Hancock's Sydney Skolley takes the lead and Houghton's Stella Soumis scores a close second as part of a doubleheader Wednesday at Bill Givens Memorial Little League Field at Hancock Driving Park. (Eddie O'Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
HANCOCK — The Houghton Gremlins softball team jumped out to an early lead, scoring eight points against the Hancock Bulldogs in the opening game of a doubleheader Wednesday at Bill Givens Memorial Little League Field in the Hancock Driving. They made a good run, winning 1-1. Park, the Bulldogs won 2-1 in a much lower-scoring second game.
The opener started with a solo home run off the bat by Houghton's Claire Orenketo. Hancock's error and starting pitcher Stella Soumis' RBI set the stage for four more runs.
Soumis won a complete game. She allowed just four hits and one run in seven innings pitched. Along the way, she struck out four and walked three.
“I was glad that my bat came back to life in the first game.” Gremlins coach Mel Baker said. “I was able to hit the ball well into the gap and run the bases with my head up.”
She added: “Game Ball” I went to Orenketo and Soumis to evaluate their prowess at bat.
Houghton's Jaycee Sleeman took a swing and ran away during a game against Hancock Wednesday as part of a doubleheader at Bill Givens Memorial Little League Field at Hancock Driving Park. (Eddie O'Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
“Claire hit a home run and Stella had three RBIs.'' she said.
The Gremlins added their sixth point in the second and their final two points in the fourth. The Bulldogs scored one run in the fourth inning, but that was all they could do.
Game 2 was a pitcher's battle, with the Bulldogs leading by just one run.
The Bulldogs jumped out to first with a 1-0 lead. In that frame, leadoff batter Kaylin Rouleau reached base with a single to left and returned home on Sophie Freeman's sacrifice bunt.
The next two innings were zeros. Then, in the fourth inning, the Bulldogs scored their second run on a wild pitch, and pitcher Sadie Biekola scored. Even though the Gremlins got one run back in the sixth inning, the Bulldogs' two total points proved to be enough.
Biecola won from the circle. She pitched all seven innings, allowing one (earned run), giving up two strikeouts, and giving up one walk.
Romi Mattsson suffered the loss for the Gremlins.
“Both girls pitched really well in Game 2.” Bulldogs coach Craig Biecola said. “Hitting made the difference.”
The win in Game 2 puts the Bulldogs at 21-4, and the win in the opener puts the Gremlins at 16-7 with less than a week left in the regular season.
Are these two teams ready for the playoffs? According to their coach, the answer is yes and no.
“We're getting there.” Baker pointed out. “We need to resolve a few more issues.”
As for the Bulldogs, the coach wants to see the team finish all areas of the game together.
“We need to put together the perfect match for the playoffs.” He said. “That will include pitching, fielding and hitting.
“Our pitching and defense were good today, but we just couldn't hit. We'll continue to work on that.”
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The Bulldogs will travel to Reims on Friday for a doubleheader against the Purple Hornets starting at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the Gremlins will host the Westwood Patriots in Houghton on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.
