Strong field awaits Eddies at Division 2 regional

Published 8:24 am Thursday, June 9, 2016

The Edwardsburg softball team will put its school record 32 wins on the line in the Division 2 regional tournament in Stevensville.

The Eddies (32-5) will face Coldwater (30-6) in the second semifinal at Lakeshore High School at approximately noon Saturday.

St. Joseph (24-9) and Wolverine Conference champion Vicksburg (32-8) will square off in the first semifinal at 10 a.m.

Edwardsburg captured the championship at the Dowagiac district with a 4-3 win over Niles in the title game. Coldwater won the Harper Creek district with a 9-0 win over the host school.

St. Joseph defeated South Haven 7-2 at its own district, while Vicksburg mauled Sturgis 17-0 at the Trojan’s district Monday. The championship game was postponed due to weather Saturday.

“I know Coldwater has an excellent team with very good athletes,” Edwardsburg coach Randy Brooks said. “I hear they run really well. Their catcher is a four-year starter with a good arm. Both of their pitchers get ahead in the count and then try to get batters to chase.”

Tyler Scheid tossed a three-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks in the championship game against Harper Creek.

Payton Watson was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs from the lead-off spot for the Cardinals. Jamie Wellett doubled and drove in a run, while Kendall Galloway was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

In the opening win over Olivet, Scheid tossed a three-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks.

Wellet and Watson both doubled. Watson was 3-for-4 in the contest.

While Brooks and the Eddies will look at some tendencies for the Cardinals, their preparation will focus mainly on themselves.

“We don’t worry about opponent’s we try to prepare for them, but we still feel fundamentals of fielding, playing catch, pitching and hitting don’t change and try to focus on our execution of those skills,” he said.

Brooks feels the St. Joseph-Vicksburg game will be a toss up.

“Both teams hae good players and will be tough to beat,” he said. “We don’t care who makes it out of that side of the bracket. We just need to take care of ourselves against Coldwater.”

Edwardsburg swept St. Joseph and was swept by Vicksburg earlier this season.

The Eddies played last weekend’s district without starter Kailee Claire, who has suffered a season-ending injury.

And while Edwardsburg misses her in the line-up, Brooks is hoping the team continues to play through it.

“Losing Kailee for the season really hurts because she is a great player and she plays with a lot of passion and experience,” he said. “However, a couple of sophomores have stepped up and are getting better everyday and I’m confident Jordan Tighe in left and Lexi Clark in center will play well for us the rest of the way.”

Admission is $5 per person and no passes will be accepted.