Source: Hometown Life

Author: Dan O'Meara

It was the Andrea and Anna Show in the Catholic League championship softball game Monday evening at the University of Detroit Mercy.

The combination of senior pitcher Andrea Elmore and sophomore catcher Anna Dixon powered Mercy High School to a 10-0 win over Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.

Elmore was dominant in the circle, throwing a no-hitter and striking out 13. She faced one batter over the minimum in the six-inning mercy victory.

After issuing a walk to start the game, Elmore breezed through the Notre Dame lineup, retiring the Fighting Irish in order for the duration of the game.

“I just had a little bit of nerves with the first batter and trying to find the pitch that worked for me,” Elmore said. “When I found the pitch, I just went on working with it. I was more relaxed.

“Watching my team do so well (at the plate), it always helps me pitch a lot better.”

Dixon hit two home runs and drove in four of the first five runs for the Marlins, who won their third title in four seasons and improved to 27-1 overall.

As the leadoff batter, she got the Marlins started with a solo homer – the first of her high school career – off the scoreboard in right field.

“She’s one of my best friends,” Elmore said. “Seeing her hit two home runs, that pumped me up a lot.

“This was her first time hitting a home run – and in such an important game. It was just amazing for us.”

After Megan Satawa and Mary Reeber reached in the second, the left-handed Dixon golfed a pitch over the center-field fence for a 5-0 lead.

Almost two more

She just missed putting two more balls out of the park, hitting a line shot to center fielder Elizabeth Swartz and a deep fly to the warning track in center.

“I was just trying to get a base hit and get something started for my team,” Dixon said of the first home run.

“There was a lot of adrenaline and energy, and I was just so happy to do something that would put our team on the board.

“I’ve been working on getting my timing down, and it just kind of happened. We were looking for our pitches. We saw them and we hit them.”

Knew she could

Mercy coach Alex Lesko was not surprised to see Dixon hit two home runs, citing all the practice work she has done recently.

“She’s a tremendous contact hitter and rarely strikes out,” Lesko said. “But we’ve been telling her: ‘You have the ability to put the ball over the wall.’

“In the last couple weeks, she started clearing our fence regularly in batting practice. It’s not a surprise for me; I knew she could do it.”

Furthermore, Dixon makes it look so easy with a fluid, graceful swing.

“She has a sweet swing,” Lesko said. “We’ve been working with her to take that sweetness and add some pop – add some power to it, get that great extension and finish.

“The battery had a rocket today on offense and defense. We were really happy.”

‘Total command’

In addition to her pitching, Elmore also knocked in two runs. She had an RBI single in a two-run first inning and a run-scoring double in a five-run second.

Elmore was at her best in the circle, however. Following the walk to Madison McClune, she struck out the side and made fast work of every Prep batter after that.

“Andrea is probably most competitive with herself,” Lesko said. “After she walked that batter, I think she just went up a notch and said: “This is not going to happen anymore.’

“That very next batter, she started spinning the ball like nobody can. It was spinning so much our catcher had trouble with it.

“That’s when we know she’s on her game. Andrea was on fire today. She was in total command.”

Finishing off the win

Elmore and Dixon were 2-for-4 and had half of Mercy’s eight hits off Prep pitcher Micaela Gleason, who walked five and fanned four.

Following Dixon’s second-inning homer, Abby Krzywiecki walked and Cari Padula doubled. They scored on a groundout by Nicole Belans and the Elmore double.

Mercy made it 9-0 in the third with Krzywiecki’s two-run double with Satawa, and Sophia VanAcker on base.

The Marlins invoked the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth when Padula walked, advanced on two passed balls and scored on a wild pitch.

Home-run leader

Though she was overshadowed Monday by Dixon, Krzywiecki is the team’s power hitter, leading the Marlins with 14 home runs.

“We’re like, ‘Welcome to the club, Anna! C’mon on; you can come with us!’” Krzywiecki said. “Her offense has really improved, and I’m impressed with how she’s playing as a sophomore.”

She added the Marlins have gotten a lot better and their confidence skyrocketed after beating Caledonia and going 3-0 in the Blue Chip tournament last weekend.

“We’re always ready for a close game,” Krzywiecki said. “I was shocked with how well we played. I think we played one of our best games today.

“Our offense was on fire. It’s great to see that we can do a lot things for each other and have each others back.”

First mission done

Regaining the Catholic League title was Mercy’s first major goal. The second is to make a long run in the state tournament.

“Today was definitely a good day,” Elmore said. “I need to keep pitching like this. I live in the moment now, but I need to keep on working at my pitching.

“As long as we work hard and do what we can do, I think we can go far.”

Having achieved their first major objective, the Marlins will go to work on the next on, according to Lesko.

“The kids came to play, and I’m just proud of them,” he said. “We prepared for a battle. We don’t want to take anyone lighlty, and we didn’t want to have any kind of let-up.”

Prep held in check

The Fighting Irish (25-4), who will be in the Division 2 postseason tournament, wished they had.

Prep coach Betty Wroubel said the Marlins are a great team and showed why they’re ranked second in Division 1.

“I don’t want to say I’m happy we got here, because I always think we can win,” she said. “We did a great job to get here. We only had four starters back. For this team to get here is quite an accomplishment on its own merit.

“We can play ball. We didn’t play our best today, but I think a lot of that’s being on this stage. The Catholic League championship is second only to the state tournament in the magnitude of the stage.

“Our kids have to get used to playing on big stages, and today was a big growing-up step for us. A lot of teams wish they were playing today, and we were lucky enough to do it.”