Softball Goes 3-3 Over Past Three Series
The Lady Laker softball team had a week off from conference play, and had a couple of non-conference series lined up. The week of non-conference matchups began with the Lansing Community College Stars, then they would play Grace Christian College JV.
Game one of the series with the Stars, LCC jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the third inning, and that lead would hold for the first five innings. In the sixth inning, Janelle Yarnell blasted a full-count pitch over the center field fence to tie the game at 2-2. The Stars responded with a big sixth inning of their own, scoring 8 runs to run rule the Lakers 10-2 after six innings. The Lakers mustered up six hits in the game, two of which came off the bat of Alexis Mielke and Olyviah Hanson. Janelle Yarnell drove in the lone two Laker runs. Heidi Nagel threw all 5.1 innings, allowing 5 earned runs to score while striking out 10 hitters.
Game two, LCC jumped out to a 5-0 lead after five innings. In the top of the sixth, back-to-back homeruns off the bats of Addysen Gray and Rylie Shafer got the Lakers back into the game, pushing the score to 5-3, LCC holding the advantage. The Stars came roaring back, putting up a big number in the sixth to run rule the Lakers by a score of 11-3. Phoenix Shaw had the third Laker hit apart from Gray and Shafer's homeruns. Addysen Gray threw all 5.2 innings of the contest, allowing just 5 earned runs to score.
The next series on the docket for the Lakers was Grace Christian University JV. This was an opportunity to bounce back from the LCC games, and head into conference play on the right foot.
Grace Christian jumped out to an early lead, up 2-0 after three innings. The Lakers began chipping away in the fourth inning, with Alexis Mielke scoring on a passed ball to get on the scoreboard. Addysen Gray doubled to center field to drive in a run, and tie the game at 2-2. Ella Clauss laid down a bunt, reached first base and scored a Laker run, putting them out in front 3-2. Averi Hall drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single. Alexis Mielke came up to the dish, and cleared the bases with a 2-run double. The ladies would be opportunistic, scoring two more runs off of Grace Christian errors in the field. Adria Reed singled in the Lakers 12th run of the inning, pushing the game to a run rule completion. The Lakers won the game 12-2 to open the series. Averi Hall and Alexis Mielke each had 2 hits in the game. Mielke drove in three runs while Hall drove in two. Addysen Gray threw a complete game, going 5 innings allowing just 2 hits, 2 runs, and striking out 7 batters.
Game two, the Lakers jumped out in front in the first inning, when Alexis Mielke drove in a run with an RBI single to left field. In the third innings, the Lakers would add onto the lead with an RBI single from Janelle Yarnell. Yarnell would go on to score on a wild pitch, and Olyviah Hanson would drive in two more runs with a single. The Lakers would add one more run on a Grace Christian error, to extend the lead to 7-0. In the fifth inning, Adria Reed singled to center field, driving in one run. An error on the play would result in two more runs crossing home plate, extending the lead to 10-0. Janelle Yarnell drove in another run in the fifth to extend the lead to 11-0. Grace Christian would score one more run, but it wouldn't be enough as the Lakers would run rule Grace Christian 11-1. The Lakers had 10 hits as a team. Alexis Mielke went 3-4 at the plate with a double. Janelle Yarnell also had a multi-hit game. Zoey Bacon threw a complete game, allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run to score.
After going 2-2 across the two non-conference series, the Lakers took the field at the Delta College Pioneers as they resumed MCCAA Northern Conference play.
The Pioneers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rylie Shafer tied the game up 1-1 in the second inning. Delta inched ahead in the second inning, taking a 2-1 lead. In the top of the third, Alexis Mielke roped an RBI double to right field. Ella Clauss would drive in another with an RBI groundout. Addysen Gray would tack on another run with an RBI single, pushing the Laker lead to 5-2. After a scoreless fourth, RBI singles from Alexis Mielke and Addysen Gray would extend the lead to 7-2. In the sixth inning, the Lakers had a hit party, starting with Janelle Yarnell who drove in 2 runs with a single. Alexis Mielke would drive in another run with a single of her own, followed up by Addysen Gray who drove in a pair of runs with a single. Phoenix Shaw was hit by a pitch to force in a run, and an RBI single from Averi Hall would cap off a 9-run inning, giving the Lakers a 16-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Delta scraped across one run in the sixth, but would be run ruled in game one of the series by a score of 16-3. Addysen Gray went a perfect 4-4 at the dish with a double and 4 RBI. Alexis Mielke went 3-4 at the plate with a double and 4 RBI. Ella Clauss, Grace Piggott, and Averi Hall each drove in 2 runs apiece. Addysen Gray threw a complete game for the Lakers, going 6 innings allowing 6 hits and 2 earned runs, while striking out 4.
In game two, Delta snatched an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. The Lakers climbed back into the game with an RBI double from Gabby Martinez to cut into the lead 4-1. Martinez would score on an error by Delta, off the bat of Averi Hall. Delta College added a run in the third, and four runs in the sixth to build a 9-2 lead over the Lakers. Adria Reed hit a 2-run homerun in the top of the seventh inning to cut the lead to 9-4, but the rally wouldn't be enough. The Lakers would split the day series with Delta.
The Lakers went 4-4 in the two non-conference series with LCC and Grace Christian, and split the series with Delta. The team's record sits at 13-14 on the season, and 5-5 in conference play. The Lakers sit in second place in the MCCAA Northern Conference. The ladies will return to action in a four game weekend series at Bay College on April 19th and 20th in Escanaba.