Cheboygan softball maintains early-season momentum, sweeps past Petoskey at home
CHEBOYGAN – The Cheboygan softball team is on a heater to start the 2024 season.
On Monday, the Chiefs rolled past East Jordan with a pair of double-digit victories on the road.
In their home opener on Wednesday, the Chiefs maintained their early-season momentum by sweeping Petoskey with 11-1 and 8-4 wins.
“They played two really good games and came out swinging the bats,” Cheboygan coach Mike LaLonde said of his team.
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Here’s some takeaways from a pair of wins that helped move the Chiefs to 4-0.
VanFleet masterful on the mound
Cheboygan senior Libby VanFleet delivered a stellar pitching performance against the Northmen, striking out 12, allowing only one hit and surrendering one run in five innings to earn the win.
“She pitched a gem,” LaLonde said of VanFleet. “Zero walks are what I was most happy about with her. She’s hitting her spots well; she’s throwing with some velocity and moving the ball around. I couldn’t ask for anything better right now. I hope she keeps it going. She’s in midseason form right now.”
Offensively, Emerson Eustice led Cheboygan with three hits and two RBIs, while VanFleet tallied two hits and three RBIs, Presley Chamberlain (double) added two hits and two RBIs, Emily Clark recorded two hits and scored two runs, Jordan Ashley had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, Hannah Whippo registered a hit, an RBI and a run scored, and Tessa Lake chipped in with a hit and two runs scored. Ella Kosanke scored two runs and Amelia Johnson scored one run.
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Comeback kids
As dominant as the Chiefs were in game one, they had to be resilient when they fell into a 4-0 hole early in the nightcap. Fueled by a six-run bottom of the fifth, Cheboygan took an 8-4 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Delivering the biggest hit was Chamberlain, who ripped a two-out, three-run double to break the tie and give Cheboygan a 7-4 advantage.
“The girls hit the ball right at somebody, and Petoskey was making some nice plays,” LaLonde said of game two. “We had some girls get on and Presley Chamberlain, who hit the ball hard her first two times up but had nothing to show for it, put one over the left fielder’s head right to the fence.”
Lake, who doubled, finished with two hits and scored twice for the Chiefs, who received a double and a run scored from Marley Couture, a hit, an RBI and a run scored from VanFleet, a hit and an RBI from Clark, a hit and a run scored apiece from Ashley and Kosanke, and a hit from Eustice. Johnson scored a run.
Eustice was the winning pitcher, striking out three and allowing seven hits in five innings. VanFleet tossed the final inning, striking out one.
Portage tournament awaits
Unbeaten so far, Cheboygan travels downstate for a tournament in Portage on Saturday. Cheboygan takes on Buchanan in their first contest at 11 a.m.
“We can’t wait to get down there and compete with some of those teams,” LaLonde said. “We want to show them what these northern teams can do. The girls are pumped up and ready to go, we’ll have a nice team bonding down there, get some good practices in.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan softball team sweeps Petoskey with 11-1, 8-4 victories
