Gladstone, MI – June 11th, 2022 – The Negaunee Miners Girls Softball squad lost to Kalkaska in the Regional Semifinal 4-5 on Saturday Morning. Tyler Young and Gregg Nelson had the call live on WFXDH2.
1st Inning: The Regional Semifinal kicked off with Mia Miller pitching for Kalkaska and Theresa Anderson hitting. Miller would start the game well as she would send Anderson down 0-3. The first hit of the game came from Josephine Thomson as she would hit a double. Lilly Nelson would get contact on the ball but it would get caught in center field for the second out. The half inning would end with Grace Nardi striking out.
Pitching first for the Miners would be Grace Nardi and first to bat for the Blazers was Lauren Judd. Judd would go out first and following her for the second out was Lorelei Simkins who got contact but the ball was caught by Nelson. The final out came from Jaycee Mitchell as she would go down 0-3.
2nd Inning: Miya Frederickson would come out swinging for Negaunee and she would hit a double. The Miners continued to hit well as Kallen Schultz hit a double allowing Frederickson to score and giving Negaunee the 1-0 lead. Cooper Atkins would step up but her hit would pop up and get caught by the catcher. Mari Speaker and Samantha Richards would both get out giving Kalkaska a chance to answer.
Mia Miller would get contact but the ball would be thrown to first for an out. Violet Porter would get to a full count but end up hitting and getting on first. Alyssa Colvin would go to hit and a wild pitch allowed Porter to advance to second. Yet another wild pitch would send Porter to third base. Porter would tie the game 1-1 after a wild pitch was dished by Nardi. London Birgy and Keanna Eiseler would both get out leaving the score at 1-1.
End of 2nd: Negaunee 1, Kalkaska 1
3rd Inning: Negaunee would get a quick out and Thomson would follow with a hit and she would get on first. Nelson and Nardi would both go down ending the first half of the third inning.
Sarah Morgan would get to a full count but would strikeout. Judd would get things going for Kalkaska and get on first. Simkins and would step up and several wild pitches would get Judd to third. Simkins would hit but a double play at home base and first would end the inning.
4th Inning: First up was Frederickson but she would strikeout. Schultz and Atkins would both hit singles getting two players on base. Mari Speaker would get out but Richards broke the game open when she hit a three run home run giving Negaunee the 4-1 lead. Theresa Anderson would be the final out for the half inning.
Kalkaska would cut the lead to 2-4 when Jaycee Mitchell scored. Miller would strikeout but Porter would make up for it with a double. Colvin would go down 0-3 and a pop fly from Birgy would end the fourth.
End of 4th: Negaunee 4, Kalkaska 2
5th Inning: Thomson continued to hit well as she would hit a single. Nelson would hit the ball but it would get caught. Nardi would get Thomson to second with her single hit. The Miners wouldn’t capitalize though as Frederickson and Schultz would both strikeout.
Eiseler would give Kalkaska hope with her single. Alyssa Steiner would run for Eiseler and she would get to second after Morgan’s bunt was thrown to first. Judd would get a hit and Steiner scored, cutting Negaunee’s lead to 4-3. The Blazers would cool down as Simkins went down 0-3. Mitchell would hit a double allowing Judd to score and the game was tied up 4-4. The intense fifth inning ended with Mia Miller getting out.
End of 5th: Negaunee 4, Kalkaska 4
6th Inning: The first half of the sixth inning would be a quick one as Atkins, Speaker, and Richards would all go down giving Kalkaska momentum
Thomson would step in for Negaunee to pitch and she would shut down Kalkaska’s momentum as the Blazers would go down 0-3 and the pressure mounted going into the final inning.
7th Inning: Anderson of Negaunee would make contact but the ball was thrown to first for an out. Thomson and Nelson would both get out and the fate of Negaunee laid in the hands of the Blazers.
The Regional Semifinal would head to extra innings as a popfly and Morgan and Judd getting out resulted in regulation ending.
8th Inning: Nardi would be the first to hit and she would go down 0-3 for the first out. Frederickson would hit a popfly which couldn’t find its way down and got caught. Miller continued to dish as she would strikeout Schultz 0-3.
Simkins of the Blazers would give Kalkaska all of the momentum with a single. A Blazer would get out but Miller made up for it with a single hit. The singles continued to come as Porter hit the ball and all bases were loaded. A pop fly would find its way down to the ground due to an error and Kalkaska won off of a walk-off.
Final Score: Negaunee 4, Kalkaska 5
Next Game: The Negaunee Miners 2021-2022 season has concluded and they will look to rebound next spring!