Escanaba Jr. Girls Post Second Straight Shutout
WYOMING, Mich.---The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) improved to 2-0 at the state tournament on Sunday, beating Lac Ste. Clair out of eastern Michigan, 23-0, at Pinery Park Little League. Three pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter while the Escanaba girls pounded out 18 hits, led by Kayla Van Portfliet's five base hits. "Our pitching continues to be strong and our defense is playing well," Escanaba Manager Jamie Segorski said. "The goal here is to keep the runs-allowed as low as we can."
Escanaba catcher Taylor Segorski
Escanaba, though, had plenty of offense. The girls scored four runs in the first inning, one in the second, five in the third, five in the fourth, and eight more runs in the fifth inning. VanPortfliet, in the #6 spot in the batting order, drove in seven of those runs. She had a two-run single in the first inning, an RBI triple in the third, a two-run infield hit in the fourth, an RBI infield hit in the fifth, and another RBI single in the long fifth inning. So, what were the coaches telling VanPortfliet and the other girls to do? "Time the pitcher before we go up there," Van Portfliet said. "We had to stand in line and time her really well. And, don't change our swing. I had a good hit at the beginning."
MacKenzie Leisner runs in from right field.
The closest Lac Ste. Clair came to a hit was in the fourth inning, when Julia Harms ripped a fastball to right field. But the ball was hit so hard that the Escanaba right fielder MacKenzie Leisner threw her out at first base. Also, Jenna Pleva hit a hot shot up the middle that Escanaba shortstop Becca Piron backhanded and got the out at second base. Eleven of the 15 outs recorded by Escanaba's pitchers were on strikeouts. Escanaba faces Boyne City Monday afternoon in its final pool play game. The outcome will determine where Escanaba shows up in the bracket for Tuesday's quarterfinals. "I think we'll do pretty well because we've practiced a lot lately," VanPortfliet said. The game starts at 2:00 and will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com. Pre-game show will start at about 1:45. Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see a bunch of pictures taken by Morgan Szukalowski. Also, you can see eight of her video clips, and listen to a couple of audio highlights from the game.
Lac St. Claire's Julia Harms is at second base as Nicole Shreeve bats.
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