Posen softball team looks to rebound in Hale
The Viking softball team (1-3) will look to end a three-game losing streak when they open North Star League action at Hale this afternoon at 4 p.m. After starting the season by blasting Boyne Falls pitching in a season-opening victory, Posen managed only two hits in back-to-back losses at home last Thursday to Rogers City (12-0, 10-0) and then lost Monday to Alcona, a game in which the Vikings led 8-3 in the top of the fourth inning.
The win slipped away from Posen against the Tigers when the Vikings allowed eight unearned runs, five in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at eight and three the next inning.
THAT WAS the ball game as Alcona took the game 11-8. The second game was called after three innings because of the steady rain, with Posen leading 10-9. ?It was a case of making mistakes,? said coach Glenn Budnick.
The Vikings are a young squad and Budnick believes as this year?s team gets more experience and reps on the field, ?those mistakes will go away.? ?We?ve only practiced one day outside and have played four ball games outdoors,? the coach said Monday. ?Some of the mistakes we are making are more mental than they are physical.?
The Vikings committed 16 errors in the three losses. ?Time will take care of it, I believe,? said Budnick.
POSEN TOOK a 5-0 lead in the top of the second inning against Alcona. The big hits came from junior Shannon Ciarkowski, who had a two-run double and sophomore Katie Lewandowski with a two-run single. The Tigers trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the third inning. Only one of the runs was earned. The Vikings went back to work the next time they came up. Junior Michelle Bednarski tripled and scored on an error and freshman Beth Julian ripped an RBI single. Through three-and-a-half-innings, Posen had the upper hand, but things would fall apart from there. Bednarski got the start, allowing four hits, five walks, one ea
AGAINST ROGERS CITY, Julian and sophomore Courtney Romel were the only players with hits. Budnick said only one player hit the ball into the outfield.
?We didn?t play, obviously, as well as I know we can,? said Budnick, immediately following the games against RC. ?It was a lot different than Tuesday at Boyne Falls when our bats were really alive.
?I make no excuses, Rogers City is a good team. They threw three really good pitchers at us. Their pitchers had great control. They walked one batter between the three of them. They?re a quality program year in and year out.?
?I think our pitching was good,? said first-year softball coach Karl Grambau. ?I thought we had some timely hits.?