Vikings play for share of title today; Onaway gets comeback win at tourney

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

It was close. Two outs to be precise. The Viking softball team was poised to become the first team in 2010 to defeat the Onaway softball team, who was ranked fourth in Division IV at the beginning of the week. Posen (19-3), an honorable mention in the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association polls (May 17), was leading in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Posen Invitational finals, 3-2.

The cross-county rivals came up with clutch hits from their final two batters to keep their perfect record in tact and take home the trophy with a 4-3 win. ?I THINK OUR girls played fantastic,? said Posen coach Glenn Budnick. ?We had a couple of mistakes, but they hit the ball where we weren?t in that last inning. They came out and won the ball game. I can?t say we did anything to lose it.?

The Vikings took the lead in the top of the fifth inning with some timely hits. Paige Lewandowski started the inning with a walk and moved to third on Cheryl Romel?s double to the fence. The next two batters went down on strikes, bringing up Ashley Meyers, who lined a two-RBI single to left for a 3-2 lead.

Lindsay Ponik was the next batter and stung the ball, but on a line to the third baseman. Onaway?s Megan Estep ripped a double that split the outfielders in right center to score two runs for a 4-3 final. Buczkowski allowed seven hits and three earned runs. She struck out three and walked none.

?I think (Leanne) was great on the mound and I think the defense was great behind her as well,? said Budnick. ?I?m glad we were the home team, because Posen is a terrific ball club, they?ve been gunning for us for a while and I knew it would be tough,? said Onaway coach Jodi Brewbaker. Janice Ciarkowski had a triple. POSEN GOT into the finals with a 5-2 over Harbor Light Christian. The Vikings used a four run, fourth to pull away. Lindsay Ponik tossed a two-hitter, striking out seven in six innings to get the win. Only one of the runs was earned. LeAnn Strzelecki was 2-for-3 with a solo homer in the first. Meyers was 2-for-3 (RBI). The Vikings wrap up the North Star League schedule today hosting Atlanta. Hillman swept Mio earl

ier this week, so the Vikings need to win a pair against Atlanta to earn a share of the title.

Saturday, the girls will travel to Petoskey for the Harbor Light Invitational. They will play Charlevoix (10:45 a.m.) and Coleman (12:30 p.m.) in pool play. LAST FRIDAY, Posen swept a couple of wild ones from Superior Central. The Vikings were trailing in game one heading into the bottom of the seventh inning and came up with a two-out rally. Lewandowski walked ahead of a triple by Romel, who came home on a single by Buczkowski. Butch was 4-for-5 in the game. The final hit gave her the 9-8 win on the mound.

Ponik was 3-for-4, Strzelecki had a double (2 RBI), Meyers knocked in two and Romel also had a double (3 RBI). The score was 8-8 heading into the bottom of the sixth of game two, before the Vikings scored three to get the win, 11-9. Ponik was the winning pitcher. Abbie Delekta (4 RBI), Ciarkowski and Strzelecki all had three hits each. Among Strzelecki?s hits was a two-run homer in the fourth. Emily Delekta was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Both teams had 50 hits in the twinbill. ?We received timely hits and hit the ball very hard in both games,? said Budnick. The Rogers City doubleheader was rained out last Thursday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.