Late Rally Comes Up Short For Esky Major Girls
GLADSTONE----The tournament run came to an end on Sunday for the Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12), but not before the girls made the state tournament favorites sweat a little bit. Escanaba scored three runs in the sixth inning against South Portage, but the team from the Kalamazoo area managed to hold on to post a 5-3 victory.
Escanaba catcher Malary Hiney.
Negaunee, the other Upper Peninsula team, also failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, losing to Taylor East-West, 10-0 Sunday morning. The South Portage team had rolled to two easy wins earlier in pool play, but Escanaba pitcher Hannah Edington threw well, keeping the game close throughout. And the game would have been even closer had there not been defensive errors behind her. South Portage scored an unearned run in the first inning, and then in the third inning, another error kept the inning alive for the downstate team. Kayla Bleck made Escanaba pay with a run-scoring double, then Paige Polter followed with an RBI single. That gave South Portage a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Alex Zelenak got Escanaba's first base hit, and then Emily Bruntgens was safe on an error. But with two on and two out, Claire McInerney grounded out to end the rally.
Hannah Edington allowed two earned runs.
Kendall Taylor and Monica Lochter both had bunts that brought home those fourth and fifth runs for the District Two Champions. But the Escanaba girls do not give up. They showed that in Friday morning's loss to Taylor East-West, when they played some "small ball" to score twice and put the tying run on base, before losing, 5-2. And the girls rallied again here against South Portage. Bruntgens got a bunt single to start the inning, and eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 5-1. McInerney and Edington both walked, and then Darcy Beckon hit one that was missplayed at second base. One run scored on the error, then when the throw to the plate was wild, another run scored. Escanaba was within 5-3. There were still no outs in the inning, and that forced South Portage to bring its top pitcher back into the game. She was able to strike out Katie Wilson for the first out. Then Malary Hiney hit one back to the mound, and she was thrown out at first base. Beckon tried to score from third on the play, but she was tagged out at the plate, and the Escanaba girls were eliminated after three pool play games. Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see more photos. Look below to see Sunday's scores, and Monday's quarterfinals. Sunday, July 15, 2012 Beaverton 16, Jackson West 0 Taylor East-West 10, Negaunee 0 South Portage 5, Escanaba 3 Boyne City 6, Constantine-White Pigeon 3 Indian River Tri-Rivers 11, Essexville-Hampton 0 Monday, July 16, 2012 10 a.m.---Quarterfinal #1: D7 St. Clair vs D5 Taylor Easst-West Noon---Quarterfinal #2: D16 Tecumseh vs D13 Indian River Tri-Rivers 2:00---Quarterfinal #3: D2 South Portage vs D1 Beaverton 4:00---Quarterfinal #4: D9 Western Grand Rapids vs D8 Boyne City
The Negaunee girls were also eliminated from the state tournament on Sunday, losing to Taylor, 10-0.
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