Royals softball brings second Regional crown to BHS

The Blissfield varsity softball team has lost no momentum since 
winning the District title with two long-shot wins. Saturday morning 
at Madison Heights Bishop Foley, the team repeated history as the 
second BHS softball team to win the Regional championship. The first 
occurred in 1980.

The Royals displayed solid teamwork and outstanding hitting to win 
9-2 over Harper Woods and 7-2 over Bishop Foley.
        In the opener, some big hits and a near-spotless pitching 
performance by freshman Kelsie Abbott helped Blissfield to a 9-2 
victory. The Royals showed they meant business from inning one. In 
her first at-bat, Zoe Brennan knocked a ball out of the park for a 
three-run homer.
        “I was super excited because that meant we were up a few runs,” said 
Brennan. “It was definitely a confidence-booster for me and the 
team. ... Right when I hit it, I knew it was gone.”
        In the third, Brennan again caught a pitch in the strike zone for 
her second homerun of the day – this one a solo.
        “The second one was a total surprise,” said Brennan. “I had to watch 
it for a couple seconds before I knew it was a homerun.”
        Abbott, not content with simply shutting the Pioneers down for six 
straight innings on the mound, contributed her own homerun in the fifth.
        In the sixth inning, Karissa Devore slugged two runners home with a 
single. Abbott followed with a double. Martinez got a base hit, and 
then two squeeze bunts by the Royals brought the score to 9-0.
        In the seventh, Harper Woods scored two runs on two hits and an 
error, bringing the final score to 9-2, Royals.
        In seven innings pitched, Abbott allowed five hits and zero earned 
runs. She struck out seven Pioneers and walked none. At bat, she was 
2-3 with a homerun.
        “I wasn’t very nervous,” said Abbott. “It was just like any other 
game. I just did my thing.”
        Devore went 2-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Courtney Brothers 
was 1-3 with a double and two RBIs. Brennan was 2-4 with two 
homeruns, and Megan Knierim was 1-3 with a double.
        In the championship, pitcher Jolene Sauter put on a great show in 
Abbott’s stead, and base hits from throughout the batting lineup 
helped the Royals take the title.
        Blissfield scored three runs in the first inning, two of them owing 
to a double by Knierim.
        Bishop Foley narrowed the gap in the second, when Sauter gave up a 
pair of hits for a run.
        Sauter hit an RBI single in the third to pad the Royal lead.
        In the sixth, Devore hit a crucial double. Martinez followed with a 
base hit, and Brothers came through with a two-run double.
        Bishop Foley hit a one-run homer in the sixth. However, the seventh 
inning went scoreless, and Blissfield claimed the Regional title.
        Winning pitcher Sauter threw all seven innings, allowing seven hits 
for two runs. She struck out four batters and walked one.
        Brothers was 2-4 at bat with a double. Martinez was also 2-4. 
Knierim was 1-4 with a double for two RBIs. Devore was 1-4 with a 
double. Chelsea Bateson was 2-2, and Emma Tracy hit an RBI single.
        “It was an all-around great effort,” said head coach Rich Tracy. 
“Kelsie had a great game. Jo Sauter pitched a great game as well. … 
We hit the ball, played good defense. They just played great all 
weekend.”
        Sauter, a senior, gave some of the credit for her strong pitching 
performance to her teammates.
        “It helps when you’ve got a good defense behind you,” said Sauter. 
“And when we get our bats going, it takes a lot of pressure off me.”
        Junior Courtney Brothers is in her first season at Blissfield, 
having previously played at Milan.
        “Here I’m more relaxed, and I’m having more fun,” said Brothers. “I 
didn’t expect the season to be this good, just because I didn’t know 
the team. ... I really think that we have the potential to make it 
all the way. Our team bonds well, and we have the confidence.”
        Brennan said she has been a part of BHS history in more ways than one.
        “It’s amazing because I was a freshman on the first team that went 
to regionals,” said Brennan. “I just hope they go all the way at 
once, instead of taking baby steps.”
        Tracy said his team’s success owed to teamwork and chemistry.
        “The last team that won District was very, very talented,” said 
Tracy. “We had a better record that year. But this team has come 
together from one through 16. With this team, it seems like it’s 
someone different every time getting a big hit or making a big 
defensive play.”
- By James McClenathen, copyright 2011, The Advance