Softball Collects Five Wins in Florida, Heads North Looking to Build on Spring Trip
The Laker softball team went down to Florida to compete in The Spring Games, where they'd get some non-conference games in while the weather up in Michigan may not be as allowing. They'd see some stiff competition throughout the week, winning some tough games and losing some tough games. These games are their first of the season, and an opportunity to get on the field early in the spring to learn, grow, develop, and pick up some wins along the way.
Day One: Split Doubleheader with Bismarck State & West Virginia Wesleyan College JV
Game one of the trips, the Lakers would go to battle with Bismarck State. The Lakers fell behind early 4-0 after two innings. The Lakers would take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when they'd throw up a 5-spot. A 2-run single from Phoenix Shaw and an RBI single by Grace Piggott would inch the Lakers ahead. The teams would trade leads twice in the next two innings, and Bismarck State would go on to score 4 runs in the top of the sixth to take a 9-7 lead. The Lakers mustered up one run, but couldn't claw all the way back. This seesaw of a game would result in Bismarck State winning 9-8. Averi Hall had 2 RBI in the game. Adria Reed went 2-4. Alexis Mielke went 1-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Phoenix Shaw drove in 2 runs. Ella Clauss went 3-3 at the plate. Rylie Shafer had an RBI double in a 2-3 showing. Grace Piggott went 1-3 with an RBI single.
Game two featured a matchup with West Virginia Wesleyan College JV. The Lakers took control of this game early, and they'd coast to a 6-0 win. The Lakers found themselves up 4-0 after three innings, and would tack on 2 insurance runs in the sixth inning. Janelle Yarnell went 2-3 in the game with a walk and a run driven in. Gabby Martinez went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Olyviah Hanson also turned in a 2-hit performance. Phoenix Shaw had an RBI double in the game. Averi Hall and Adria Reed also collected a hit. Heidi Nagel went the distance in this game, earning the first Laker win of the season. Nagel 1-hit the opposition, throwing 7 innings and striking out 11.
The ladies were rained out on Sunday, March 3rd from their scheduled doubleheader with Rochester Community Technical College and Thomas More University JV.
Day Two: Split Doubleheader versus West Virginia Wesleyan College JV & Penn St New Kensington
The ladies would find themselves in a rematch with West Virginia Wesleyan, the team they'd bested 6-0 the last time they squared off. This time, the Lakers fell behind 1-0 in the first inning. The Lakers would then tie the game, and then take the lead in consecutive innings, leading 2-1. WV Wesleyan would blow up in the fifth inning with a 5-run inning. The Lakers offense just couldn't string together enough offense in the game, amassing just 6 team hits. Grace Piggott went 2-3 with an RBI. Phoenix Shaw drove in the other Laker run with a 1-2 game, including a walk. Yarnell, Clauss, and Shafer each had a hit in the game.
In game two, the Lakers were opportunistic of their scoring chances. While gathering just 7 hits in the game, they also got 9 runners on by way of base on balls. The Lakers jumped out early, scoring 4 runs in the first inning. They then erupted for a 9-run second inning. The ladies would go on to win the game 13-1 in five innings. Yarnell went 3-3 with a homerun, a double, and 4 RBI. Reed turned in a 2-3 performance, while driving in a pair of runs. Averi Hall and Alexis Mielke each added a hit as well. Heidi Nagel tossed all five innings for the Lakers, allowing just 3 hits, and 1 earned run while striking out 9 en route to a Laker win.
Day Three: Doubleheader versus Williston State College
The Lakers played their first true doubleheader of the trip when they squared off with Williston State College. Game one, the Lakers fell behind 1-0 after the first inning. It wasn't until the third inning that the Lakers found success on the offensive end, throwing up 4 runs. The Lakers tacked on 1 more in the fourth, and the offense got hot putting up 6 in the fifth. This would result in a run-rule final score of 11-1 after five innings. Nagel was lights out on the mound again, throwing all 5 innings for the Lakers, allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run. She struck out 5 in the game. Hall, Yarnell, and Mielke each turned in a 2-hit performance, including a double for each. Hall, Shaw, Yarnell, and Mielke each drove in 2 runs. Reed, Allie Hawkins, and Zoey Bacon each drove in a run.
Game two, the Lakers bats stayed hot, scoring 2 runs in the first, 1 in the second, 2 in the third, and 2 in the fourth to jump out to a 7-3 lead after four innings. The ladies would throw a 4-run sixth inning on the board to put the game out of reach. Williston State couldn't overcome the deficit, and the Lady Lakers would win 11-5. Alexis Mielke had a huge game, going 3-3 in the game with a homerun, double, and 2 RBI. Hall, Shaw, Piggott, Clauss, and Bacon each had a 2-hit game. Zoey Bacon earned the Laker win throwing 4 innings and allowing just 2 earned runs in the game.
Day Four: Tripleheader versus Triton College, Spoon River College, and Geneva College JV
Game one the Lakers would take on Triton College. Offense was of a premium in this game on both sides. The lone run in the game was scored by Triton in the fourth inning. The Lakers only mustered Yarnell and Clauss were the two Lakers to record hits in the contest. Nagel was phenomenal on the mound as she had been all trip, throwing 6 innings, allowing just 5 hits and 1 earned run, while striking out 11 batters.
Game two the Lakers squared off with Spoon River College. Spoon River took control of the game early, and the Lakers couldn't muster up the offense to keep up. Spoon River took this game 11-0 over the Lakers. Averi Hall, Adria Reed, and Ella Clauss were the trio of Lakers who collected a hit in the contest.
Game three of the tripleheader, the Lakers were matched up with Geneva College JV. Geneva wasted no time, getting 6 runs in the first inning. The ladies battled back, scoring 2 runs in both the second and third innings, cutting the deficit down to 6-4. Geneva would tack on 3 more runs in the fifth. The Lakers tried to battle back, scoring 1 run in the sixth, but they couldn't overcome the deficit at hand, falling 9-5 to Geneva. Averi Hall drove in 2 runs for the Lakers. Alexis Mielke went 2-3 with both a run scored and driven in. Janelle Yarnell went 1-2 with a double. Clauss and Martinez each drove in a run.
Day Five: Split Doubleheader versus Central Lakes College and Parkland College
In game one of their final day in Florida, the Lakers took on Central Lakes College. The Lakers jumped out in front early, claiming a 2-0 lead after the first inning. The runs would come in waves, as the Lakers scored 6 runs in the third inning. The Lakers would go on to run-rule Central Lakes by a score of 11-0. Zoey Bacon was on the hill for the Lakers, and tossed 5 no-hit innings for the Lakers! Alexis Mielke turned in a 3-hit performance while driving in 2 runs. Phoenix Shaw, Janelle Yarnell, and Ella Clauss each had a 2-hit game. Yarnell drove in 3 runs while Shaw drove in one. Bacon, Martinez, Piggott, and Hall each had a hit, while Hall, Reed, Piggott, and Bacon all drove in a run.
In the final game of the trip, the Lakers faced off against Parkland College. Parkland scored the first run of the game, scoring 3 runs in the third inning and 2 runs in the fourth, to take a 5-0 lead. The Lakers tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning when Averi Hall tripled in a run, but that would be the lone run for the Lakers in the game. Despite out hitting Parkland 6-5 in the game, the Lakers would fall 5-1. Mielke went 2-4 in the game. Bacon went 2-2 with a walk in the game. Averi Hall tripled in the Laker's run. Grace Piggott went 1-1. Heidi Nagel threw all 7 innings, allowing 5 hits and just 3 of the 5 runs scored were earned. Nagel struck out 6 in the game.
The Lakers will head north with a record of 5-6, having played some incredibly stiff competition. Parkland College was a participant in the NJCAA DII Softball World Series last season, while Triton College won 42 games last season, making it to the semi-finals of the Region IV tournament, falling just shy of a national tournament bid.
The tough schedule early on will bode well for the development of the Lakers, as they'll continue their non-conference stretch when they travel to Marysville, MI to take on the Saint Clair County CC Skippers on Saturday, 3/16. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM at Marysville City Park.