Holt vs. Leslie – – Hall of Fame Softball Classic Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 24, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft
This is the second game of the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Softball Classic Semifinals. Here is a play by play of the first game between DeWitt and Laingsburg. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/05/24/dewitt-vs-laingsburg-hall-of-fame-softball-classic-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-24-2023-by-chuck-krafft/
Holt got here by holding off Waverly’s fantastic comeback in the quarterfinal. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/05/24/waverly-vs-holt-hall-of-fame-softball-classic-quarterfinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-23-2023-by-chuck-krafft/
Leslie beat Fowler in the second of last night’s quarterfinals. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/05/24/leslie-vs-fowler-hall-of-fame-softball-classic-quarterfinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-23-2023-by-chuck-krafft/
While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this Boogie Woogie tune from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44
Holt will be the home team and Leslie will bat first.
Here are the starting lineups!
LESLIE BLACKHAWKS:
Gabby Waldofsky cf
Jalen Fossitt ss
Ada Bradford p
Myah Fletcher c
Adrianna Fogg dp
Sarissa Jones 2b
Kay Adair rf
Sahara Burley 1b
Payton Boyer rf
Ella Bugbee will play third base, but will not bat.
HOLT RAMS:
Aliya McFadden 2b
Olivia Root c
Sadie Laubenthal ss
Kaelyn Rozycki 3b
Katie Lackman dp
Eeva Luoma rf
Lola Knox 1b
Paeton Vandlen lf
Lynaee Hill cf
Kara Sandberg will pitch, but will not bat.
It is now time to look through the story of this game through the visage of an aging Bleacher Denizen who will always remember breaking up a no-hitter while he played in Little League. Unfortunately, your Bleacher Denizen was standing in center field when a fly dropped in for a hit, so many of his teammates were no quite as favorably impressed by this turn of events.
Holt Pitcher Kara Sandberg retired the first two Leslie hitters in the top of the first inning on a grounder to third base and a foul popup to the first baseman. Ada Bradford drew a walk. Eliana Trierweiler came into the game as a courtesy runner for Ada Bradford. Kara Sandberg struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Blackhawk Pitcher Ada Bradford retired the three Ram first inning hitters on a strikeout, a bouncer to the pitcher and a popup to first base.
Ram Pitcher Kara Sandberg struck out all three Blackhawk batters in the top of the second inning.
Kaelyn Rozycki singled to center field to lead off the bottom of the second inning for Holt. After Blackhawk Pitcher Ada Bradford struck out the next hitter. Eeva Luoma hit a double to left field; Kaelyn Rozycki advanced to third base. Kaelyn Rozycki scored and Eeva Luoma went to third base on a sacrifice fly to right field by Lola Knox. Ada Bradford struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Holt scored one run in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Holt Pitcher Kara Sandberg retired the first two Leslie hitters in the top of the third inning on a grounder to third base and a strikeout. Gabby Waldofsky beat out a squib for a single. Gabby Waldofsky stole second base and scored when Jalen Fossitt was safe at second base on an error. Ada Bradford bashed a home run over the right field fence. She and Jalen Fossitt scored. Leslie made its third out of the inning on a fly to center field.
Leslie scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Ada Bradford struck out the Holt leadoff batter in the bottom of the third inning. Aliya McFadden drew a walk. Aliya McFadden advanced to second base on a groundout to first base by Olivia Root. Ada Bradford struck out the next Ram hitter to end the inning.
Kyra Sandberg set down the three Leslie fourth inning batters on a grounder to shortstop, a popup to second base and a strikeout.
Katie Lackman led off the bottom of the fourth inning for Holt with a single to right field and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Eeva Luoma. Ada Bradford retired the next batter on a fly to left field. Pinch Hitter Marlie Rehm was out on a popup to third base to end the inning.
After four full innings, Leslie continued to hold a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Kara Sandberg retired the three Blackhawk batters on a roller to the pitcher and two strikeouts.
Ada Bradford struck out the first two Ram hitters in the bottom of the fifth inning and got the third out on a grounder to second base.
Kara Sandberg retired the three Blackhawk hitters in the top of the sixth inning on a grounder to third base, a grounder to second base and a popup to the shortstop.
Ada Bradford retired the Holt leadoff hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning on a grounder to third base. Kaelyn Rozycki was safe at first base on an error and moved to second base on a wild pitch. Ada Bradford retired the next batter on a groundout to the shortstop. Eeva Luoma grounded a single up the middle to drive in Kaelyn Rozycki. Ada Bradford retired the next Ram hitter to end the inning.
Holt scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Leslie lead to 3-2.
Adrianna Fogg led off the top of the seventh inning for Leslie with a double when her soft fly fell between three Ram fielders near home plate. Sarissa Jones sent Adrianna Fogg to third base with a sacrifice bunt. Kay Adair drew a walk and stole second base. Sahara Burley was out at first base on a squib in front of the plate. She drove in Adrianna Fogg and Kay Adair moved to third base. Kara Sandberg struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Leslie scored one run in the top of the seventh inning to extend its lead to 4-2.
Ada Bradford retired the three Holt batters in the bottom of the seventh inning on a fly to the shortstop, a strikeout and a grounder to the shortstop.
Leslie won this game 4-2 and will play DeWitt in the Hall of Fame Softball Classic Final on Friday.
Eeva Luoma had a double, a single and one RBI for Holt. Katie Lackman had two singles. Lola Knox had one RBI.
Kara Sandberg pitched a complete game for Holt. She allowed four runs and three hits while striking out nine batters.
Ada Bradford had a home run and two RBI for Leslie. Adrianna Fogg had a double and Gabby Waldofsky had a single.
Ada Bradford pitched the complete game for Leslie. She struck out nine batters while allowing two runs and four hits.