Takeaways: Marlatt's hot start continues in JoBurg's sweep of Inland Lakes, baseball swept
JOHANNESBURG — Through 40-degree temperatures and gusting winds, Johannesburg-Lewiston and Inland Lakes played some of the most important baseball and softball games of their season on Friday, April 19.
An undefeated JoBurg baseball team faced off with Inland Lakes, a team that hasn't lost a Ski Valley Conference matchup in two consecutive seasons, welcoming the Bulldogs to the Cardinals' home field for the first time in two seasons. Meanwhile, last year's softball SVC co-champions met feet away on the JoBurg Softball diamond, deciding who would enter the heart of the conference schedule with the top spot in the standings.
In the end, things played out as many may have expected.
Senior Jayden Marlatt was too much for IL softball to handle as JoBurg softball swept past the Bulldogs (5-1, 13-3 final scores) to stay unbeaten in 2024 while JoBurg baseball was overwhelmed by the IL offense, getting swept themselves (14-1, 14-2 final scores) for the first two losses of the Cardinals' season.
Here are the key takeaways from the pivotal doubleheaders on Friday:
Nothing, no one slowing down Marlatt
Everyone in the softball world knew how good JoBurg senior Jayden Marlatt was entering her final season this spring, but the numbers she was putting up through the first six games of 2024 were on another level. She was batting a staggering .789 from the plate with three home runs and 15 RBIs while earning three wins from the circle, racking up 40 strikeouts with zero earned runs in those appearances.
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It seemed like the jump in talent they would face with Inland Lakes coming to town would slow her down.
It didn't.
It was another full box score for Marlatt; she went 2-for-3 in game one with a run scored, followed by a 4-for-4 game two performance with a home run, a triple and five runs batted in. From the circle, she got the win in game one with one unearned run and 14 strikeouts while coming back in for a save in game two, striking out the only two batters she faced to end an IL threat.
Through eight games, Marlatt's numbers are becoming even more ridiculous; an .808 batting average with 21 hits,19 RBIs and four home runs and still an unblemished ERA with 56 strikeouts.
IL runs away with both games, JL suffers first losses
Meanwhile, while the JoBurg baseball team had been off to a similar start as the softball program, the jump in talent from Mio and Pellston to Inland Lakes was a bit too much to handle.
Facing the reigning Ski Valley Player of the Year Connor Wallace on the mound, JL's offense was as cold as the weather, mustering three hits and one run against the Grand Rapids Community College signee. Meanwhile, IL used six hits of their own and six JoBurg errors to score 14 runs, five coming in the first inning while another seven came in the last inning.
Game two was more of the same, with IL's Cash DePauw completely shutting down the Cardinals' offense through five innings while the Bulldogs' Aidan Fenstermaker went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI.
It seems that Inland Lakes is still the team to beat in the SVC, and the Cardinals will need to hope for some help from one of their SVC opponents to upend the Bulldogs to get back in the title race.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Johannesburg-Lewiston softball sweeps, Inland Lakes baseball wins two
