Sabers win Onekama Tourney
Host Portagers take third
By DYLAN SAVELA
Manistee News Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Monday, May 9, 2011
ONEKAMA — Another tournament, another title for
Manistee Catholic Central.
For the second straight weekend, the Sabers went on the road and
came back home with some hardware Saturday by winning the Onekama
Tournament in a 7-4 comeback victory over McBain in the
championship.
MCC, which has now won 14 straight, had to overcome two late
deficits against the Ramblers, including a 4-2 hole in the top of
the fifth, in which the Sabers rallied with two outs to score five
runs and take the final lead.
“It was nice to see what they can do when we have to come from
behind for a change,” said Sabers coach Dave Lijewski, whose team
uncharacteristically was held scoreless for the first three innings.
“We battled back once to tie it up and lost the lead again. It was a
good confidence builder and it was a good team win. It was a good
team effort.” The title comes off the heals of the Sabers' win at
the Brethren Invitational last weekend.
On Saturday, MCC opened the day with a 12-2 semifinal win over host
Onekama before the Portagers took third with a 14-11 consolation win
over Lake Leelanau St. Mary.
In the championship, the Ramblers scored first
with a run apiece in the top of the third and fourth innings, before
the Sabers knotted the score with two runs in the bottom of four.
After McBain plated two more in the fifth for a 4-2 lead, the
Sabers’ Haley Doyle knocked a two-out two-RBI triple to tie the
game, and spark a five-run inning for the Sabers.
“It just seemed like once they got on base, they sort of put it all
together,” Lijewski said of the breakthrough frame at the plate.
“Our bats weren’t as hot as they have been, and I thought in between
the games, we cooled down a bit. But our defense actually won the
game for us this time.
“We knew we were going to be facing a tough
team,” he said of the Division 3 Ramblers. “It made for a good game.
McBain is really a good team.”
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The Sabers’ Mimi Modjeski allowed four walks with
seven strikeouts in the championship to keep McBain at bay.
At the plate, Modjeski, Alex Barnett and Hannah
Janicki each went 2-for-3 while Alysha Heck had a hit with three RBIs.
To open tournament play, the Sabers’ bats stayed steady against West
Michigan D League foe, and tournament host, Onekama.
MCC scored three runs in the first and four in the second to take a 7-0
lead, and after allowing the Portagers a run in each the fourth and
fifth, the Sabers secured the 10-run mercy rule by plating three more in
the bottom of the fifth.
Modjeski had a solid outing in the circle, allowing just three hits and
a walk with seven strikeouts.
“She did a good job for us all day long, both in the circle and up to
bat,” Lijewski said of his ace. “And the morning start didn’t affect
them at all (at the plate). The defense played solid and the offense
seemed to be right on.”
Modjeski batted 3-for-4 in the opener with two RBIs while Doyle was
2-for-3 with three RBIs, Julia Sidor was 2-for-3 with an RBI while
Barnett had a hit and an RBI and Janicki had a pair of RBIs.
For Onekama in the loss, Nicole Slater had two hits consisting of a
double and a triple while Emily Bergren had a single.
Bergren had five strikeouts for her team on the mound.
The Portagers responded well to the loss by topping St. Mary for third
place in the consolation game. The Eagles lost 16-1 to the Ramblers in
their opening round.
“We came out aggressive,” Portagers coach Phil Sedelmaier said after his
team held on after the Eagles threatened late from an early 12-1
deficit.
“And we played better defensively than we did against MCC. This morning,
we were dropping fly balls and then this afternoon, we were making those
sort of plays.”
Onekama jumped out of the gates with an eight-run first before St. Mary
scored the final eight runs to make things interesting.
“Emily started getting a little tired towards the end,” Sedelmaier said
of his pitcher. “Traditionally, she’s pitched one game and Brooke (Sedelmaier)
has pitched the other. But with Brooke hurt now, she’s been pitching
both games for us. She’s not used to that, but she’s doing good.”
Bergren finished the consolation game with another five strikeouts while
leading her team at the plate, batting 4-for-5 with a double and two
RBIs. Slater was 4-for-5, Jennica Mathieu was 3-for-5 with two doubles
and six RBIs while Sedelmaier was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. |
