Source: Observer/Eccentric
Author: Dan O'Meara / John Stormzand
Junior Andrea Elmore made sure Mercy High School had a great start to the Division 1 postseason softball tournament Tuesday.
It was a memorable performance by Elmore, who pitched a perfect game and led the No. 5-ranked Marlins to a 12-0 victory over host Harrison in a predistrict game.
Elmore struck out 16 of the 18 batters she faced. The only Harrison players to put the ball in play were Tess O'Keefe and Leah Petrak with a groundout and a flyout, respectively, in the fourth inning.
Elmore, who is 12-2 with a 1.60 earned run average, had plenty of support as the Marlins produced a dozen hits.
Junior Abby Krzywiecki was 3-for-3; senior Alex Sobczak and sophomores Sophia VanAcker and Nicole Belans were 2-for-3.
The big hit was off the bat of senior Jordan Johnson, who belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning to make the tally 11-0.
With one out, Sobczak, VanAcker and Krzywiecki had three straight hits. Krzywiecki, who had three RBI overall, drove in the first run of the five-run fifth. Sophomore Alissa Sweeney reached on an error and scored the last on a wild pitch.
Belans had a two-run single in the second inning, and VanAcker brought her to the plate with a two-out single for a 3-0 lead.
Krzywiecki hit a leadoff double in the third and scored on Molly Murphy's sacrifice fly. Shannon Gibbons had an RBI single and Krzywiecki a two-run double in a three-run fourth.
Mercy (22-3) advances to the district tournament at North Farmington and will play Livonia Stevenson at noon.
Blazers romp to win
The first 23 batters reached base safely Tuesday as host Livonia Ladywood romped to a 26-0, two-inning Division 2 pre-district girls softball victory over Livonia Clarenceville.
Cecilia Werner blasted a two-run, inside-the-park homer as the Blazers scored 25 runs in the opening inning before adding one in the second to improve to 27-9 overall.
Ladywood used three pitchers with starter Rozlyn Price getting the win followed by appearances from Sarah Knapp and Sydney Triest. Coach Scott Combs got all 22 of his players into the game.
Clarenceville, which had one runner reach base, ends its season at 6-13 overall.
The Blazers, last year's Division 2 state runner-up, move into the District 56 semifinals at 11:30 a.m. Saturday against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. The first game pits South Lyon East against Redford Union at 10 a.m.
Ladywood was coming off a 3-1 setback May 18 to Warren Regina in the Catholic League A-B Division final after capturing the Hits for Heroes Tournament at Woodhaven for the fourth year in a row.
The Blazers outscored their opponents 55-3 in wins over Taylor Truman, Allen Park, Ida (No. 8 in Division 2) and Riverview in the final.
Brad Emons contributed to this story.