Softball Clinches Spot in Region XII District A Tournament with 3-1 Finish in Conference Play
Laker softball came into the week with four games left on the schedule, looking to firm up their postseason spot. With a good week, they'd lock up the two seed in the MCCAA Northern Conference, advancing to District A in the Region XII Postseason Tournament. If they dropped one too many games, they could find themselves sliding down to the three seed in the MCCAA Northern Conference, shifting them over to District B in the Region XII Postseason Tournament.
The ladies took on Delta College on Tuesday on the road. The Pioneers got a split the last time the two teams squared off. The Lakers wasted no time jumping out to an early lead, Alexis Mielke ripped a double to left field to drive in a run, kickstarting the scoring in the bottom of the first, Lakers up 1-0. In the bottom of the third, the Lakers capitalized on a few Pioneer errors to plate three runs. Phoenix Shaw then singled up the middle on the first pitch of her at-bat to drive in two more runs. The very next pitch, Adria Reed cracked a double to center field to drive in another run, the Lakers held a 7-0 lead after the third. The Pioneers got a run back off of a solo homerun in the fifth. The Lakers responded in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Janelle Yarnell, and an RBI double off the bat of Alexis Mielke. The Lakers won via run rule 9-1 to take game one of the series. Addysen Gray twirled a gem on the mound, throwing all five innings, allowing just two hits and one run, while striking out four and earning the win. Averi Hall, Janelle Yarnell, and Alexis Mielke all turned in a multi-hit game. Phoenix Shaw and Alexis Mielke each had two RBIs.
Game two, the game was scoreless through the bottom of the fourth inning, the Lakers finally broke through when Phoenix Shaw roped a double to left field to get the Lakers on the board 1-0. The Lakers then tacked on another run by way of error, going up 2-0. Delta responded in the top of the fifth with a solo homerun, cutting the lead down to 2-1. Alexis Mielke singled in a run to start the scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning to start the scoring. Addysen Gray came up to the plate with the bases loaded and mashed a double to left field to clear the bases. An error from the Pioneers allowed two more runs to cross the plate, and the Lakers led 8-1 after five. In the bottom of the sixth, Alexis Mielke singled to right field to drive in another run. The run pushed the Lakers to a run rule win over the Pioneers 9-1. The Lakers collected 11 hits in the game as a team. Alexis Mielke turned in a 4-4 game at the plate. Zoey Bacon and Phoenix Shaw each turned in a 2-hit game. Heidi Nagel was lights out on the mound, throwing all 6 innings allowing just two hits, one earned run, while striking out seven and earning the win.
The Lakers turned their attention to Grand Rapids for the final series of the conference season. The Raiders jumped out in front in the third inning with a pair of homeruns to jump out in front 4-0 after the third inning. They tacked on one more run in the fourth, to get ahead 5-0. Alexis Mielke got the Lakers on the board with a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth. Later in the inning, Addysen Gray scored on a throw down to second, the Lakers pulled to within 5-2. In the sixth inning, the Lakers added a run by stealing home, and one by way of error. Averi Hall then singled to left field for an RBI single to tie the game at 5-5. In the top of the seventh, Grand Rapids hit a 2-run homerun to get out in front 7-5. Rylie Shafer hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to get the lead cut down to 7-6. That would be the final score as the Lakers dropped game one of the series. Addysen gray threw a complete game, throwing 6 innings, allowing 6 hits and 5 earned runs. Gray struck out nine batters.
The Lakers bounced back from the game one defeat in a big way in game two. The ladies jumped out in front 2-0 when Janelle Yarnell ripped a double to left field. Alexis Mielke followed it up a few pitches later with an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0 Lakers leading after one. In the second, an RBI double from Zoey Bacon, an RBI single from Alexis Mielke, and three walks to force in runs pushed the Laker lead up to 8-0. In the third inning, the Lakers offense erupted. A sacrifice fly from Janelle Yarnell got the scoring moving. A 2-run single from Alexis Mielke and an RBI single from Phoenix Shaw pushed the lead up to 12-0. A few batters later, Olyviah Hanson deposited a 3-0 pitch over the center field fence for a 3-run homerun. Gabby Martinez stole home to tack on another run. A few batters later, Adria Reed drilled the first pitch of her at-bat for a 3-run homerun. The Lakers found themselves ahead 19-0 in the bottom of the third inning. A couple of scoreless innings wrapped up the game, and the Lakers won the game 19-0. Heidi Nagel threw five innings allowing just four hits, no runs to score, and striking out 12 Raider hitters. The Lakers collected 16 hits in the game, including five girls who amassed multi-hit games.
With the 3-1 finish to the season, the ladies clinched their spot in the Region XII District A Tournament, solidifying their spot as the second-place finisher in the MCCAA Northern Conference. They'll play on Thursday, May 9th with a 12:00 PM first pitch at Marysville Park. Their opponent is to be determined.