|
Escanaba Girls Rally; Advance To State Semifinals
 JACKSON, Mich.---The Escanaba Minor Little League All-Stars (age 9-10) scored two runs in each of the final two innings to beat Bay County, 6-5, in the state tournament quarterfinals Monday in Jackson. The Escanaba girls won despite giving up a long over-the-fence two-run homer, and having a run-scoring extra base hit robbed by the same Bay County outfielder.  Escanaba led, 2-0, in the first inning when Breleigh Reinhart singled and went all the way to third base when the ball was missplayed in the outfield. She stole home, then Clara Braun was safe on an error. She scored on a groundout by Madison Mott. Bay County tied the game with two runs in the top of the third inning. Meredith Krauseneck led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch. Then Ella Kokaly was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a solid base hit by Ava Wagner. And it was Wagner who played a big part in how the fifth inning unfolded. Jaelyn Shooltz led off with a single. She rode home on a very long home run over the scoreboard in left-center field. It was a 5-2 Bay County lead. "I felt like we were going to get down on ourselves because she hit a home run," Mott said. "But I was just staying in the game, and pushing for another out." In the bottom of the fifth, Reinhart led off with her second hit of the game. Braun was safe on an error, and Reinhart scored on the play to make it 5-3.  Escanaba was stunned, and Braun could not tag up and come home. But Madison Mott came through with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-4. Chloe Dubord was safe on an error, and then stole second base. But with two out and runners at second and third, a strikeout ended the inning. Mott was strong on the mound as usual for Escanaba, and she retired the side 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth inning, with the help of a nice catch in foul ground by Braun and a smartly-turned 5-3 putout from Mary Kate Tourangeau to Noblet. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Escanaba had the bottom of the order up, and needed baserunners. They got them when Lilly VanDamme was hit by a pitch and Brooklyn Beauchamp drew a walk. With one out, Reinhart hit one to shortstop, and the throw to third base for a potential force out was high, allowing VanDamme to score.  "I was really nervous," Clara Braun admitted. "But there was only one out, so I just tried to stay as calm as I could and just hit it!" Mott threw all six innings for Escanaba, allowing six hits and five earned runs. But she walked only one batter, and she struck out 14 batters. "Probably my outside corners," Mott said of her best pitches. "I think we made a couple of mistakes, but overall, they (teammates) did good. I was really happy!" "I just can't say enough about the heart of this team," Escanaba Manager Steve Braun said. "We got down (on the scoreboard), but they didn't get down. When we had to come through, they came through big time. And almost gave me a heart attack." Alivia Kukla pitched for Bay County and took a tough loss, allowing just one earned run on five base hits. She struck out five and walked three. Escanaba and Grosse Pointe will play in a semifinal game Tuesday at 11:00. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600) and at rrnsports.com. The other semifinal will see Georgetown take on South Portage, also at 11:00. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Missy Reinhart, and to listen to interviews with Mott, Braun, and Escanaba Manager Steve Braun. Also, click to hear a radio replay of the final two plays of the game.  |
