Julian?s shutout performances keep the Vikes in the running for first

The Posen softball had a better hold of things, in more ways than one, by the time the final out was recorded Monday against visiting Au Gres. The Vikings (21-5, 10-2) and Wolverines came into the game with identical 8-2 North Star League records and were in need of sweeps to stay on pace for a share of the conference title with Hillman.

In the end it was Posen knocking Au Gres out of the league race with two low-scoring shut out wins, 4-0 and 1-0. Winning the two ball games put coach Glenn Budnick and company right where they needed to be, plus it gives the coach his fifth consecutive season of having 20 or more victories. ?I?m feeling pretty good, as the phrase goes, you can?t win two until you win one, so our focus will be on game one over in Atlanta, and after that we?ll go from there.?

THE VIKINGS STILL needed to take care of business on Wednesday (past press time) with a sweep of the Huskies. Two more wins in the league will put the pressure on Hillman. Hillman and Mio had their doubleheader Monday postponed until today. The Tigers may find themselves in need of two victories to catch the Vikings and share the crown. If Posen collects the victories it needs against Atlanta, you can bet there will be a contingent of fans on hand rooting for Mio to at least deal the Tigers one loss.

If that scenario plays out, Posen will have itself an outright title. The Vikes have won the last three NSL championships. The girls have a better handle of things in the standings, while junior hurler Beth Julian has a better grip of things on the mound, literally. With so much time between doubleheaders this spring, Budnick had more time to work with the girls in practice and asked Julian to try a different grip in practice as a way for her to have better command of her pitches. Not only did Julian gain more control, but she increased her velocity.

?IT SEEMS to really be working for me,? said Julian. ?They (Au Gres) were swinging at my rise pitch, so that gave me a little bit of help.? Budnick said that since she changed her grip, Julian has pitched four fabulous ball games, including the 14-strikeout performance Monday against the Wolverines. Julian came through with a tremendous pitching performance when it was needed most, as the runs weren?t easy to come by, especially in game two when the Vikes had only two hits. One manufactured run is all Posen could get, but it would be enough. It came in the bottom of the second. Julian started things with a single. Megan Haske was inserted as a pinch runner and stole second on the first pitch. Haske would swipe third and come home on a sacrifice bunt by Roxann Hincka.

The Wolverines couldn?t get anything going against Julian or her smooth-fielding teammates. One of the best late-inning scoring threats for Au Gres came in the top of the fifth with a runner at third. Jenny Gies fouled off several pitches but looked at one too many in the end as Julian fired strike three across the inside part of the plate. That ended the inning.

JULIAN REMEMBERED the battle with Gies: ?I took a step off the rubber, took a deep breath, got a 3-2 count , and that was it.? Budnick was manufacturing runs in game one, as well. Catcher Mary Calhoun had one of her two singles in the bottom of the second. She stole second and was sacrificed to third by Hincka. With two out, a wild pitch brought her home. Courtney Romel sacrificed Ama

nda Pieczynski home the next inning after Pieczynski hustled her way around the bases. She struck out but took first on a passed ball and then stole second and third. Jenny Ciarkowski had a bunt single that scored Katie Lewandowski to give Posen a 3-0 lead. Lewandowski delivered a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth for the final scoring. The girls only had six hits in the doubleheader, so that is a concern, unless they were to play Brimley again. Posen didn?t need many hits, as Brimley pitchers gave the Vikings 30 free passes — 10 in a game one 15-0 win and 20 in a 26-0 whitewash of the Bays in game two.

BRIMLEY IS just getting its program going and may look to schedule Vanderbilt instead of Posen next season. There were some interesting highlights in the doubleheader, even though the caliber was far from what is needed so close to districts. Megan Pieczynski had a two RBI triple in game one and finished with three RBI. Ciarkowski had a two RBI single. Elyse Perrault had her first varsity hit, a triple with the bases loaded, while Lewandowski had four trips to the plate in the three-inning game, and walked each time. With the Atlanta games already in the books and 10 days before districts, it was understandable that Budnick was more than pleased to fill the void with some games. Baseball coach Pat Kowalski went fishing for some competition and found that Oscoda was interested, so Oscoda will be visiting next Wednesday at 4 p.m. for a pair of baseball and softball games. Districts are June 4 in Onaway.