MANISTEE — One out from suffering its first loss since the season opener, Manistee Catholic Central rallied with four runs to take the lead.
One out from being swept by MCC for the second time in a week, Onekama responded with four runs of its own for the win.
And with that, the Portagers (12-7, 8-3 WMD) salvaged a West Michigan D League split against the Sabers (8-2, 6-2 WMD) on Monday at First Street Beach. MCC won the first game 7-1 and Onekama rallied for a 9-8 win in the chilly nightcap.
Manistee Catholic Central’s Courtney Sorenson connects for an RBI triple during the first game of a doubleheader against Onekama on Monday. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)
“We really wanted to win this,” said Onekama’s Ashley Kubiskey, who got the win in the second game and delivered the walk-off RBI single. “It would have been nice if we would have won the first game too, but coming out with just one win is fantastic.”
The league-leading Sabers came through with late hits of their own, but simply couldn’t get the final out to put the Portagers away.
“We got going,” said MCC senior Haley Doyle, “but then they got their bats going too at a convenient time for them.”
Amber Robke got the win in the first game as she allowed just one unearned run on four hits with eight strikeouts. The Sabers got all the offense they needed in the first inning with three runs on just one hit as they took advantage of physical and mental errors by the Portagers.
“We talked about that as a team,” said Onekama coach Rob Johnson. “We said when an out presents itself, we need to take care of it.”
MCC tacked on three runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Hannah Janicki and two-run single by Robke. Courtney Sorenson added an RBI triple in the fifth while Doyle and Jordan Barnett both finished with a pair of hits for the Sabers.
Onekama’s Ashley Kubiskey delivers a pitch during the second game. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)
“I think the girls played pretty decent,” said MCC coach Dave Lijewski. “Defensively, we weren’t as sharp today as we were (against Onekama last week). The girls know we have a little work to do and they’re going to work on it.”
Kaylan Fitch led the Portagers with a pair of hits while Emily Bergren, who took a line drive off her knee during the third inning, stayed in the game but suffered the loss while striking out three.
The Sabers, who swept the Portagers in a non-league series last week, took an early lead in the second game with four runs on four hits in the second inning as Sorenson and Doyle knocked RBI singles and Alysha Heck came through with a two-run single.
