Source: Hometown Life
Author: Dan O'Meara
Farmington Hills Mercy hit the ball in the right places and made the most of its opportunities to defeat Lakeland in a regional softball game Saturday, 3-0.
The Marlins, who had nine hits, scored early in the game and held on to win the battle between perennial Division 1 powers at Novi High School.
Mercy (40-2) went on to win the regional championship later that afternoon with an 11-1 victory in five innings over Walled Lake Northern.
“As long as I’ve been around, Lakeland has always been scrappy,” Mercy coach Alec Lesko said. “They’ve always been a team that puts pressure on you on the bases.
“They’re always fundamentally sound. Between the three guys over there (on the coaching staff), they might have a hundred years of experience. We knew we had to play a solid defensive game.”
For the Marlins, senior pitcher Andrea Elmore allowed just four hits. She struck out four batters, walked one and hit one.
“Honestly, she was about 50 percent in the first game,” Lesko said. “But she’s a competitor, and she started hitting her spots better in the second game.
“She knows. That’s why sometimes you’ll see her look in (the dugout) and smile. I call the pitches, so I know where they’re supposed to go, and she’ll look at me, like, ‘I know, coach.’
“She battled hard and it’s 90 degrees out here. She did a good job.”
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out in the second inning and got one run out of it with Mary Reeber’s sacrifice fly.
Mercy got its other runs in the third with five straight hits off Lakeland pitcher Theresa Menzel, who walked three and struck out two.
Abby Krzywiecki started the big inning with a double. Nicole Belans and Shannon Gibbons had RBI singles for the third and fifth hits.
“It’s a funny game sometimes,” Lakeland coach Joe Alsup said. “They get five little bloopers that drop in. We hit the ball real hard, I thought, on a number of occasions.
“I thought we hit the ball harder than they did, but they didn’t drop in. That’s how this game works sometimes. You need a little luck going your way sometimes.”
Lakeland’s Rianna Koteles makes contact in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Farmington Hills Mercy. (Photo: JERRY REA)
Menzel and Madelin Langdon hit leadoff singles in the first and second innings for Lakeland. Brooke Beale and Riana Koteless had the other base hits.
The Eagles (31-11) had a courtesy runner doubled off first base on a fly ball to center field in the first inning, giving them two quick outs.
They had a runner thrown out at the plate in the second inning, but they still had runners at second and third with two out. The threat ended with a strikeout.
“Now we’re there,” Alsup said of the second-and-third situation. “It’s a huge play for us at that point. One base hit scores two runs, and it’s a much closer game.
“I thought we played good defense and hit the ball. We made a couple mistakes (on the bases) we shouldn’t have. It could have been a little closer, but they have a great team. They have some real nice players.”
One of those is Gibbons, a junior shortstop who was late arriving for the game after taking the ACT exam in the morning.
She made a difference, according to Alsup. Her replacement in the first inning wouldn’t have made the plays she did later in the game, he said.
Gibbons fielded four ground balls and made perfect throws to Krzywiecki at first base to get the outs on speedy runners.
Lakeland’s Brook Beale makes the pick-up in Saturday’s 3-0 setback to Farmington Hills Mercy. (Photo: JERRY REA)
“When she showed up, she played catch for 10 minutes, and she had a little blooper (with a runner at first),” Lesko said. “Normally, she’s able to get both of them out. She was able to buckle down and get the first one.
“Later in that game, she just made some big-time plays, and she made them look easy and smooth.”
Lakeland will return eight starters next year, and Alsup already is looking forward to it.
“We’ll be back next year,” he said. “I can almost promise you. We’ll be a little bit better, a little big stronger, next year when we come in to play.”
He added the Eagles, who beat Canton and lost, 1-0, to top-ranked Macomb Dakota, didn’t embarrass themselves with how they played Saturday.
“We’ve been in the same circumstance where we’ve won games like that, where we had balls that dropped in,” Alsup said. “But it was two good teams battling, and we came out on the short end of it.
“The kids came to play the last quarter of the season, and that’s what we’re really pleased with. It’s a long season and sometimes kids can wish it was over. Our kids didn’t do that. They came to play and wanted to win.”