to keep the school pristine as long as possible — say they do know how lucky they area.

“Just look at this place,” said Brandon Smith, 18, who is less than three weeks away from graduating. “I spent two years in the old place and two years in the new place. The new building was more than a little overdue when we got it.”

Smith said he didn’t have to go to Elyria High. He took open enrollment into the school from Clearview Schools, and he said he is happy he did. Not only is he one of the first classes to graduate from the new school, but he already has an associate of arts degree under his belt thanks to the Post Secondary Education Option program.

“I’m happy I came to Elyria. I don’t think I would have enjoyed high school as much somewhere else,” he said.

Math teacher Chad Heuser said the district is still waiting on data from this spring’s Ohio standardized tests, but the achievement in the new school is there.

“We have been in the building two full years in the Ohio Graduation Tests scores have gone up,” he said. “I think that’s the best thank you of all.”

ELYRIA — Planning an entire day built around celebrating a building is not easy, but after five years Elyria Schools wants to say “Thank you” in the biggest way possible with the long-awaited grand opening event for Elyria High Schools.

The festivities kick off 10 a.m. Saturday with a parade-style march from Ely Square to the high school led by the EHS Pioneer Marching Band. Then, at 10:45 a.m. the official ribbon cutting ceremony will be held in front of the historic Washington Building.

Amy Higgins, district spokeswoman, said she knows that technically the school has been open, at least in part, since the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, but there have been so many delays that planning a celebration seemed near impossible until now.

“It has always been our intention to hold a grand opening celebration and this is obviously later than we would have hoped, but we want the community to see what they helped create,” she said.

The building, a whopping 330,000 square feet, is among the largest and most complex school building projects undertaken by the Ohio School Facilities Commission. At a price tag of more than $70 million, it is also one of the most expensive single projects taxpayers in Elyria have had a part in, and Superintendent Paul Rigda said that has not been lost on school officials.

“Elyria High is the flagship school of the district, of the community, and we appreciate the trust put in us by taxpayers to do this project when they passed the bond issue,” he said. “There were so many people who said it couldn’t be done, but we never underestimated the support of our community. They give to us when they can, even giving to us when it hurts.”

The school is not just large. It was designed to be modern and college-campus-like with features like a WiFi Cafe, a full-production television studio and editing lab, a $4 million state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, a 2,000-seat gymnasium and an avant-garde central kitchen and contemporary dining hall.

There are outside classroom spaces, geothermal heating and cooling, and “green” features that garnered the building a silver rating in LEED certification.

Along with celebrating the new building, the grand opening celebration will also pay tribute to local history.

Elyria is the birthplace of Easter Seals, so Elyria Schools, in conjunction with Elyria Rotary, the Lorain County Historical Society, Easter Seals and EMH Regional Medical Center, will unveil at 11 a.m. a historic marker and stones on the grounds of Elyria High School that will recognize victims of a street car disaster in 1907. The accident led to the establishment of Elyria Memorial Hospital and the Crippled Children’s Society, now Easter Seals.

The historic marker and stones will be on the corner of Fifth Street and Middle Avenue, at nearly the same site as the disaster.

The day will also include children’s games and activities, performances by fine-arts students and ongoing tours of the building.

At noon, the Elyria Schools booster organizations will announce the winner of a 2011 Chevy Malibu.

LORAIN — Marine Lance Cpl. David Hall was the kind of kid you could find snagging a fly ball in left field.

Lance Cpl. Ryan Giese was the kind of ballplayer who would dive for a line drive in the dirt.

Before both were fallen soldiers of war, both were baseball fanatics who spent summers on the fields of the Lorain Youth Baseball League. Saturday, the world of youth baseball and war collided at the opening day ceremonies when both Hall and Giese were remembered for their service to this country and their youthful passion on the field.

Giese was killed in Iraq last year, and Hall was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

It was a small but fitting tribute that was more than appropriate two days before the nation pauses to honor fallen service members. It let the young athletes know that before men are soldiers they are boys who just want to hear the crack of a bat against a ball.

Just like them.

“We are humbled that we were able to have the opportunity to honor the heroes among us,” said organizer Brian Lilly. “Some are still giving, some gave some, and two have given the ultimate sacrifice.”

Members representing all four branches of the military were present and were honored with two standing ovations.

But perhaps the moments came when the focus was solely on Hall and Giese. Two flower wreaths that encircled a picture of each man were placed on stands bearing their names at home plate, and the dog tags of both were placed on home plate.

“Both men will always have a home at the Lorain Youth Baseball League,” Lilly said.

Wendy Dull, Hall’s sister, carried the metal identification tags once belonging to her brother to home plate.

“This is the ultimate way to honor him,” she said. “He would have loved this, with all of the boys and girls playing the game he loved.”

Dull asked everyone in attendance to continue to pray for every family and soldier until each service member comes home.

Police Chief Cel Rivera represented the Giese family. Ryan Giese’s father, Larry Giese, retired 10 years ago from the Lorain Police Department. He now lives in Las Vegas. Giese’s mother resides in Georgia.

“It is so humbling that this tribute coincides with the Memorial Day weekend, even though some see it as just another federal holiday or the start of summer,” Rivera said. “To me, it’s a time for reflection. It’s a time to think about those who have served and never made it home to Lorain.”

The ceremony lasted less than an hour and ended with a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps. Several young boys walked somberly around the field wearing T-shirts bearing the names of Hall and Giese and the teams they played for years ago — Giese for the Lorain Police Department and Hall for Kohlmyer’s Sporting Goods.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.