Leslie, Grand Ledge advance to Friday’s championship in Softball Classic
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The championship matchup is set at the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Softball Classic after Leslie topped Laingsburg 6-5 and Grand Ledge defeated Fowlerville 6-2 in the semifinals Wednesday.
The first game of the night between Laingsburg and Leslie was a pitchers’ duel early, with Laingsburg holding on to a 2-1 lead after four innings. Leslie broke things open in the fifth by scoring five runs to take command, but Laingsburg answered right back with three runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-5.
The Wolfpack could not push the tying run across, though, as Leslie pitcher Ada Bradford finished off a complete game by coaxing a pop-up for the final out in the seventh.
In the latest MHSSCA rankings, Laingsburg is the No. 1 team in the state in Division 3 and Leslie is No. 10.
The Blackhawks said they knew the top-tier competition they were facing and weren’t surprised the Wolfpack mounted a comeback, but they relied on their own big-game experience to hold off the rally.
“When they started coming back, we just had to take a step back and just trust the process and trust each other that we had each other’s backs,” said Myah Fletcher, who hit a two-run home run for the Blackhawks in the win. “We’ve been doing all that all season and it’s worked really well for us.”
“They’ve been challenged a lot over the years so they’ve been in those experiences before where we’ve got a lead, kind of give it up and either come back or just hang on barely,” added head coach Richard Bradford. “So we did a pretty good job I think of recovering and bouncing back there when we needed to.”
In the nightcap, Grand Ledge defeated Fowlerville 6-2 behind a dominant performance from sophomore Tomia Geter.
Fowlerville scored two runs in the first inning before Grand Ledge recorded an out, but the Comets brought Geter in to pitch in relief and she quickly shut the Gladiator offense down.
Geter tossed seven scoreless innings of relief, allowing just two hits and racking up 15 strikeouts.
As if that wasn’t enough, she also helped her own cause at the plate with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning. It was the Comets’ second home run of the inning, following a solo blast by Gianna Naccarato.
Geter said she felt herself and her team gaining confidence as the game wore on.
“It definitely made me more confident, every strikeout I got, every out we got,” she said. “The momentum just kept going and kept going and it kept building. It built my confidence a lot so I trusted everything I was doing and it just ended up great.”
“She’s been lights out all year and I’m glad that she was able to show us again how tenacious she is and how she dominates on the mound,” said head coach Allison Miller. “I’m looking forward to Friday.”
Friday’s Softball Classic championship game between Leslie and Grand Ledge is set for 7 p.m. at Ranney Park.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
