Softball Takes 3 of 4 on the Road From Bay College Norse
Softball continued their pursuit of a postseason appearance when they trekked to Escanaba for a four game set with the Bay College Norse over the weekend. The Lakers came in at 5-5 in MCCAA Northern conference play, and 13-14 overall on the season. The Norse came into the series with a 3-7 record in conference play.
This series was presented an opportunity for the Lakers to bolster their record with some meaningful conference wins.
Game one of the series, the Lakers got off to a 1-0 start with an RBI single to center field off the bat of Alexis Mielke. An RBI groundout from Addysen Gray and an RBI single from Ella Clauss in the third inning tacked on two more runs. The offense continued to roll in the fourth inning. Phoenix Shaw and Rylie Shafer each drove in a run on back-to-back RBI singles. Addysen Gray reached on an error which drove in a run. Adria Reed singled to left field to drive in two runs, and a third run scored on the play by way of error. This put the Lakers up 9-0 after four innings. The fifth inning continued to roll. Phoenix Shaw kickstarted it with a 2-run single to open the inning. Rylie Shafer groundout to drive in another run. Addysen Gray singled in a run to extend the lead to 13-0. Another run came off the bat of Ella Clauss by way of error in the field. Averi Hall followed it up with an RBI single. Alexis Mielke roped a 2-run double to center field, and Phoenix Shaw hit a 2-run single to cap off the scoring in the fifth inning, with the Lakers leading 19-0. Bay College scored 3 runs in the fifth inning, but it wasn't enough to extend the game. The Lakers took game one of the series 19-3. Averi Hall went 3-5 with 2 runs scored. Janelle Yarnell went 2-3 with a double and 3 runs scored. Alexis Mielke went 2-3 with a double, 2 walks, and 3 RBI. Phoenix Shaw went 3-3 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI. Adria Reed also collected a 2-hit game. Addysen Gray threw all 5 innings allowing just 4 hits, 2 earned runs to score while earning the win.
Despite the cold and snow falling, the bats remained hot going into game two. Adria Reed doubled in a run to open the game, putting the Lakers up 1-0. Alexis Mielke hit a 3-run homerun to right field to extend the lead to 4-0. Zoey Bacon doubled in a run, and the Lakers led 5-0 after the first. After a few scoreless innings, Alexis Mielke singled in another run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 6-0. Phoenix Shaw singled in a run to extend the lead to 7-0 after the fifth. In the sixth, Janelle Yarnell cleared the bases with a grand slam homerun to left field, to put the Lakers up 11-0. Olyviah Hanson doubled in a run to push the lead to 12-0. An RBI groundout from Allie Hawkins and an RBI single from Gabby Martinez put the ladies up 14-0 over the Norse, which would prove to be the final game two score. Six Lakers recorded multi-hit games, including a 4-4 game from Gabby Martinez. Th Lakers hit four doubles and two homeruns in the game. Heidi Nagel threw a complete game shutout, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, while striking out 15 Norse batters.
After two scoreless innings to open the game, the Norse jumped out to a 9-0 lead after four innings. The Lakers clawed back with 3 consecutive RBI singles in the fourth inning, off the bats of Addysen Gray, Ella Clauss, and Adria Reed. The Lakers struck again in the sixth inning with an RBI single off he bat of Janelle Yarnell. The lead was now 9-4 for Bay College. The Norse tacked on 2 runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 11-4, which would be the final score. The offense collected 12 hits, but just 1 of which went for extra bases. Addysen Gray threw the full 7 innings, allowing just 5 earned runs to score in the 11-4 defeat.
Game four, the final game of the series, the Lakers struck first with an RBI groundout from Gabby Martinez in the bottom of the second inning. The train kept rolling in the third inning, consecutive RBI singles off the bats of Alexis Mielke, Phoenix Shaw, Olyviah Hanson, and Allie Hawkins put the Lakers out in front 5-0. After a walk drawn, a 2-run single from Zoey Bacon extended the lead to 7-0. Averi Hall deposited a softball over the center field fence for a 3-run homerun, extending the lead to 10-0. The Lakers weren't done, when Alexis Mielke drove in 2 runs with an RBI double. Mielke then scored on an RBI single from Phoenix Shaw. A couple of batters later, an RBI groundout from Allie Hawkins netted the Lakers their thirteenth run of the inning, extending the Laker lead to 14-0 after three innings. Bay College scored one run in the fourth to avoid the shutout, but the Lakers would win game four of the series 14-1. Seven Lakers recorded a hit in the game, including five of them collecting multiple hits, 3 of which were 3-hit games. Heidi Nagel twirled another gem, throwing 5 innings allowing just 3 hits, 1 run, while striking out 7 Norse batters.
The win moved their record to 16-15 on the season, and 8-6 in conference play. The Lakers currently hold third place in the MCCAA Northern Conference, trailing the GRCC Raiders and the Muskegon CC Jayhawks. The Lakers have a doubleheader with Northwood JV scheduled for 4/23 at Northwood, then a conference series with GRCC slated for the weekend, 4/27 at GRCC and 4/28 home (to be played at Mount Pleasant High School).