It was one of those situations where the two best teams in the district faced off in the tournament opener and it was the Chelsea softball team held off Pinckney 9-7 to advance to Saturday’s district semifinals.
MHSAA baseball and softball do not seed their tournament brackets, so it is random draw for the placement of teams, and it was unluck for the two teams that they were drawn to face each other right off the bat.
The two teams had split their doubleheader during the regular season and Wednesday’s game was a battle until the end.
Chelsea started quickly with a run scoring ground out by Ella Root and RBI double by Kylie Beckel for a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the second with an RBI triple by Dani Wahl and two out RBI double by Avery Lay to make it 4-0 Chelsea.
Pinckney bounced back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 4-2.
In the fourth, Root came through with a clutch two out two-run single to push the Bulldogs lead to 6-3.
Pinckney got one back in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-4, but the Bulldogs answered with a two out run-scoring double by Beckel to make it 7-4 in the sixth.
Things got close in the bottom of the sixth when the Pirates scored a pair to cut the Chelsea lead to 7-6.
Wahl and Jenna Ouellette opened the seventh with singles and a sacrifice bunt move them over to second and third with one out. After a pop up for the second out, Root came to the plate and once again came through with a huge two out single to drive in two runs to make it 9-6 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
An error and a single put the first two Pirates one and a one out single plated a run to cut the lead to 9-7. A ground out moved the runners up and put the tying run at second, but Tori Parisho got a strike out to end the game and advance the Bulldogs to Saturday.
Root had a huge game with the two clutch hits and five RBI.
Beckel also had a big day at the plate with two big RBI doubles for Chelsea. Lay added two hits and an RBI, Ouellette two hits and three runs scored, and Absher two hits and two runs scored.
Wahl was clutch near the bottom of the lineup for Chelsea with three hits, and RBI, and two runs scored. Charlotte Diesing added a hit and run scored.
Parisho struck out eight in the circle for the win for the Bulldogs.
Chelsea also received news that they received a pair of forfeits from Jackson for a doubleheader that was postponed twice. The two wins clinched the SEC White title for the Bulldogs with a 14-2 conference record in the SEC White.
The Bulldogs improved to 22-10 overall and will take on Livonia Clarenceville at 10:00 Saturday in Chelsea. The winner will face Father Gabriel Richard in the finals at noon after Redford Union dropped out of the tournament.
Photos by Dawn and Dennis McCann
