Click the thumbnails to see photos, videos taken by Leo Nolde. Also clicked the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Gen Fields and Coach Danicia Humbert,.
ST. CLAIR, Mich.---The tournament run ended for the Escanaba Major Little League All-Star (age 10-12) softball team on Tuesday, but not without a lot of fireworks.
Escanaba trailed Georgetown, 9-0, and were close to being mercied in the fourth inning of their state semfinal game in St. Clair. Then Georgetown made a move that opened the door for Escanaba, and the UP girls rushed through that door to make for a fantastic finish.
Georgetown pulled its starting pitcher, Celia Moreen, who had held Escanaba down to two hits and no runs in four innings. The move would have given her a rest on a steamy afternoon, and it would have saved her two innings to be used in the state championship game later on Tuesday. But that didn't happen.
Escanaba scored eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to turn a rout into a nailbiter. Ruby Jacobsen had an RBI hit and Barlow Bosk followed with a two-run single. And there were still no outs, so Georgetown brought in another pitcher. That didn't work, either, as Amiya Humbert smoked a line drive base hit to right field. Three runs scored, making it a 9-8 game, and the Georgetown “Gummy Sharks” brought Moreen back in.
Moreen was able to get Gen Fields to ground out to end the threat.
"It was really fun," Fields said. "We got the energy up, and I'm just happy that we almost won against Georgetown when a couple years ago, we weren't that close. But it's OK. We still did great."
Georgetown loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning with a double, walk, and hit batter. Humbert got Lauren Smith to ground out to keep it 9-8.
Escanaba could not get anything going in the final inning, as Moreen retiring all three batters she faced, sending Georgetown into the state championship game. I'm just happy that we almost beat Georgetown.
Earlier, Quinn Fritsch was tough at the plate for Georgetown, getting a single, double, and three runs batted in during her first two at-bats. McKenna Vanlangon added two triples, and Sadie Lancioni smacked a two-run double. All of that added up to a 9-0 lead that Escanaba did its best to erase. It just came up one run short.
"We talked about the resilience of this team," Escanaba Manager Danicia Humbert said. "They did not stop fighting until that last pitch. I'm just so proud of each and every one of them. They made a switch there, and we capitalized. We got our bats going and made a run out of it. I don't think they're going to forget this whole run, this game. This one is gonna stay with them. There's nothing to hang our heads about. These girls played hard. They battled. And they came and played some great softball down here."
Georgetown ended up losing to St. Clair, 1-0, in the state championship game.
