DeWitt at Portland – – Softball Doubleheader First Game – – The Bleacher Denizen – – April 14, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, the Bleacher Denizen’s travels take him to Portland High, where the hometown Raiders will host the Panthers from DeWitt in a softball doubleheader.

As we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this novelty comedy video of “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” from my You Tube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

Here are the starting lineups. DeWitt is the visiting team and will bat first.

DEWITT

Ruby Puck ss

Tess Rypstra 2b

Ellery Harshman cf

Madeline Torrence 3b

Emily Agnew dp

Mikayla Kent c

Kaydence Ballinger p

Caroline Chumbley 1b

Mayah Walker lf

London Montgomery will play right field, but will not bat.

PORTLAND

Bella Spitzley p

Veda Smith rf

Lilly Thelen cf

Molli Miilu ss

Rylee Miller 1b

Madison Daggett 3b

Brynn Nelson lf

Willa Aimey c

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the hopefully observant eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to get his baseball career going. It seems that while umpires and opposing catchers appreciated the cooling breezes generated by the Bleacher Denizen’s flailing swings, his coach did not.

Raider Centerfielder Lilly Thelen made a great catch running in to retire the Panther leadoff batter in the top of the first inning. Tess Rypstra dropped a single into short center field and stole second base. Tess Rypstra went to third base on a single to left field by Ellery Harshman. Ellery Harshman stole second base. Madeline Torrence singled to left field to drive Tess Rypstra and Ellery Harshman home. Madeline Torrence advanced to second base on a throw to home plate.

Portland Pitcher Bella Spitzley struck out the next Panther batter. When the third strike was dropped, Portland had to throw to first base to get the batter out. Madeline Torrence took off for third base and scored on a throwing error. DeWitt made its third out on a fly to center field.

DeWitt scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead.

Panther Pitcher Kaydence Ballinger retired the first two Raider hitters in the top of the first inning on popups to the shortstop. Lilly Thelen singled up the middle. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next batter on a popup to first base to end the inning.

Bella Spitzley retired the first two DeWitt batters on a grounder to third base and a fly to right field. Center Fielder Lilly Thelen made an excellent catch running in on a sinking line drive by Mayah Walker for the third out.

Rylee Miller lined a single to center field to lead off the bottom of the second inning for Portland. She advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Carley Bower. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next two Raider batters on popups to third base and to shortstop to end the inning.

After two innings, DeWitt had a 3-0 lead.

Ruby Puck led off the top of the third inning for DeWitt with a walk. Tess Rypstra lined a single to left field and Ruby Puck advanced to second base. Ruby Puck advanced to third base and Tess Rypstra to second base on a passed ball. Bella Spitzley struck out the next Panther batter. Madeline Torrence lined a single to left field to drive Ruby Puck and Tess Rypstra home. Madeline Torrence advanced to second base on the throw home.

Bella Spitzley retired the next hitter on a grounder to the shortstop. When the runner tried to advance to third base, Raider First Baseman Rylee Miller fired the ball to third base to retire the runner and end the inning.

DeWitt scored two runs in the top of the third inning to boost its lead to 5-0.

Kaydence Ballinger retired the Raider leadoff batter in the bottom of the third inning on a grounder to the shortstop. Bella Spitzley blasted a double to deep left field and went to third base when Veda Smith was safe at first base on an error. Veda Smith stole second base. Lilly Thelen belted a double off the left field fence to drive Bella Spitzley and Veda Smith home.

Lilly Thelen advanced to third base on a fly out to center field by Molly Miilu. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Raider hitter on a liner to center field to end the inning.

Portland scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to trim the DeWitt lead to 5-2.

Mikayla Kent walked to lead off the top of the fourth inning for DeWitt and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Kaydence Ballinger drew a walk. Kelsie Queen entered the game as a courtesy runner for Kaydence Ballinger. Caroline Chumbley walked to load the bases with no one out. Mikayla Kent scored, Kelsie Queen advanced to third base and Caroline Chumbley to second base on a wild pitch.

Kelsie Queen scored and Caroline Chumbley advanced to third base on an RBI groundout to the shortstop by Myah Walker. Caroline Chumbley scored on an RBI groundout to third base by Ruby Puck. Tess Rypstra grounded a single to right field and advanced to second base when Ellery Harshman was hit by a pitch. Bella Spitzley retired the next Panther batter on a fly to center field to end the inning.

DeWitt scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning to push its lead to 8-2.

DeWitt Catcher Mikayla Kent made a nice running catch of a foul popup to retire Portland’s leadoff batter in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Raider hitter on a grounder to first base. Brynn Nelson singled to right field.

Emilay Agnew moved to third base for DeWitt. Madeline Torrence moved to second base. Tess Rypstra moved to center field and Ellery Harshman went to right field. Kaydence Ballinger struck out the next Raider batter to end the inning.

Molli Miilu came in to pitch for Portland and Bella Spitzley moved to shortstop.

Emily Agnew walked to lead off the top of the fifth inning for DeWitt. Molli Miilu struck out the next three Panther hitters to end the inning.

Bella Spitzley grounded a single to left field to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for Portland and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Veda Smith. Lilly Thelen singled to right field to drive Bella Spitzley home. She advanced to second base on an error. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Raider batter on a line drive to shortstop. Rylee Miller walked. Ruby Puck made a fine running catch of a fly up the middle to end the inning.

Molli Miilu retired the Panther leadoff batter in the top of the sixth inning on a grounder to third base. Ruby Puck lined a single to center field and went to second base on a single to right field by Tess Rypstra. Ruby Puck was out at third base and Ellery Harshman safe at first on a fielder’s choice grounder to third base. Tess Rypstra took second base on the play.

Madeline Torrence singled to drive Tess Rypstra home. Portland Catcher Willa Almey made a fine throw to third base to catch the runner trying to advance for the third out.

DeWitt scored one run in the top of the sixth inning to extend its lead to 9-3.

DeWitt Pitcher Kaydence Ballinger retired the three Portland hitters in the sixth inning on a grounder to shortstop where Ruby Puck made and excellent pick, a fly to center field and another grounder to the shortstop.

Emily Agnew walked to lead off the top of the seventh inning for DeWitt. Emily Agnew was out at second base and Mikayla Kent safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. Molly Miilu retired the next two hitters on a fly to second base and a bouncer to the pitcher to end the inning.

Kaydence Ballinger retired the first two Portland batters in the bottom of the seventh inning on a line drive to third base and a popup to first base. Lilly Thelen lined a single to center field and advanced to third base on a single to right field by Molly Miilu. Portland’s next hitter was out on a grounder to third base to end the game.

DeWitt won the first game of this doubleheader by the score of 9-3.

Lilly Thelen had a double, three singles and three RBI for Portland. Bella Spitzley had a double and a single. Molli Miilu, Brynn Nelson and Rylee Miller each had a single.

Bella Spitzley pitched four innings for the Raiders. Molli Miilu pitched three innings and allowed only on run.

Tess Rypstra had four singles for DeWitt. Madeline Torrence had three singles and five RBI. Ruby Puck had a single and one RBI. Mayah Walker had one RBI.

Kaydence Ballinger pitched the complete game for DeWitt.