Watkins’ Carsyn Cassady retires all 21, blanks Johnstown

On Apr 7, 2023

PATASKALA ― Carsyn Cassady was perfect on Thursday, and almost had to be, pitching against her travel team teammate.

The Watkins Memorial junior All-Ohioan retired all 21 batters she faced, striking out 11 and throwing 55 of her 70 pitches for strikes, and Johnstown senior Macy Walters was nearly as good. She allowed only three hits, struck out six and walked two, but in the end, a first-inning run was all it took to decide the classic duel as the Warriors prevailed 1-0 in an early showdown of Licking County League unbeatens.

“It (the perfect game) was in the back of my mind, but I didn’t really think about it until the last batter,” said Cassady, who had never thrown a perfecto in high school ball. “If you dwell on it, it’s never going to happen. Even when I did, I re-grouped and had to focus on getting the final out.”

Coach Mike Jellison noted that she has had no-hitters before, but wound up walking a batter. She was one batter away in Florida. But on this cloudy afternoon, pitching on her home field, Cassady didn’t come close to issuing a free pass.

“We just approached it the way we do every game. We think about every pitch, and tell her, ‘go get your 3 (outs) and let us hit,'” junior catcher Jordyn Wycuff said. “She’s always good, but today, she was really on. She’s a very confident pitcher and knows she has a great defense behind her. We’re best friends, and I’m happy I was able to do it with her.”

In a game that took just 75 minutes, Watkins (6-0, 1-0) got on the board quickly, and made it stand up.

Taylor Gerhardt bunted for a single leading off the first and took second on a throwing error. She stole third and scored when Wycuff bounced to short.

The Warriors threatened a couple of more times, but Walters was equal to the task. Gerhardt walked in the third and stole second, but Ava McKee flied out and Walters fanned Wycuff. In the sixth, McKee doubled down the left field line and Wycuff reached on an infield single, but Cortney Dobbs flew out to short. Three Warriors play with Walters on the same travel team, including Cassady and Wycuff.

“I knew I had to keep them off balance,” Walters said. “I used my backdoor curve, curve and rise. I wasn’t going to give them much straight to hit.” She threw 61 of her 90 pitches for strikes.

Cassady employed a similar approach.

“Today, my curve was on fire, and then, it was my changeup,” she said. “Those two were everything, and I used the rise to get batters out. I’m extra proud of my teammates for backing me up. We came in, knowing it was a big game, and we were completely hyped.”

The Johnnies (2-1, 2-1) had eight fly ball outs and only two on the ground. Walters flied deep to right in the fifth, then Laney Zak lined hard to short. In the seventh, Cassady struck out Addie Triplett and pinch hitter Brooklynne Siegel before Dakota Staffan popped out to shortstop Maleya Thompson, sealing a perfect game.

“I think Dakota just missed it,” said first-year Johnstown coach Mike Justice. “Both pitchers made excellent pitches. Carsyn did a good job keeping us off balance, and we know what we have with Macy, and the defense behind her. It was a great game, and fun to watch. It was actually a good loss for us. We went toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the state. We have good seniors, but we also start three freshmen.”

If Watkins is going to return to the Division I state tournament for a third consecutive year, the Warriors are going to have to win games similar to this one. They’re also capable of winning 17-2 games like Tuesday at Tri-Valley, where they hit seven home runs.

“We won our scrimmage against West Jefferson (with Arizona-bound pitcher Brooke Mannon) 1-0, and we scored in the first inning, just like today,” Jellison said. “We’ll make adjustments and work on things as the season goes on. We can play a bunch of different ways.”

“It was good to get this experience,” Wycuff said. “You have to stay locked in for the entire game.”