HB 6.17.2021 DONE

Page 12 — Thursday, June 17, 2021 — The Hastings Banner

Eagles end DK season in regional semi’s

Brett Bremer

Sports Editor

It is a hurdle more than one Delton Kellogg

varsity sports team has to figure out how to

clear: beating the Schoolcraft Eagles.

The Eagles swept a late-season double-

header to keep the Delton Kellogg varsity

softball team from a share of the Southwestern

Athletic Conference Valley Division champi-

onship and the Eagles ended the Panthers’

season with a 7-3 win in the Division 3

Regional Semifinals at Centreville High

School Saturday.

Schoolcraft was keyed in on Delton Kellogg

sophomore pitcher Abby Fichtner in the top of

the second inning as the Eagles slammed

three doubles, a couple singles and added a

walk to score five times. Those five runs

wiped out a 1-0 DK lead that Fichtner gave

the Panthers with a lead-off home run to open

the ballgame in the bottom of the first.

“They’re a good ball club. It has always

been that way. With Delton and Schoolcraft,

we have always had this rivalry, but we’re

having a hard time coming out on top,” DK

head coach Duane Knight said. “Abby leads

off with a home run and and you can’t ask any

more than that.

“[The Eagles] are fundamentally sound.

They don’t make too many mistakes. They

did make a couple, but those are uncharacter-

istic.”

The Eagles threatened, with girls on the

base paths, for much of the rest of the ball-

game after that second inning outburst, but

the DK defense came up with the plays it

needed. Sophomore catcher Allie Trantham

gunned down a would-be Eagle base-stealer

at second in the top of the third inning, and

senior third baseman Lizzy Fichtner started a

5-3 double play after the Eagles put two on

with nobody out in the top of the sixth.

Schoolcraft did manage to up its lead to 7-

with two runs in the top of the fourth. The

Eagles had 13 hits in the ballgame and

worked five walks against Abby Fichtner,

who struck out three. DK head coach Duane

Knight said that while the walks have been a

bit of a problem all season, Abby did a bit

better better job with the location of her pitch-

es after that second-inning outburst by

Schoolcraft.

“I think it got in the heart of the plate a

couple times there,” Knight said. “[Abby] is a

scrapper. She just loves to play. That is what

you want, a whole team of them.

“A lot of our players are travel ball players

and they play year round. I am proud of the

girls. They hung in there.”

Third baseman Lizzy Fichtner, second

baseman Josie Lyons and outfielder Chloe

Colwell were the three Delton Kellogg seniors

this spring. Lizzy and Lyons were both

brought up to the varsity as freshmen in coach

Knight’s first season at Delton Kellogg High

School, and they experienced their fair share

of growing pains over what would turn into

three varsity seasons that included more than

70 total victories. Lizzy became a force with

her bat as time went on, and was a stand-out

at both her positions, third base and catcher,

as needed. Lyons transitioned from the out-

field to the infield to become a strong second

baseman for her team.

“[Abby] did her best today and we just

came up short. They have great attitudes, all

these girls. They play well together. I am

going to miss the three that are gone,” Knight

said.

DK added its second run Saturday morning

following a lead-off double by Lyons in the

bottom of the second. Lyons scored on a two-

out double into right field from Trantham. The

Panthers scored their third and final, run in the

bottom of the sixth. Paige Thomas reached on

a bunt single and then scored from first on

another RBI double off Trantham’s bat.

The DK girls didn’t consistently move run-

ners around the bases enough to claw back

into it though. Trantham was stranded at sec-

ond after her two RBI doubles. Allison Brandli

reached on a Schoolcraft error to lead-off the

bottom of the fourth for DK, and Lizzy

Fichtner followed with a single into left to put

two on with nobody out, but a strike out and a

pair of fly outs to centerfield ended DK’s

scoring chances there. Again in the bottom of

the fifth, the Panthers had runners on the cor-

ners with two out following a double by Mya

Brickley and an error that allowed Aubrey

Aukerman to reach base, but they were held

scoreless.

DK had two on with two out thanks to sin-

gles by Brickley and Brandli in the bottom of

the seventh, but couldn’t get a run home as

Eagle pitcher Liv Pavlak got Lizzy Fichtner to

hit a pop up in foul territory in front of the

Eagle dugout which first baseman Camden

Bruner caught up against the fence for the

final out of the ballgame.

Pavlak was solid in the ballgame, allowing

three runs on nine hits. She struck out six and

only walked one.

All nine batters in the Eagle line-up had at

least one hit. Sophie Ridge, Lauren Evans,

Kelby Goldschmeding and Alayna Meade had

two each. Goldschmeding, Jordan Watts and

Lauren Evans each doubled once. Ridge, Dani

Blyly, Watts, Evans, Goldschmeding and

Bruner had one RBI each.

Brickley and Trantham were the two

Panthers who were 2-for-3 at the plate.

Delton Kellogg has reached the regional

round of the state tournament at the end of

each of the past three seasons (2018, 2019,

2021) thanks to district championship victo-

ries, but hasn’t broke through during the

stretch win a regional championship and

advance to the state quarterfinals.

Buchanan beat Schoolcraft 2-1 in nine

innings in the regional final at the end of the

day in Centreville, following Buchanan’s 5-

regional semifinal victory over Watervliet.

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Delton Kellogg’s Allie Trantham drills

and RBI double into left centerfield during

the bottom of the second inning of her

team’s Division 3 Regional Semifinal

against Schoolcraft at Centreville High

School Saturday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)

AT LEFT: The Panthers’ Paige Thomas

strains to beat out a bunt for a single in

the bottom of the sixth inning as

Schoolcraft pitcher Liv Pavlak fires a

throw to second baseman Jordan Watts

covering the bag at first. Thomas would

eventually come around to score the final

run for the Panthers in her team’s 7-3 loss

to Schoolcraft in the Division 3 Regional

Semifinals at Centreville High School

Saturday morning. (Photo by Brett

Bremer)

Abby Fichtner pitches for Delton Kellogg during the top of the third inning of its

Division 3 Regional Semifinal match-up with Schoolcraft at Centreville High School

Saturday morning. (Photo by Brett Bremer)

Delton Kellogg senior Lizzy Fichtner takes a deep breath as she steps in for her final

at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday against Schoolcraft in the Division

3 Regional Semifinals hosted by Centreville High School. The Eagles took a 7-

victory, ending the Panthers’ season. (Photo by Brett Bremer)