Panthers go 6-0 in final two days of action to win tournament
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Hosting the first annual Presque Isle Girls? Softball (PIGS) tournament over the weekend at the Little League Fields, Sports Park (The Hole) and Gilpin field, the 18 and under Presque Isle Panthers ended their season with a bang, with their first tournament championship, ever. The tournament didn?t start the way the Panthers would have liked as they fell to Unionville Sebawing Area (USA) 12-2 under the lights at the Hole on Friday at 10:30 p.m.
In the top of the first inning the Panthers scored two on an error, a single by Lindsay Ponik and a two RBI single by Emily Marx. USA answered with four in the bottom of the first, and added four in each the second and third innings while the Panthers mustered just two more hits in the contest, one more by Ponik and one by Christina Bednarski. Katie Darga started the game on the mound and was relieved by LeAnn Buczkowski and Logan Schuiteman in the loss.
?It was not the way we wanted the PIGS tourney tourney to start, but it sure got a lot better after this game as the Panthers went on a six-game winning streak to get the trophy,? said manager Mike Tulgestke. SATURDAY WAS a new day for the Panthers as they started the day defeating the Hartland Heat 10-3. Ponik went the distance on the mound allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three.
Going into the bottom of the second trailing 1-0, the Panthers broke it open with eight runs on seven hits, one walk and an error. Marx led off the inning with a double and was doubled home by Buczkowski. Bednarski then walked before Darga had an RBI single. Leann Strzelecki then reached on an error before Greta Grambau and Schuiteman had singles and were driven home on a Katie Tulgestke two RBI single. Ponik then smashed a triple for the final hit of the inning.
Hartland added two in the bottom of the fourth but the Panthers sealed it on yet another two RBI hit by Marx in the bottom of the fifth to take the 10-3 win. UP AGAINST the Alpena Thundercats Saturday afternoon, Schuiteman took the ball going the distance allowing just one hit while walking three. The Panthers won the game 9-0 as they scored three in the first, one in the third and five in the fifth for the mercy rule shortened win.
Allie Nave was 2-3 with three RBI in the contest, Tulgestke was 1-1 with two walks and three runs scored and Marx was 1-2 with a walk and two runs. UNDER THE LIGHTS on Saturday night against Line Drive Express of Midland, the Panthers gave Line Drive their first loss of the tournament in a 3-1 game. Buczkowski went all seven innings allowing one unearned run in the seventh allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out two.
In the bottom of the first inning, Tulgestke walked and moved to second on a wild pitch before Nave walked and Ponik bounced into a fielder?s choice on an outstanding play by the second baseman. Marx then stepped to the plate and hit a two RBI triple down the left field line to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. The score would stay 2-0 until the sixth inning when Schuiteman hit a one-out single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Tulgestke then stepped to the plate and ripped an RBI single to score Schuiteman.
Nave mustered another hit for the Panthers who only had four hits in the contest but made them count as they were RBI hits giving them the 3-1 win. SUNDAY MORNING began single elimination bracket play as the Panthers squared off with Hartland at 8:30. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a single by Tulgeskte and a Ponik RBI. Hartland answered with five in the second inning on five hits and a walk.
Trailing 5-1 the Panthers came in and scored in the second when Bednarski walked and was singled home by LeAnn Strzelecki to make the score 5-2. In the third, the Panthers added one more when Schuiteman singled and was sacrificed to second by Tulgestke, seeing no one covering third Schuiteman, took third on the sacrifice and scored on a Nave bounce out to bring the score to 5-3.
In the fourth the Panthers regained the lead as they scored three runs in the frame. Marx had a double and scored on a Buczkowski RBI single. Bednarski followed with a single before Strzelecki ripped a two RBI single to take a 6-5 lead. The Panthers added two more in the fifth as Schuiteman led off the inning with a triple and scored on a Tulgestke single. Tulgestke later scored on a RBI sacrifice hit by Marx. Hartland was able to add one in the sixth but with the time limit expiring in the home half of the inning the Panthers took the 8-6 victory.
BEHIND THE arm of Buczkowski, who allowed six hits and one walk while striking out two in a seven inning outing, the Panthers then defeated the Macomb Vipers at the Hole to earn a spot in the finals. The only time Buczkowski faced more than four batters in an inning was in the seventh when she allowed a one-out walk and a two out single before getting a popout to Strzelecki at second base to end the inning and the game. Schuiteman singled in the first followed by a Tulgestke walk. Nave then sacrificed them to second and third before Ponik stepped to the plate and singled to right field for two RBI?s for the only scoring of the game.
Schuiteman finished the game 2-3, Nave was 2-2 with a sacrifice, Ponik was 1-2 with 2 RBI and Bednarski was 1-2. Late in the game a Macomb player ripped a ball over left fielder Katie Darga?s head. Darga got to the ball and fired it to Tulgestke who then turned around and threw a strike to Marx at the plate to throw out the Viper runner who was trying to stretch the hit into a homerun with the deep fences. IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP game against USA, Buczkowski took the mound again for another gem as she went the distance allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out four in a 5-0 victory.
In the first inning Schuiteman was hit by a pitch to start the game. Tulgestke then sacrificed her to second before Nave hit an RBI single to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead with a runner on. Ponik then reached on an error and Marx, with two strikes on her, ripped an RBI single to make the lead 2-0. The game stayed that way until the fifth inning when Strzlecki led off with a single,.Schuiteman sacrificed her to second and Tulgestke walked before Nave ripped a 2-run triple off the fence in left field to make it 4-0. Nave then scored on a bounce out by Ponik to give the Panthers the 5-0 lead.
?Coming back to beat USA in the championship game 5-0 was huge. The coaches could not be more proud of the way these girls stuck together and battled some very tough teams,? said manager Tulgestke. Numerous outstanding defensive plays aided the championship win as Bednarski had a diving catch in right field in the top of the fifth, Darga threw out a runner at third to end the fifth and Nave had a diving catch
Coach Tulgestke was pleased with the play of his team, ?Some great defense to back up an outstanding pitching performance, some timely sacrifice bunts and huge base hits were all part of this game to bring home a trophy,? he said. TULGESTKE SAID he could not have written a better script for the tournament in his dreams and thanked the volunteers, fans, coaches, parents and all involved on making the tournament a success.
?This is a big win for us, being at home in front of our family and friends and playing against some formidable opponents in both the semi-finals and the finals are all part of the fun of summer travel softball for the Panthers. This was our last tournament of the summer and we hope to continue doing this for the girls of our area as long as there is an interest in it,? said Tulgestke who appreciates the fans? interest in the Panthers this season.