Escanaba Delivers Memorable D2 Encore
June 15, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Two rarities happened in the first inning of the MHSAA Division 2 softball championship game Saturday at Michigan State’s Secchia Stadium.
The first was Escanaba all-state pitcher Gabi Salo allowed a walk against Stevensville Lakeshore. The second was Salo gave up a run.
Salo entered the championship game with a 25-2 record, 0.24 earned run average and 337 strikeouts and just 21 walks.
If that’s not enough, she had given up only six earned runs all year.
She gave up three runs – two earned – in the championship game, but contained the Lancers enough to secure a 7-3 victory that clinched the Eskymos’ second straight Division 2 title.
“I thought I had my best stuff today,’’ said the junior pitcher. “I thought I went out strong.
“This means so much. Our school went without a state title from 1981 until last year. For us to bring home another one, I don’t have words. This one feels even better than last year.’’
The Lancers surprisingly struck early when Salo surrendered a two-out walk and Meghan Younger drove her home on a double just out of the reach of the centerfielder. It was just the seventh earned run Salo had given up this season.
She finished Saturday with 11 strikeouts while allowing seven hits. Escanaba finished the spring 34-3, while Lakeshore ended 33-11.
Salo helped her own cause in the second inning with a game-tying sacrifice fly, scoring Lexi Chaillier, who had walked, stolen second base and was sacrificed to third.
Escanaba took advantage of two walks and a bounce out to first by Chaillier to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Younger was able to solve Salo with two singles and a double, but her teammates mostly were stifled until the sixth.
Meanwhile, Escanaba loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out on a walk and singles by Heather Bergstrom and Carsyn Segorski. Chaillier popped out, but Nicole Kamin and the Eskymos took advantage of a fly ball dropping out of an outfielder’s mitt that allowed three runs to score and gave the reigning champ a 5-1 lead.
A four-run cushion with three innings left was all Salo needed.
Lakeshore put together a threat in the top of the sixth inning on a single by Younger and fielder’s choice and error by Salo.
Shelby Grau singled, but rightfielder Chaillier threw out a Lakeshore runner at home to negate a potential run. However, Anna Chellman came through with a two-run single to left field to make it 5-3. Salo got out of trouble with a strikeout with two runners on.
“Originally, I was going to throw it to first because I’ve gotten a few girls out at first on those kinds of hits,’’ said Chaillier. “I saw the girl running from third, and I knew I had to go home with it.’’
Said winning coach Gary Salo: “(Chaillier) better be on some all-state teams. I’m going to be upset if she isn’t. She does everything for us. That was a great throw.”
Escanaba sealed the win in the bottom of the sixth inning when a Lakeshore wild pitch allowed two runs to score.
“All week we just kept saying we’re three wins away from going to Wienerlicious (restaurant in Mackinaw City) … (then) we’re two wins away,” Gary Salo said. “We’re going to go back home and celebrate there. We haven’t been home all week.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Escanaba's Georgia Lehto connects with a pitch during Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Eskymos' Gabi Salo fires toward the plate.
Swierkos Dominates, Hartland Celebrates Decisive Title Clincher
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Hartland senior pitcher Kylie Swierkos entered this weekend as one of the finalists for the state’s Miss Softball Award.
After the dominating, two-game performance she delivered at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium, she might have secured the prestigious honor – but that was the furthest thing from her mind Saturday afternoon.
“All I care about is that we won this for our school,” said Swierkos, who tossed her second consecutive four-hitter to lead Hartland to a 9-1 victory over Brownstown Woodhaven in the Division 1 Final.
“We have such a close group of girls; it’s not just me. Now I hope the younger girls take this and keep going with it.”
Swierkos, who improved to 23-1 on the season with a 0.81 ERA, shut out Lake Orion in Thursday’s Semifinal and came within two outs of another shutout Saturday before Woodhaven scored its only run in the top of the seventh inning.
Swierkos, who has committed to pitch at Grand Valley State University, struck out 13 batters on Saturday (20 for the weekend) and didn’t walk a single batter in either game.
“We know Kylie is going to do her job,” said fifth-year Hartland coach Taylor Wagner, who led the school to its first Softball Finals title since winning Class A in 1996. “Then we just have to bat a little bit behind her, and we did that all the way through the order, from one to nine.”
Hartland, 35-4-1, delivered nine hits, with two apiece from Abby Gardner, Kate McIntyre and Reese Dunny.
Senior Riley Phillips smacked a two-run triple for the second consecutive game, this one coming in the second inning. Sophomore catcher Sadie Malik also had two RBIs, including a run-scoring single as Hartland put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I could not have asked for a more perfect ending to my senior year,” said Gardner, one of four seniors on the Hartland roster, along with Faith DeLanoy, Phillips and Swierkos.
The nine runs were more than enough offense for Swierkos, who pitched eight consecutive innings of perfect ball – starting with the fourth inning Thursday through the fourth inning Saturday, when the Warriors managed the first of their four hits.
Woodhaven, 35-5 and playing in its first Final, scored its only run in the top of the seventh inning after a leadoff double by Grace Walker.
The Warriors struggled to figure out Swierkos, then hurt themselves with three costly errors.
“We definitely put Woodhaven softball on the map, and we will be back,” said second-year coach Ken Kroll. “It was atypical of us to make those errors. But we just didn’t put enough hits together. When we did start to get something going, we got shut down.”
Grace Usher, a junior, allowed nine hits and struck out six over six innings. She finished the season 18-4 with a 1.40 ERA. Alaina Craig had her team’s lone RBI.
Just before her team took the podium to accept the championship trophy, Wagner was asked for two words to describe her feelings after guiding her team to its first Finals title in 27 years. Hartland also had finished Division 1 runner-up in 2018.
She answered with just one:
“Blessed,” said Wagner, who was assisted by Lindsay Brandon. “I am blessed to go through this with these girls and to be a small part of it.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Kylie Swierkos (27) leaps into the arms of catcher Sadie Malik on Saturday. (Middle) The Eagles huddle in the pitching circle during the Division 1 Final. (Below) A Hartland hitter drives the ball. (Photos by Olivia Napier/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)