The Lady Wolves broke the tie at the top of the sixth inning against Lake Orion off a hit from senior Sydney Hasselbach in the MHSAA Softball District Finals on Saturday, putting the score 2-1.
It took two more inning but the Lady Dragons tied the scored in the final inning before loading the bases. With one more hit they scored another run to win 3-2, ending the season for the Wolves.
“I am a competitor,” chuckled Don Peters, head coach. “I wanted to win this one. They played their hearts out. They played great. We had six kids injured and Orion is ranked in the state.”
Clarkston opened the day with a 12-0 win over Oxford in five innings. They scored five runs in the first two innings.
Senior Katie Nelson boosted the girls even more at the top of the third inning. She batted first and hit a home run putting the score, 6-0.
Junior Katie Kuenzel helped to end the game early against Oxford after hitting a grand slam over the left fence, putting the score 10-0.
“They continue to believe in themselves,” said Peters. “Abby Skvarce broke her finger and I was thinking ‘I hope this isn’t the straw that breaks their heart.’ It wasn’t Katie hit the grand slam. Mariah (Hood) has been throwing all season she filled in for Abby on third, Kuenzel filled in for her as a hitter. It is what has been going on all season. It is the third fielder all year because of two concussions. Too play that hard and that well is awesome.”
The Lady Wolves finished the season with an 24-10 overall record.
“We had to fight and scrap to get those wins and play together,” said Peters. “Considering all the adversity I am proud of them. a lot of teams would have folded.”
The team of young players loses three seniors for next season – Brenna Cooper, Sydney Hasselbach and Katie Nelson.
“They leave behind great leadership, great people skills in many of them including heart,” Peters said.
He added he is optimistic for next year’s season because they are getting back a majority of their roster since they finished the season with three juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen.
“They have experience and we have a couple of kids coming up,” Peters said.