By By TOM NYHUIS and ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – After both Buchanan and the Niles varsity softball teams were swept by Mishawaka on Thursday and Friday, it was time for the two Michigan teams to face each other Saturday morning at Twin Branch Park playing in the Caveman Classic.
In the first game of the day, Buchanan fought back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 6-3 victory over the Vikings.
The two teams met again later in the afternoon for the consolation game of the tournament, where Niles rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 2-1 win from the Lady Bucks.
Each team finished the tournament with 1-3 records.
In game one, Niles put the first runs on the scoreboard. A lead off single by Shelly Aurnad, who scored with the help of Buchanan's only error of the game, off the bat of Demi Schrader. Patty Anton picked up the Vikes' second run of the inning with a single.
Jenna Ignowski, handling the pitching duties for the Vikings, struck out the first six Lady Buck batters and seemed to be very much in command.
Destyni Dolan broke Ignowski's strike out streak as she started the third inning with a base hit. Ingnowski picked up her seventh stirke out on the next batter. Taylor Krumrie moved Dolan along with a sacrifice bunt. Emily Ross singled and Dolan and Ross each moved up a base on a passed ball as Viking catcher Nicole Ignowski's throw to second skipped to the outfield. Dolan raced home and Heather Daniels' throw from the outfield missed a Viking infielder and allowed Ross to cross the dish to tie the game at two.
Ashley Pointer, in the circle for Buchanan, cut down the Lady Vikings in the top of the third, while the Buchanan bats continued to stay active. Holly Lucas started the fourth with a single and Jayme O'Bryant tripled over the head of Daniels in right field to score Lucas. Alexis Lenox singled to push O'Bryant in for a Buchanan 4-2 lead.
"We are a little disappointed … no … not a little disappointed, we are really disappointed with the way we have hit the ball this year," Buchanan coach Mike Welsh said after the win. "We have too many good athletes on this team for this to happen and sooner or later we are going to bust out and that's what I told them and they just kept battling and you see what happens when you put the bat on the ball."
Niles coach Jim Arnold was also upset with the way his team hit the ball during the entire tournament.
"We really struggled this week offensively. We're leaving too many runners in scoring position. We played giveaway in the first game with Buchanan, making two errors on the same play. They (Buchanan) roughed Jenna up in the fourth and sixth with some pretty solid contact. Give credit to Buchanan, they were much hungrier than we were and they hit the ball well," Arnold said.
In the sixth, the Lady Bucks added two insurance runs. Ignowski started the inning by striking out the first two Buck batters. Lenox stepped up to the plate and singled. Courtney Miller followed with a single. A throwing error on Schrader in center field allowed Lenox to cross the plate. Dolan picked up her teams sixth run of the game with an RBI single for a 6-2 lead heading into the seventh. Ignowski picked up strike out number 14 to end the inning.
Niles pushed a single run across in the top of the seventh on a single by Jenna Ignowski and a RBI single by Daniels.
Pointer (8-7) scattered seven hits in the game, striking out seven and walking one for the win.
Ignowski gave up eight hits in picking up the loss.
"She pitched 131 pitches in the first game yesterday and 99 in the second game and she was running a little low on fuel you might say," Arnold said following the loss to Buchanan. "She wasn't spotting the ball like she normally does. She got through the first couple of innings alright, but she just wasn't putting the ball where we wanted her to put it."
All the scoring action in the teams consolation game came in the seventh. Niles threatened to score several times in the game, but Pointer was able to pitch her way out of the jams to keep the game scoreless.
On the other side, the Lady Bucks struggled to pick up a hit being limited to just one through six innings as Jenna Ignowski went back into the circle for the Vikings.
The top of the seventh saw Lucas open the inning for the Bucks with a single. O'Bryant laid down a bunt to move her to second. Again, it was freshman Lenox coming through with an RBI single to score Lucas and the Lady Bucks holding a 1-0 edge.
A lead off single by Karly Kennedy and a walk to Nicole Ignowski followed by a error by Miller at second for the Bucks loaded the bags with Viking base runners. With one out Schrader singled for the game winning hit as Kennedy and Ignowski crossed the plate for the 2-1 come from behind win.
Ignowski struck out 10 in picking up the win for the Vikings. Pointer gave up seven hits and four walks and struck out five picking up the loss.
Game 1
Niles 020 000 1 – 3 7 3
Buchanan 002 202 x -6 8 1
WP – Ashley Pointer
LP – Jenna Ignowski
2B – Jenna Ignowski (N)
3B – Jayme O'Bryant
Mult Hits
Destyni Dolan (B) 2- 1B
Alexis Lenox (B) 2- 1B
Heather Daniels (N) 2- 1B
Jenna Ignowski (N) 1B, 2B
Game 2
Buchanan 000 0 0 1 – 1 3 3
Niles 000 000 2 – 2 7 0
WP – Jenna Ignowski
LP – Ashley Pointer (8-8)
Multi Hits
Cricket Fisher (N) 2- 1B
Demi Schrader (N) 2- 1B