Huge Comeback! Esky Jr Girls Make Regional Final

AKRON, Ohio---They were in uncharted waters, trailing by a large margin for the first time during this long and exciting tournament run.

But the Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) managed to find a way battle back and are now one win away from the World Series.

The girls rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the fourth inning and beat the Indiana State Champions from South Bend, Ind., 10-8, in the Central Regional Seminal in Akron, Ohio.

Emily LaFave's clutch two-out bunt.

And it was one of the most unorthodox decisions by Manager Jamie Segorski that turned out to make the biggest difference.

Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Escanaba had two runners on with two out. Emily LaFave was at the plate, with two strikes on her.

Segorski told her to bunt. WHAT?!? Yep, bunt, and LaFave got the bunt down.

And what happened next was something that you had to see to believe. Indiana's ace pitcher, Anna Irons, came out of the circle, fielded the bunt, and threw a bullet to first base.

There was just one problem for the South Bend team. There was nobody at first base. The throw sailed into the right field corner and two runs scored, giving Escanaba an 8-7 lead.

Early on, it did not look good for an Escanaba team that dominated the district and state tournaments, and have pulled out a couple of nailbiters here in Akron.

The Indiana state champs hit Sam Connor hard in the first two innings, to the tune of five runs. That led Segorski to bring Katie Ross into the game, and she gave up two runs of her own in the fourth inning. So, the girls were behind, 7-0.

JJ Laviolette gets into...and out of...trouble.

"They were really good hitters," Ross said. "I didn't know where to throw it most of the time because they still hit it. We just had to keep our heads in the game because anything can happen."

And to make matters worse, the girls were not able to hit Irons early on.

""It was the most speed we've seen so far," Segorski said. "I had her at 56, 58 miles per hour on the radar during their other games. She's a solid pitcher. We just had to keep our heads up and stay in the game."

But the girls did not give up. Indiana decided to remove Irons from the circle in an effort to keep her eligible to pitch in a potential championship game on Wednesday. And the Escanaba girls pounced on their opportunity, with a big six-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning.

"We were fortunate enough to jump on those two other pitchers whenever they brought them in," Segorski said. "Every time they did, we were all over them. As soon as they took her (Irons) out, the girls looked at their other pitchers, their eyes got real big and got real excited. They knew that this was their ticket."

"We weren't hitting real good early, and I was like a realization thing that 'we have to win this game to keep going'," Connor said. "I think after that, everyone was like, 'oh I think I'm gonna go hit the ball now'."

Callie Heller doing what she does best.

"It was very stressful, but we've come back like this before," J.J. Laviolette said. "We all knew that we could do it. We just cheered each other up and got the bat on the ball."

"We had to believe in ourselves and hit the ball," Becca Piron added.

Kayla VanPortfliet had a two-run single and Laviolette drove in two runs during that rally with a hit of her own. Another run scored on a groundout, and it was 7-6.

They brought Irons back in to get out of the jam, but then brought in a third pitcher in the fifth inning. Anna Burch and Mackenzie Leisner got base hits, and so the South Bend team sent Irons back into the circle. That's when Escanaba got the infamous bunt from LaFave.

After that play made it 8-7, Callie Heller stepped up with one of her usual "slap" hits that scored another run, making it 9-7. In the sixth inning, Michelle LaFave ripped a triple to the fence and scored on a wild pitch, giving Escanaba a three-run cushion.

South Bend did not go quietly. With Connor back in the circle, they scored a run and had the tying run on base with two out. Connor was able to get a line drive to Heller at shortstop, and the Escanaba girls celebrated a dramatic victory.

Becca Piron tags out an Indiana runner.

"The girls showed so much resilience to come back from a deficit like that," Segorski said. "They showed a ton of charcter and a lot of heart."

'''I'm really excited," Connor said. "I'm really proud of how far we've come."

''I think we all knew that we wanted to go far, and we didn't want to end that way," Anna Burch said. "So we really got it together close to the end. I'm excited."

Escanaba had 13 hits in the game, while South Bend had 15.

Ross earned the pitching win, going four innings and allowing two runs on seven hits.

Connor earned the save by getting the final three outs...all together in her two appearances, she allowed five runs on eight base hits.

In the other regional semifinal, Poland, Ohio defeated Elyria, Ohio, 10-7. That means Escanaba will face Poland in the Central Regional Championship game Wednesday afternoon at Firestone Stadium. The game starts at 2:00, and will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5) and over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.