Two for the crown
After thumping Au Gres in the last home doubleheader of the season, all the Viking softball team needs is a sweep against Atlanta to put the final touches on back-to-back North Star League championships. If they split with the Huskies, they?ll have to share the crown. Even though district pairings were announced Monday, pitting ninth-ranked Posen against fourth-ranked Gaylord St. Mary Saturday May 31, coach Glenn Budnick hopes to keep his players focused on the all-important final conference games against Atlanta.
?We have to sweep Atlanta to be outright North Star League champions,? said Budnick. ?That?s where our focus is. After we get done with the league, we?ll start concentrating on Gaylord.? The Vikings (21-7, 11-1) are riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Au Gres, 12-4 and 11-0, and winning the Posen tournament for the second year in a row over the weekend. Posen took a pair of close games against Harbor Light Christian and Pellston to capture the trophy. Posen was swept by Alcona last Wednesday. Only one loss this season has come against a non-ranked opponent and that was against Hillman May 6.
THE DISTRICT TOURNAMENT will be in Hillman this season. Pre-district games will be played May 27 between Johannesburg-Lewiston and Hillman. The winner plays Atlanta May 31. The district final is 2:30 p.m. ?I think it?s a good draw for us,? said Budnick. ?If you want to be the best team you are going to have to beat the best team. Right now they (Gaylord) are the best team in our district so we have to go in there and take it to them.?
Since there are no scheduled games next week, or pre-district games, Budnick said the athletic department was trying to move the games against Atlanta to next week, and looking for a pre-tournament match up. No arrangements were announced before press time. Posen takes on Johannesburg-Lewiston Friday at 4 p.m. That is the last scheduled action of the year.
IN GAME ONE against Au Gres, the Vikings erupted for a seven-run second inning to take an 8-2 lead against the visiting Wolverines. They would add two in the third and single runs in the final two innings. Shannon Ciarkowski earned the win on the mound, tossing six innings of six-hit ball. She struck out three and walked one. Courtney Romel was two-for-three with two RBI. Ciarkowski added an RBI single, while Michelle Bednarski knocked in two with a triple.
The Wolverines didn?t have much fight left for game two as Bednarski set down seven batters on strikes, while her teammates scored six runs in the first and five in the second. Julie Lewandowski was three-for-three with a double and two RBI. Ciarkowski and Romel both added a pair of hits and drove in a run. Kyrie Kuffel was two-for-two with two RBI.
AT THE Posen tournament Saturday, in nearly ideal conditions, the Vikings hung on against Pellston in the tournament final, after using extra innings to knock off Harbor Light Christian, 10-5. The Vikings started off their game against Pellston extremely well with all nine batters coming to the plate in the first inning. The game started with singles by Ciarkowski and Romel. Bednarski loaded the bases with a bunt single and Lewandowski cleared them with a double, but was gunned down trying to stretch the play into a triple. Amanda Pieczynski would get on base with a single and later score, which proved to be the game winner. The girls came up with six hits in the inning, but would manage only three the rest of the way. While the bats went quiet fo
HARBOR LIGHT CHRISTIAN was able to force extra innings by pushing one across in the sixth to tie the game at five. In the seventh, Romel, Bednarski, and Lewandowski ripped back-to-back-to-back doubles. Bednarski and Lewandowski both hit theirs over the leftfielder?s head. Posen sent a dozen batters to the plate in the final inning to put the exclamation mark at the end of victory. Romel was three-for-five, while Kuffel was two-for-four.
On May 21, Alcona took both games, 7-1 and 14-3. The Vikings had four hits in the first game and one in the second from Beth Julian and too many errors, according to Budnick.