×

Lakes, Bulldogs win to advance in D4 districts

L’Anse’s Isabelle Martinez, left, scores a run as Hancock’s Sophia Heinonen, right, makes a catch during a MHSAA Division 4 District 97 opener on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Lake Linden, Mich. (Eddie O'Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

LAKE LINDEN — The opening rounds of the MHSAA Division 4 District 97 softball tournament began Tuesday at the Boneyard.

In the first game, the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes downed the Baraga Vikings 13-3 after five innings. In game two, the Hancock Bulldogs defeated the L’Anse Purple Hornets 28-12 after five innings.

With the wins, the Lakes play the Gogebic Miners at 11 a.m. and the Bulldogs face the Ironwood Red Devils at 1:30 p.m. in the semifinals Friday. The district championship begins at 5 p.m., with all three games at the Boneyard.

In the first game, the Baraga Vikings took a one-run first-inning lead, but that is where their lead ended. The Lakes knocked in two in the second and had a big five-run third inning.

“Our bats came alive in the third, and we were hitting the ball really well,” said Lakes head coach Curtis Kinnunen. “Our pitcher Olivia (Shanks) did a good job as well.”

The Lakes Kara Kinnunen started that inning off with a walk. She came home on a Marrisa Sullivan base hit. After Clara Colombe struck out, Becca Lyons had an RBI single to keep the rally going. Melissa Wagner smashed a line drive off the outfield fence for a double and Brooke Banfield cleared the bases with a triple of her own down the first base line.

“We’ve been playing our best ball of the year over the last five or so games,” Kinnunen added. “We are coming together as a team.”

The Lakes added three more runs in the fourth. This rally included back-to-back triples by Wagner and Maddie Buschell. While the Viking would get one more run in the top half of the fifth, the Lakes closed the game out with a three-run frame to seal it.

At the end of five innings in game number two, the score looked more like a football game than a high school softball battle, with Hancock holding a 28-12 lead.

The Bulldogs posted a 15-run third inning after L’Anse had a productive first inning for an early 9-2 lead. The Bulldogs added another six in the fourth. These big innings were a combination of poor pitching by L’Anse and poor fielding on their part as well.

“We got complacent there in the first, and I told the girls that this wasn’t going to be an easy win,” said Hancock head coach Randy Heinonen. “I told them that anything can happen in districts. So when Sophia (Heinonen) was able to get an RBI double in the second that’s when we got some of our momentum back. I know we will not be able to let our guard down like that on Friday in the semifinals.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today