With her team trailing Western Brown by one run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Byanca Dubie stepped up to the plate with runners on first and third and a chance to extend the game.
The Shawnee High School sophomore knew an inside pitch was coming after getting several earlier in the game.
“So I moved off the plate a little bit, and I let one go,” Dubie said.
“Then (on the next pitch) I just swung as hard as I could.”
Dubie lifted the ball over the left field wall for a three-run homer that gave her squad a 13-11 victory over the Broncos, who advanced to the D-III state semifinals last season.
For her efforts, Dubie was named the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week for April 19, earning the honor through reader voting at DaytonDailyNews.com.
“It means a lot to me,” Dubie said. “I'm very grateful for everyone that voted for me, especially my family and friends and the team.”
The Braves, 17-1 through Thursday’s games, were recently ranked No. 1 in the state in the Ohio High School Softball Coaches Poll released Monday, April 20. Shawnee’s lone loss came to defending D-IV state champion Kenton Ridge last week. They were tied at No. 1 with defending state champion Liberty Union and Wheelersburg.
It’s the first time in school history the Braves have stood atop the state poll.
“We've all been working as a team,” she said. “We've all been doing really well this season. I think this year we're really working hard together.”
Dubie is hitting .564 this season with eight doubles, four triples, three HRs and 31 RBIs.
This year, Dubie has stepped out of her comfort zone to lead the Braves pitching staff. She primarily played right field last season on a Braves squad that won the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division and finished one game shy of the D-V state final four.
In 13 appearances this season, Dubie is 10-1 with a 2.036 earned run average and 75 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched.
“My thought process is just try your best,” Dubie said. “It's my first year being the No. 1 pitcher. I've really been working on the mental side of everything, and just not always getting upset when there's errors and everything. I think I’ve done really good at that, helping myself and helping the team.”
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