Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 On a brisk and some would call cold Saturday afternoon in late April, the Alma College Softball team looked to close out the 2015 regular season on a positive note as the squad prepares for the MIAA Tournament next week.
Taking on a Britons team that was winless in the league and only four total wins coming in, the Scots took care of business early and thumped the home team in both contests. Both games went just five innings with Alma winning 9-0 in game one and 15-0 in game two.
The Scots finished with a 12-4 MIAA record and are 23-13 overall, while the Britons finished the 2015 campaign with a final mark of 4-28 and 0-16 in the league.
Alma advances to the MIAA playoffs and will take on Hope College in game one. The tournament will be held at Trine University in Angola, Ind., with the host team taking on Saint Mary's College in their first contest of the double elimination tournament. Start times will be announced later this weekend.
Game One: Alma 9, Albion 0 (5 innings)
In the first contest, the Scots recorded seven hits and were aided by five Albion errors in securing the victory. In the top of the first inning, So. 2B Anna Couture (Posen/Posen) singled to start the game and stole second.
She scored on a double by Jr. DP Kayla Merice (Dorr/Wayland), who then moved to third on a ground out. The Scots then made it 2-0 on a squeeze bunt RBI by Sr. 3B Lea Lusk (Columbiaville/Lakeville).
Alma added three more in a two out rally that was helped by two critical Albion miscues. With one down, Sr. LF Brooke Hein (Grand Rapids/Northview) singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. After a groundout, Hein moved to third with a stolen base. Sr. CF Marie Zill (Chelsea/Chelsea) singled to make it 3-0.
Zill stole second and came home on an error on a hit by Couture, who promptly stole second herself. The final tally of the frame came as Couture scored on another Britons error, this time on a ball hit by Merice.
With one out in the top of the third, Fr. RF Mary Brooks (Portland/Portland) singled and was pinch ran for by Fr. Erin Lee (Commerce/Walled Lake Northern), who stole second. After a strikeout, Hein came up to bat and blasted a homerun to make it a 7-0 ballgame.
After no runs in the fourth, Alma added two more in the top of the fifth put them on the verge of a mercy rule win. Brooks and Jr. 1B Sarah Collier (Fenton/Fenton) reached on errors, while So. Jade Garcia (Kentwood/East Kentwood) pinch ran for Brooks. Garcia moved to third and Collier was out at second on a fielder's choice by Hein.
Hein then stole second to put runners on second and third. Witham hit a sacrifice fly that scored Garcia and Hein scored as she advanced to third on the hit and made it home on an Albion error.
Meanwhile, Alma starting So. P Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc) cruised along through the five innings to get the win. She gave up one hits and recorded two strikeouts with no walks. Hein finished 2 fo 3 at the plate with three runs scored and two RBI's, while Couture was 2 for 3 with two runs scored.
Game Two: Alma 15, Albion 0 (5 Innings)
The onslaught continued in the nightcap. The Scots scored two runs in the first, nine in the second, one in the third and three more in the fourth go with 19 overall hits. As the home team in game two, those were the four at bats for the Scots.
In the first, Couture singled and scored on a double by Lusk. Brooks then had the second RBI of the frame and put Alma up 2-0. The second inning was the inning that put the game out of reach against the winless Britons. The Scots exploded for nine runs on 10 hits as Alma built up an 11-0 advantage - a margin that would prove to be insurmountable.
The two biggest hits of the frame were homeruns by Couture (three-run) and Collier (two-run). Merice had one RBI, while Brooks recorded two with a single.
After Stratton pitched her third scoreless inning of the second contest, the Scots made it 12-0 in the bottom of third. So. 1B Danielle Service (Mason/Mason) doubled with one out and came home on a single by So. LF Kelsey Spencer (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids).
Alma finished the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Lee doubled and stole third and scored on a single by Jr. PH Addie Loftus (Frankenmuth/Frankenmuth). So. Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East) then pinch ran for Loftus. So. PH Kayla Holz (Bad Axe/Bad Axe) pinch hit and singled and moved to third on a throwing error that scored Boyer.
Jr. SS Kassidi Adams (Montrose/Montrose) followed with a ground out to third but had an RBI as Holz scored the Scots' 15th run of the game.
Sr. P Samantha Pierce (Clarklake/Michigan Center) pitched the final two innings and did not allow a run and only one hit and one walk. Offensively, five Scots players finished the nightcap with two hits - Couture, Merice, Lusk, Brooks and Hein. RBI leaders were Couture (three), Brooks (three) and Collier (two).