ON TO MSU: Eskymos Survive In Extra Inning Win

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MT. PLEASANT---When opportunity knocks, you’ve got to answer. Amd Clara Braun took advantage of her opportunity on Tuesday as the Escanaba Eskymos faced Hudsonville Unity Christian in a MHSAA Division Two state quarterfinal game at Central Michigan University.

Braun, normally batting in the No. 9 spot at the bottom of the order, was moved to the No. 2 spot with the absence of the usual No. 2 hitter. And Braun took advantage, ripping a two-run single up the middle in the top of the eighth inning to help the Eskymos beat the Crusaders, 3-0, sending the Orange ad Black into the Final Four at Michigan State University.

“You just want to be there for your team, and do it for them, so you just have to go in with confidence, and trusting yourself that you can do it,” Braun said. “Just make contact with the ball and put it in play. She was throwing good strikes early in the count, so you knew to swing early and attack. That’s been our motto all year: attack early and jump on it.”

And while Braun provided the clutch extra inning base hit, it took several outstanding defensive plays to keep the game tied and to force extra innings. Center fielder Addison Noblet had two of those plays, robbing Molly Versluis with running catches in both the fourth and seventh innings. The second one was a sure extra base hit if she didn’t catch it.

“I feel fantastic, I can’t even describe how I feel, being with these girls and winning,” Noblet said.

How did she catch those two fly balls?

“I have no idea,” she said. “I just booked it as fast as I could and just hoping to get there. I’m thinking ‘oh shoot, oh shoot, oh shoot, and then I’m just booking it. It’s euphoric. It’s so amazing when your team is there cheering you on when you make the play. It’s so much fun.”

It wasn’t just her. Shortstop Maddy Mott tracked down a fly ball that was also a sure base hit in that bottom of the seventh inning when the Crusaders were trying to walk it off. Instead, we went extra innings.

And of course, Grayson LaMarche. The University of Michigan recruit allowed only two hits, striking out 14 batters, and not even coming close to walking a batter.

“Grayson kept us in it,” Eskymo Manager Andy Fields said. “This is the game of softball, and sometimes you hit, sometimes you don’t. It took us eight innings to get hitting. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She pitched a gem. It’s exciting. My beard is more gray than it was when we got here today.”

Mary Kate Tourangeau was an unsung hero. She almost never bats, being used as a courtesy runner most of the time. But today, she was pressed into service and got on base twice by getting hit by pitches. And her slide at home plate to score Escanaba’s second run was textbook.

Escanaba’s late-game heroics overshadowed a great effort by the Unity Christian team, which came into the game ranked #2 in the state behind Escanaba and with a 35-4 record.

Crusaders pitcher Makenzie Cammenga was darn good, allowing just three hits, striking out ten batters, and giving her team a fighting chance. And second baseman Sydney Racey caught a line drive off the bat of Mott in the third inning.

Unity Christian Coach Dave Vander Meer, who has coached softball in the Hudsonville area for 25 years, pointed to four plays that were the difference, with Mott’s catch in the seventh inning being the biggest.

For the Eskymos, it’s a school record 40th win of the season, and it sends them into the state semifinals Thursday afternoon against Richmond.

The Blue Devils (30-7) beat Goodrich, 6-0, Tuesday night, in their quarterfinal.

“Man, this team is something special,” Fields said.

Game time on Thursday is set for 12;30 and we will broadcast, starting with the pre-game show at noon, on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.