By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
MARCELLUS — Mendon softball’s state title defense started strong in postseason play Friday, cruising to an 11-1 victory over Marcellus in the MHSAA Division 4 district championship in Marcellus.
Although they got off to a slow start scoring through the first three innings, Mendon used a couple of big innings to secure their sixth straight district championship, those being a five-run fourth inning and a four-run seventh inning. That, plus excellent pitching from Rowan Allen holding Marcellus to one run on one hit, stymied the Wildcats on their home field.
With the win, Mendon moves on to regional semifinals on Saturday, June 6 against Bridgman at home beginning at noon. The winner will take on the winner of Gobles and Colon in the 2 p.m. regional final that day.
For the first couple of innings, the Hornets were being shut down in clutch situations, keeping the Wildcats in the game early. Mendon had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first before Marcellus pitcher Elin Essex induced a strikeout of Sabrina Monroy and a flyout off the bat of Lashell Blair to end the threat.
Essex then gave up just a walk in four batters in the top of the second to get out unscathed, and gave up just one run in the third inning, escaping further damage with the bases loaded and no outs in the third inning by striking out Blair and getting a sharply hit lineout to first base by Natalie Bingaman that resulted in a double play as they got the out at third as well.
With Mendon’s offense being kept in relative check in the early innings, Marcellus couldn’t get much going in that time against Allen, one of the best pitchers in Division 4. Although she hit a couple of batters, she did not give up any hits through the first 11 batters.
The floodgates would open for the Hornets in the top of the fourth, up 1-0, scoring five more. An error by Marcellus’ center fielder allowed a run to scored, followed a couple batters later by an RBI single by Mattea Bingaman with the bases loaded. A sacrifice fly by Cienna Nightingale got the third run of the inning, followed by an RBI groundout by Monroy and an RBI single by Blair to go up 6-0.
Marcellus would get a run back in the bottom of the fourth, as Aubree Kruger would reach on an error by Allen, followed by the lone hit of the game for Marcellus, a Hannah Sharp double to left-center field. Ariah Evans would then reach on an error by Mendon’s third baseman, allowing Kruger to score to make it a 6-1 ballgame.
Mendon would get that run back in the top of the sixth with back-to-back doubles by Mattea Bingaman and Nightingale, with Nightingale getting the RBI, but also getting thrown out at third trying to stretch the double into a triple. Marcellus would threaten in the bottom of the inning after Allen loaded the bases with two outs via walks, getting Carlyn Deer to strike out looking to end what would be the final threat for the Wildcats.
The Hornets would tack on four more runs to seal the deal in the top of the seventh, with an RBI double by Allen, a two-run double by Mattea Bingaman, and a run crossing the plate on an error by Marcellus’ first baseman. Allen would retire the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to send the Hornets to regional play.
Mendon co-head coach Mike Smith praised Allen’s complete game in the circle, giving up just the one run on one hit, striking out 10, walking three, and hitting two batters.
“She’s a workhorse. She’s going to be, I believe in my mind, a four-time First-Team All-Stater,” Smith said. “She’s the heart and soul of this team, and when she’s on the mound and pitching well, we’re tough to beat.”
Smith added he wasn’t worried about the offense early on, noting they start a few freshmen in their regular lineup, and it took time to get them acclimated to the pitching.
“It takes a minute to see what the pitcher’s doing, and kind of get to the point where girls start feeling comfortable,” Smith said. “Our freshmen, they take a minute to get into it, and kind of like Novocain, it takes a while to take going, and once you do, it rolls.”
The top four of the Mendon lineup – seniors Jadyn Samson, Allen, Mattea Bingaman, and Nightingale – were on point in the district finals, going a combined 11-17 with five doubles, seven RBI, and two walks. Samson led the way with four hits, while Mattea Bingaman and Nightingale each had three hits and three RBI. Monroy and Blair each went 1-for-5 with an RBI, while Brynley Jungers had the final hit of the game for Mendon.
Smith said the goal for the Hornets is simple now that they’re past districts – get back to the state finals.
“From day one when we started coaching, we told the girls that’s our goal. Everything else does not matter,” Smith said. “Our goal is to get better and better and hit the playoffs and be ready to play.”
For Marcellus, Sharp got the lone hit of the game and drew a walk for Marcellus, while Essex went the distance, giving up 14 hits and 11 runs, while striking out six and walking five. Allyson Wright and Morgan McClain also walked in Friday afternoon’s contest.
Despite the loss, Marcellus head coach Courtney Weiss was proud of her team’s effort in the game and the entire season, coming into the playoffs on a bit of a hot streak.
“We had our highs and we had our lows, but ultimately, today it showed how hard they have worked throughout the season to get to this point,” Weiss said. “We were playing tight ball, we weren’t letting anything through, we weren’t letting anything drop, and we had one rough inning where they took advantage of the errors, and they capitalized, and a good team will do that.”
Mendon made it to the district finals by defeating White Pigeon 13-1 in the semifinals. Marcellus made the finals by mercying Howardsville Christian 10-0 in six innings in the semifinals.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
