Laingsburg vs. Leslie – – Hall of Fame Softball Classic Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 22, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft
Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen will be at Ranney Park near Frandor in Lansing to cover the Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal Games. Bob Every, the Hall of Fame Director has the field groomed really well; you might actually want to come to the game to see this beautiful field!! Of course, there will also be some good softball played.
In tonight’s first game, the Leslie Blackhawks will compete with the Laingsburg Wolfpack for a spot in Friday’s final game.
Leslie got here by defeating Holt in a quarterfinal game.
Laingsburg defeated Lansing Catholic Central to earn its spot in tonight’s game.
Here are the starting lineups. Leslie won the coin toss and will bat last.
LAINGSBURG
Ashley Bila ss
Savvy Stirm 1b
Bella Latuszek 2b
Addy Buchin p
Peyton Stahr 3b
Ella Merrell cf
Harper Strause c
Alaina Asher lf
Alayna Merrell rf
LESLIE
Gabby Waldofsky cf
Jalen Fossitt ss
Ada Bradford p
Myah Fletcher c
Adrianna Fogg 3b
Maddy Ream 2b
Sahara Burley 1b
Sophee Beegle dp
Kay Adair lf
Eliana Trierweiler will play right field, but will not bat.
It is now time to look at the events of this game through the eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who did not have much success as a baseball or softball player back in the age when he was actually considered to be “young.” His career as an infielder was ruined when he got confused with dodgeball and would throw the ball at runners instead of to the base. After one pitcher’s parent complained about the errors, his career was finished!
Ashley Bila was safe at second base on an error to lead off the top of the first inning for Laingsburg. Leslie Pitcher Ada Bradford retired the nest three hitters on a fly to left field, a fly to center field and a popup to the shortstop where the runner interfered with the catch.
Laingsburg pitcher Addy Buchin retired Leslie’s leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning on a bunt to the pitcher. Jalen Fossitt doubled off the center field fence. Addy Buchin retired the next two Leslie batters on a grounder to the pitcher and a grounder to the shortstop.
Ada Bradford struck out the first two Wolfpack batters in the top of the second inning. Harper Strouse pounded a double to the left field fence. Ada Bradford struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Addy Buchin retired Leslie’s first two batters in the top of the second inning on a groundout to the shortstop and a strikeout. Sahara Burley walked. Leslie’s next hitter was out to end the inning – – however, your Aging Bleacher Denizen managed not to write why in his notes.
After two innings, the teams were tied at 0-0.
Laingsburg’s leadoff batter in the top of the third inning was out on a grounder to the shortstop. Ashley Bila lined a single to right field. Savvy Stirm singled to left field. Ashley Bila went to third base and Savvy Stirm to second base when an error was made on the play. Kay Adair made an excellent running catch of Bella Latuszek’s sacrifice fly to left field. Ashley Bila scored on the play. Laingsburg made its third out on a foul popup to third base.
Laingsburg scored one run in the top of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Kay Adair pounded a game-tying home run over the center field fence to lead off the top of the third inning for Leslie. Gabby Waldofsky beat out an infield single. Gabby Waldofsky was out at second base when Jalen Fossitt was safe at first on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. Addy Buchin struck out the next Blackhawk hitter. Laingsburg Center Fielder Ella Merrell made a diving catch to record the third out of the inning.
Leslie scored one run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 1-1.
Peyton Stahr blasted a home run over the center field fence to lead off the top of the fourth inning for Laingsburg. Ada Bradford struck out the next Wolfpack batter. Harper Strouse hit a sharp line drive off the pitcher for a single. Ada Bradford struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Laingsburg scored one run in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead.
Addy Buchin retired the three Leslie hitters in the bottom of the fourth inning on a groundout to shortstop, a groundout to first base and another groundout to the shortstop.
Ada Bradford struck out the Laingsburg leadoff batter in the top of the fifth inning. Savvy Stirm singled to center field; Gabby Waldofsky made a fine throw to second base to get her out when she tried to stretch the hit into a double. The Wolfpack made their third out of the inning on a line drive to the shortstop.
Leslie’s leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth inning was out on a fly to center field. Kay Adair smashed a double off the center field fence. Gabby Waldofsky was safe on an error; Kay Adair and Gabby Waldofsky both scored on an overthrow that went out into the right field corner to give Leslie the lead.
Jalen Fossitt doubled into the left field corner. Ada Bradford singled up the middle to drive Jalen Fossitt home. Myah Fletcher hit a home run over the center field fence; she and Jalen Fossitt scored. Adrianna Fogg singled to left center field. Leslie made the final two outs of the inning on a popped up bunt to the pitcher and a grounder to the shortstop.
Leslie scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead.
Ada Bradford retired the first two Laingsburg batters in the top of the sixth inning on a popup to first base and a fly to left field where Kay Adair made an excellent running catch. Ella Merrell was safe at first base on an error. Harper Strouse walked and Ella Merrell advanced to second base. Alayna Asher walked to load the bases. Ella Merrell and Harper Strouse scored on an RBI single by Alaina Merrell. Harper Strouse advanced to third base on the play.
Ashley Bila singled to left field to drive in Alayna Asher as Alaina Merrell moved to second base. Alaina Merrell took third base and Ashley Bila second base on a wild pitch. Ada Bradford struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Laingsburg scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Leslie lead to 6-5.
Addy Buchin retired the first two Leslie batters in the bottom of the sixth inning on a fly to right field and a bouncer to first base. Gabby Waldofsky singled to right field. Leslie made its third out of the inning on a bouncer to the pitcher.
Bella Latuszek was safe on an error to lead off the top of the seventh inning for Laingsburg. Leslie Shortstop Jalen Fossitt made a nice running catch of a fly ball to record the first Wolfpack out of the inning. Ada Bradford struck out the next hitter. The next Wolfpack batter was out on a popup to the shortstop to end the game.
Leslie won the game by a 6-5 score and will play the winner of the other semifinal, Grand Ledge, in the final game at 7 PM Friday May 24.
Payton Stahr had a home run and one RBI for Laingsburg. Harper Strouse had a double and a single. Ashley Bila had two singles and one RBI. Savvy Stirm had two singles. Alayna Merrell had a single and two RBI. Bella Latuszek had one RBI.
Addy Buchin pitched the complete game for Laingsburg and struck out two batters.
Myah Fletcher had a home run and two RBI for Leslie. She was named the One North Pub player of the game as her home run proved to be the eventual winning run. Kay Adair had a home run, a double and one RBI. Jalen Fossitt had two doubles. Gabby Waldofsky had two singles. Ada Bradford had a single and one RBI. Adrianna Fogg had a single.
Ada Bradford pitched the complete game for Leslie. She struck out nine batters.
For those of you who are interested, here is the play by play of the other semifinal between Grand Ledge and Fowlerville. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/05/23/fowlerville-vs-grand-ledge-hall-of-fame-softball-classic-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-22-2024-by-chuck-krafft/