Softball team wins State Farm home tournament

The Huron bats are hot, nothing is getting by the fielders, and the pitchers are at their stingy best. The combination means winning softball for coach Karl Grambau?s RC girls as the Hurons won five games last week to improve to 13-2 on the season. Three of those wins came at Saturday?s State Farm Tournament, as the Hurons took the championship trophy in their home invitational for the first time since 1998, and the fifth time in the nine-year history of the tournament.

Wins over Sault Ste. Marie and Ogemaw Heights in the opening games set up a showdown with Division I Traverse City Central in the third game. The Hurons, batting first, scored two in the first inning. Senior second baseman Megan Grulke singled, then scored on Renee Romel?s double. After Theresa Bellmore?s walk and Lindsey Fleming?s bunt single, Angie Asam delivered a bases loaded sacrifice fly to score Romel. The Hurons came back with three more in the second inning as C.J. Calabrese, Grulke, and Romel had RBI hits.

From there, each team?s pitcher shut down the other team?s offense. The Hurons could manage just one more baserunner the rest of the way, while TC Central was shut down by starter and winning pitcher Rachel Brege (6-1). Brege went seven innings, allowing seven hits with no strikeouts or walks in the 5-2 Huron win. ?Both teams played excellent defense,? Grambau said. ?There were quite a few good plays by each team.? The left side of the Huron defense, shortstop Romel and third basemen Ashley Fleming, each had five assists, while Brege had six from the mound. ?We played really good defense in the tournament. We only had two errors all day,? Grambau said.

IN THE FIRST game of the tournament, the C.J. Calabrese earned her first win for the Hurons in a 9-0 destruction of Sault Ste. Marie. She worked all seven innings, allowing three hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts. The big bats belonged to Cassy Brege, who had two hits, a walk and was hit by a pitch, Bellmore, who had two hits, and Calabrese with two hits. The second game of the tournament also went to the Hurons, 16-2 winners over Ogemaw Heights. Alison Schuiteman allowed two runs in the first inning, on three hits, then allowed Ogemaw just one more the rest of the way.

For the game, she struck out two in five innings in earning her third win of the season against no losses. Left fielder Cassy Brege had three hits and scored two runs, Ashl

ey Fleming had three hit, and Grulke had two hits and two walks. In other scores from the tournament, Traverse City Central defeated Ogemaw Heights 11-3, and defeated Sault Ste. Marie, 7-5.

LAST THURSDAY the Hurons took a pair from Alcona, 4-3, and 5-3. Rachel Brege went seven innings in the game, allowing two walks, and three hits while striking out seven. The Hurons came up with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, as pinch-runner Becky Bruning scored the winning run. A four-run fifth inning keyed the win in game two. Schuiteman scattered eight hits, while striking out two and walking one, to earn the win.

Alcona scored all of its runs in the first inning, collecting four of its eight hits in the frame. There are many reasons why the Hurons have started so well this season. The team has fielded the ball at a .950 clip while batting .338 at the plate. In addition, Huron pitchers have issued just 16 walks in 15 games, while patient Huron hitters have drawn 66 walks.