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EAST LANSING – Unranked, but no longer unknown.
Vicksburg came into the Division 2 semifinal against Livonia Ladywood, a storied softball program, and took down the No. 2 Blazers, 7-5, Thursday at Secchia Field at Michigan State.
Unranked Vicksburg, despite having an excellent team batting average of .433, took what the opposition gave them by playing small-ball and taking full advantage of Ladywood’s difficulty at throwing strikes.
“I think we’re good at both styles,” said Vicksburg junior Carlie Kudary. “We can play small ball, and when we need to we can hit away. It really just depends on what we need.”
Trailing Ladywood 5-0 in the third inning, Vicksburg needed something.
“We weren’t really hitting that well so we had to figure something out different,” said Vicksburg coach Paul Gephart. “That was basically it. We had to come up with a different scheme. We typically hit the ball very, very well. Today we didn’t, so we had to go small ball.”
Ladywood (32-13) started out strong by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI double to the fence by Cecilia Werner, before she scored on an error. Elizabeth Kemp then added an RBI single. Two more runs in the third inning came on a two-run homer by starting pitcher Rozlyn Price that cleared the 220 sign in centerfield.
Vicksburg scored two runs in the third inning on the only hit out of the infield all game for the Bulldogs, by Kudary, who later scored on a wild pitch.
But it was the fourth inning that Vicksburg’s adjusted strategy worked to perfection, aided by Price and relief pitcher Alexa Flores combining for four walks. The Bulldogs (36-8) scored five times for the final margin, as the last six consecutive batters came to the plate with the bases loaded. Kudary earned another RBI on a bunt, Grace Stock and winning pitcher Avery Slancik each walked with the bases loaded, while Raquel Rice and Kudary scored on an error and a wild pitch, respectively.
“They just believe in each other,” Gephart said. “I always tell them, ‘just find a way, we’ll find a way.’ Don’t ever give up, don’t ever quit. It’s about respect.”
Slancik said, as a pitcher herself, she can sympathize with the opposing thrower not finding the plate or having a bad outing.
“I had a similar situation last year; I gave up some home runs and I got knocked out, our team got knocked out (of the regional final),” she said. “So I feel for a pitcher that pitches their butt off.
“But we have speed and that’s what gets us around the bases. We have smart players, a smart team. I’m crying with pride. Oh my gosh, it’s a dream come true. Our quote of the whole year has been ‘why not us?’ We haven’t been ranked and teams ahead of us that are ranked, we beat them and we still aren’t ranked.”
Come Saturday’s state final, Vicksburg’s first-ever, that won’t matter at all.
Scores/schedules: Michigan baseball, softball, soccer state finals