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GLADSTONE — The Negaunee softball team’s solid season came to an abrupt end in an MHSAA Division 3 regional semifinal game on Saturday morning.

Fighting tooth and nail throughout, the game ended when Kalkaska’s Jaycee Mitchell crossed the plate in bottom of the eighth inning to finish off the Blue Blazers’ 5-4 comeback win.

The Miners led 4-1 in the top of the fourth after Sam Richards hit a three-run homer to deep center field, but Negaunee’s bats went cold after that.

Negaunee huddles on the field between innings in an MHSAA Division 3 regional tournament softball game played against Kalkaska in Gladstone on Saturday. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

Kalkaska managed to pull into a 4-4 tie over the next few innings, eventually riding senior pitcher Mia Miller into the regional finals.

The regional host Braves won Saturday’s other game, 15-0 over Boyne City, before rain washed out the regional final until Sunday.

Kalkaska’s Miller struck out 12 Tawas Area batters in the Blue Blazers’ district final win the previous weekend, then struck out 14 Miners in their next game. The Blazers went on to win Sunday’s regional final against Gladstone, 1-0, behind another 14 K’s by Miller on the pitching rubber aided by a solo homer for the game’s only run.

After Negaunee’s offense was silenced by Miller in the last four innings on Saturday, some Miners’ defensive errors caught up to them. NHS committed a few errors in the bottom of the eighth, resulting in the walk-off run scoring.

As Negaunee coach Randy Carlson said a few days before the game, the teams in this regional were quite even, which proved out after Kalkaska won each regional game by a single run.

The Miners’ miscues showed how razor-thin the margin for error can be.

“Overall, I’m proud of the girls,” Carlson said. “We played hard, and for the most part, we played well. We made some miscues in the field, and that pretty much gave them some runs. When you play at this level, you’re playing really good teams, and you can’t get (away) with that.

“Sometimes during the season, you’re better than a team and you can get away with some mistakes. But in a game like this, you’ve got to make plays, and we didn’t make the plays. That’s softball, that’s just how the game goes.”

The Miners’ offense started fast, however, on Saturday as they were hitting Miller. NHS finished with eight hits, seven in the first four innings. Josie Thomson hit a double the Miners’ first time up, while Lilly Nelson was denied what would’ve been a run-scoring hit on a nice running catch by Blazers’ center fielder Mitchell.

Negaunee pitcher Grace Nardi shut down Kalkaska 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first before the Miners gave her run support in the second. Two freshmen stepped up on back-to-back at-bats for the Miners as Miya Frederickson hit a double and Kallen Schultz scored her with a single.

Kalkaska answered with an unearned run after the Blazers’ Violet Porter reached first base following a miscommunication in the outfield. Nardi suddenly had a tough time with her control, and three passed balls went over the head of catcher Nelson as Porter went all the way around the bases to even the score.

Kalkaska had a prime opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the third, but a nice 1-3-2 double play by the Negaunee defense saw KHS’ Lauren Judd thrown out at home.

Schultz and Negaunee teammate Cooper Atkins each reached on consecutive singles in the top of the fourth, setting up Richards for her clutch homer to put the Miners in front again. Richards was one of Negaunee’s three seniors this season, and she stepped up when it mattered most.

“That was huge, and there couldn’t have been a better girl to hit it,” Carlson said. “Sam is one of the hardest working girls I’ve ever been around, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. For her to get a hit like that in a game like this, is just awesome. That’s what this is all about, really.”

The Blazers weren’t done, though, getting one run back in the fourth on an RBI double by Porter to score Mitchell.

In the bottom of the fifth, they added two more runs to tie it once again at 4-4. Lauren Judd scored Keanna Eiseler on an RBI single, and Judd scored following an RBI double from Mitchell. Kalkaska veteran coach Rik Ponstein and his veteran seniors of Miller, Judd, Porter and Lorelei Simkins just wouldn’t let their season come to an end just yet.

“I’ll tell you what the big thing is, I have four seniors that just don’t quit,” Ponstein said. “They just know they can win, and they just keep fighting. I called three freshmen up towards the end of the season, and they’ve just been teaching them and bringing them along and doing an awesome job.”

Thomson came in to pitch in relief for Nardi in the bottom of the sixth, holding off the Blazers for two innings to force extras. Simkins led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, while Mitchell reached first on the fielder’s choice after Simkins was forced out at second. Miller’s bat came through next for Kalkaska to put runners on first and second.

Following a bobbled ball and a dropped pop fly on consecutive plays, Mitchell rounded third and scored the game-winner.

Ponstein talked about his seniors, but Miller stood above the rest with her great performance, especially down the stretch.

“The last few years we’ve worked on her mental strength, and that’s what helped her today,” Ponstein said. “Most pitchers would probably crumble giving up a three-run shot like that, it was a very good pitch to boot.

“She just kept us in the game, she shut them down after that, and that’s what you expect out of your senior pitcher.”

The Miners’ season ended with a fourth consecutive district title, while Kalkaska continues on to the Division 3 quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Petoskey against Evart.

Travis Nelson can be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal. net.