Another Goose Egg! Esky Girls Roar Into Final Four

WYOMING, Mich.---One by one, the Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) have met their challenges in dominating fashion as this Junior Softball State Tournament continues.

On Tuesday, the girls had to play over two challenges....the loss of one of their hottest hitters, and a West Portage program that over the years hads been tough to beat.

Escanaba came through on both accounts, getting eleven hits despite the absence of Kayla Van Portfliet, and then beating the West Portage team from Kalamazoo, 13-0, in a state quarterfinal match-up at Pinery Park.

Escanaba now faces Croswell-Lexington in the state semifinals on Wednesday.

"We were a little apprehensive coming into this game," Escanaba Manager Jamie Segorski said. "We knew that they were fast, and throughout the tournament, they were putting the bat on the ball and they were scoing a lot of runs.

"But for us to hold them on a zero says a lot," he continued. "And we had some fantastic defensive plays."

The girls pulled through without Van Portfliet, who was practicing with her team Tuesday afternoon when one of the girls threw a ball while she wasn't looking. It hit her right in the eye, sending Van Portfliet to the hospital instead of right field.

Van Portfliet will miss at least the next two weeks of play. But while Van Portfliet was at the hospital, her teammates turned in another dominating performance.

Anna Burch leads off of the bag.

Escanaba scored eight runs in the first inning and pitchers Callie Heller and Katie Ross put the clamps on the West Portage offense.

Heller pitched four innings of no-hit ball and Ross tossed a hitless and scoreless fifth inning to end the game early.

"Our bats were awake today," Segorski said. "They're confident right now. We've been playing home run derby before the games, and I think the girls feel good about it.

"We haven't hit one out of the park yet, but we've peppered the fence pretty well."

"We hit really good and we have good defense to back everybody up," said Piron, who had two more hits on Tuesday. "We're playing a lot better than we did in travel ball."

In four games at this state tournament, Escanaba has outscored its opponents, 66-0. The pitchers have now thrown two no-hitters, a perfect game, and a one-hitter. That's right. These girls have allowed only one total base hit in four tournament games.

"Our pitching is just great, and the girls are all over the field on defense," Segorski said. "When the ball is hit in their area, they all go to get it. They swarm to the ball."

Escanaba's first inning was a successful one as the girls hit the ball hard, and were helped along by a couple of West Portage errors. Sam Connor had a two-run single, Becca Piron and Michelle LaFave had hits, and Ross ripped a two-run double. Later, Mackenzie Leisner had an RBI single and JJ Laviolette had a two-run single.

That eight-run outburst pretty much decided the game.

Escanaba got some icing on the cake in the second inning as Becca Piron singled and scored when Ross ripped one into the right field corner.

Ross came around on the inside-the-park home run.

"It was pretty exciting," Ross said. "I just kept running."

So, was she tired when she finally made it to home plate?

"Yes, very," she said.

Katie Ross inside-the-park homer

Escanaba added three unearned runs in the fourth inning. Ross got her third hit of the game during that inning, and Emily LaFave had an RBI single.

Heller threw four innings, allowing only one baserunner: a leadoff walk in the first inning. She struck out five batters in those four innings. Ross threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning.

Escanaba will face Croswell-Lexington at 2:00 on Wednesday, while Hudsonville plays Sand Creek in the second semifinal at 4:00.

"It's gonna be a tough game, but I think we can do it," Ross said.

The state championship game will be played at 6:00. Escanaba's games are broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see pictures, watch videos, and listen to audio highlights. Thanks to Morgan Szukalowski for doing the camera work once again.