Softball Splits With Lakewood in GLAC Battle
A battle between two of the top teams in the GLAC was just that as the Stockbridge softball team earned a doubleheader split with Lakewood Friday.
After two previous cancellations due to weather, the teams were finally able to get on the diamond at Lake Odessa Friday.
Stockbridge entered the games with a 6-0 conference record and Lakewood at 9-0.
The first game was a pitchers duel from the start as the Panthers Emily Breslin and the Vikings Morgan Stahl dominated in the pitching circle. Breslin struck out 15 batters and Stahl 14 as neither team could do much at the plate.
The game was scoreless when the Vikings loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Breslin got a strikeout to end the inning.
Neither team scored in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
A runner is placed on second base to start the eighth inning, but the Panthers could not move the runner over as Stahl struck out the side.
Lakewood then put a runner on second to start the bottom of the eighth, they beat out a bunt for a hit to put runners on the corners and a single to right ended the game with the Vikings winning 1-0.
The Panthers did not get a hit in the contest, while Lakewood was able to scratch out six hits.
The second game was much the same with Breslin and Stahl again dominating on the mound.
Stockbridge finally got their first hit off of Stahl in the second inning when Paige Wooden hit a single to center. A walk put two runners on and Hannah Gutting ripped a single to left, but the runner was thrown out at home trying to score.
Lakewood took a 1-0 lead in the second thanks to a pair of Panthers errors and a single.
The Panthers finally broke through in the 6th. Taylor Carey started the inning with a walk and Katelyn Knieper followed with a bomb over the centerfield fence for a two-run shot and a 2-1 Stockbridge lead. Breslin followed with a long ball of her own to make it 3-1.
The Vikings got one back in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, but Breslin and the Panther defense would not allow another runner the rest of the way as they earned the split with a 3-2 win.
Breslin struck out seven for the win and had two hits, including the home run. Knieper had the home run and two RBI, while Wooden, Carey, and Gutting each had hits.
The Panthers improved to 7-1 in the GLAC and 13-3 overall, while Lakewood sits at 10-1 in the conference. Olivet is 6-0 in the conference. Stockbridge still has one more make-up game left with Lakewood and a three-game set with Olivet.
