Onaway outlasts softball heavyweights to win a district title

The Cardinal softball team had a watershed moment last Saturday at the district tournament in Rogers City. With 18 shutout innings from senior pitcher Tarci Amyotte, timely hits, and key defensive plays, the girls outlasted some of Division IV?s softball heavyweights in the tournament, and emerged as a program to not be taken lightly any longer.

The Cards (21-6) needed 11 innings to eliminate Rogers City, 4-0 and then knocked off the defending district champs, Posen, by a score of 5-0.

The girls advanced to the regional tournament at Johannesburg-Lewiston Saturday morning against Rapid River. Game time is scheduled for 10 a.m. The other two teams in the tournament are Central Lake and Harbor Light Christian. The winners of both games will meet in the regional championship game. It?s Onaway?s first softball district title since 2000. Jodi Brewbaker, who returned to the dugout this season, was the last coach to lead the Cardinals to a district championship.

She gave both game balls to Amyotte when the team celebrated at the pitcher?s mound. When the final out was recorded against Posen in the district title game, the righthander did the most celebrating, leaping into the arms of her batterymate Serena Green.

And when Brewbaker accepted the district championship trophy, she gave it to Amyotte, who held it high over her head and spontaneously started jumping up and down with it. SATURDAY?S DISTRICT tournament featured four teams ranked in the top 10 of Division IV. The Huron softball program, who played in the state title game in 2004, was ranked 10th and had the advantage of playing on the friendly confines of their own field and in front of a large contingent of their own fans. The Cards were ranked ninth, but played as is they were going against a nameless opponent. It did not seem to matter that the opponent in the other dugout was from Rogers City.

Amyotte started by setting down the first nine Hurons, three on strikeouts. Onaway mustered only one base runner through the first three innings, Serena Green, who singled off Rogers City?s Chelsie Plume. She stole second and third before Christy Kowalski grounded out.

The Cards had a runner in scoring position in the fourth, but Danielle Chapman was gunned down by several feet trying to score from second on a single by Amanda Pomranke.

Rogers City?s leadoff hitter, Moni Cercone, started the bottom of the fourth inning with a double. She stole third, and then held there, as Katie Tulgestke was safe on a fielder?s choice. Tulgestke stole second, setting up a great scoring chance for the Hurons. But Amyotte struck out the number three and four batters and got Chelsie Brege to ground out, to keep the game scoreless.

Onaway dodged a bullet in the fifth when Plume ripped a liner down the rightfield line with a runner on second that went inches foul. If the ball had been fair the run would have easily scored.

With their first of six chances to win the game in their last at bat, Rogers City threatened in the sixth inning. Tulgestke singled up the middle with one out and stole second. With the potential winning run on second base, Amyotte faced Fairbanks, who worked the count to 3 and 2, and then fouled off six pitches before striking out.

INTO EXTRA innings, the Cards had runners on second and third, courtesy of a hit batter, a single and a passed ball, but Plume struck out Ashlee Bishop in the top of the seventh. In the Hurons?s half of the inning, again the host team had the potential winning run on second when Plume reached base on an error. But the threat ended when Amyotte struck out Heather Kowalski.

A pair of two-out walks were wasted in the Cardinal eighth when Plume struck out Bridget Bednark with two runners on board. A lead-off walk to Pomranke, who reached base three times with a walk and two singles, was all the Cards could manage in their half of the ninth inning.

The Hurons went 1-2-3 in the ninth and again in the tenth innings. In the Cardinal tenth, a nice play by Heather Kowalski at second base, tagging the runner going by and firing to first for the double play, nixed a potential rally. Rogers City went down in their first half of the tenth without scoring setting up the deciding inning.

With the score still deadlocked at 0-0, Onaway received the break they needed as a liner by Chapman fell inches inside the rightfield line for a triple. Bednark then came to the plate and broke the scoreless tie with a triple of her own. Pomranke singled her home.

After two outs were recorded in the inning, Bishop was hit by a pitch and was followed by a two-RBI double by Kowalski. Amyotte came on to finish off Rogers City in the top of the 11th. The Hurons got two runners on with two out in the bottom of the eleventh, but Fairbanks was cut down trying to gain third, after Brege had flied out to right, to end the game.

Amyotte shut out the Hurons on just four hits, striking out eight while walking only one. Brewbaker said she had been pitching Amyotte more in recent weeks to prepare her for a situation such as the one that presented itself Saturday.

?The last two weeks we?ve had Tarci pitch in both games just in case something like the first game happened, and it did,? said Amyotte. ?It worked out for us in the end.?

THE SENIOR kept it going in the district title game against the defending district champs, fifth ranked Posen, who had knocked off fourth ranked Hillman. Again, it did not seem to matter who the opponent was on the other side, but this time with a lot less drama.

After a scoreless first, Chapman was again the wick to start the scoring, as she singled and stole second. It was the first of three straight hits for Chapman. After a strikeout by Bednark against Posen starter Jenny Ciarkowski, Pomranke reached base on an error by the first baseman, which allowed Chapman to make it home. It took the Cards 11 innings to push one across in the previous game, but less than two against Posen. The next two batters went down in order.

In the top of the third, Bishop led off with a walk and was followed by a pair of outs by Kowalski and Amyotte. Danielle Cleaver then had one of her two singles to put runners on first and third. Chapman then hit a hard grounder to the pitcher, but the ball got away from Ciarkowski. She could not get the ball to make a play, scoring Bishop. Bednark then hit a grounder to the first baseman, who committed her second error in as many innings, to score Cleaver. That made the score 3-0 and shifted all the pressure to Posen?s shoulders.

Posen put base runners on in each of the next three innings, but could not get the big hit off Onaway?s ace. Posen?s best threat came in the bottom of the fifth. With two out, the Vikes had runners on second and third, but Amyotte struck out Posen?s number five hitter for the final out in the inning.

Onaway finally scored the final two runs of

the game in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back singles by Kowalski and Amyotte, Cleaver reached base on an error, which scored the fourth run of the game. Onaway made it 5-0 on Bednark?s sacrifice fly. Posen put runners on second and third with two outs, before Megan Haske struck out to end the contest.

?They came out and they won the ball game,? said Posen coach Glenn Budnick. ?They came out and they earned it. They have a good program, and they showed it today on the field.? Cleaver and Chapman combined for five of Onaway?s 10 hits. Amyotte struckout seven, walked three, and gave up six hits.

If Onaway wins a regional title, they would advance to a quarterfinal game at Gaylord.

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