by Ben Murphy
Sports Writer
Softball
Lawrence softball gets sweep over Benton Harbor in home opener
The Lawrence softball team played their first home games of the season on Monday, taking down visiting Benton Harbor in the process. They won in big fashion too, claiming mercy-styled 18-1 and 23-0 wins.
In game one, Hailey Camp had the win, striking out seven betters in the three inning contest.
Leslie Reed had three hits and one RBI, Kali Reed had a triple and two RBI and Mackenzie Leighton had a hit.
Game two saw Alyssa Coombs get five strikeouts on her way to the win, as the Lady Tigers once again needed just three innings.
At the plate, Savannah Peck had a triple and two RBI, A. Coombs had two hits and one RBI and L. Reed also had two hits and one RBI. K. Reed, Morgan Coombs and Auggie Henderson all had one hit apiece.
On Thursday, Lawrence played at Three Oaks River Valley, and dropped both BCS League games, 15-0 and 14-1.
L. Reed had the team’s lone RBI in game two, getting an RBI single.
Lawton takes two from Martin
Visiting Martin technically forfeited to Lawton on Thursday, due to only having eight players in the two’s SWAC Lakeshore doubleheader. The two sides played the games out anyways, and the result was a pair of close Lady Blue Devil wins, 4-2 and 2-1.
In game one, K. Somers had the win, pitching five innings, and giving up one earned run on two hits, six strikeouts and four walks.
Sarah Dekonning, Ella Richter, Sophia Piecky and Somers had one hit apiece to lead the offense.
Game two saw Dekonning get the win, as she pitched five innings and gave up one earned run on two hits and 12 strikeouts.
O. Poirier had a double, single and two RBI, Somers had a double and a single, Richter also had a double and with a single apiece was Dekonning, Hannah Price and Piecky.
Baseball
Paw Paw comes up short in league doubleheader at Niles
The Paw Paw baseball team traveled to Niles on Thursday, for a Wolverine Conference twinbill. The Red Wolves weren’t able to come up with a win in either contest, suffering 11-7 and 12-2 setbacks.
In game one, Remi Hahn had a double, single and two RBI, Brayden Pease had two hits and an RBI and Ethan VanDerSlik had two RBI. Jake Hindenach added an RBI double and Nick Boyd and Cullen Sylvester had one hit apiece.
In the nightcap, Pease had an RBI single, with Boyd, Sylvester, Hindenach and Jacob Major getting one single apiece.
Lawton gets pair of walk-off wins over Marcellus
The Lawton baseball team played two close games with visiting Marcellus on Saturday. The Blue Devils prevailed in both however, getting walk-off victories in each, both by scores of 11-10.
In game one, Nolan Camp laid down a suicide squeeze to help lift the team to the thrilling win in the bottom of the seventh.
Matt Hall had the win on the mound, pitching one inning and giving up zero runs on one hit and one strikeout. Dusti Mallory started the game and pitched three innings and gave up two three runs, two earned on one hit, five strikeouts and six walks. Zach Lull also pitched in relief and gave up seven runs, four earned on six hits, five strikeouts and two walks.
The offense saw Matt Hall get two hits, two RBI, two runs and a stolen base and Luke Leighton had two hits, three runs and four steals.
In game two, it was Leighton getting the walk-off moment, as he hit a game-winning two-run double in the bottom of the seventh.
Jacob Martinez had the win pitching, tossing four innings and giving up six runs, four earned on six hits and eight strikeouts. Nolan Camp also threw three innings and gave up four runs, two earned on three hits, two strikeouts and four hit batters.
Leighton finished with four hits, including two doubles, four RBI, two runs, and two steals. Camp also had two hits, one RBI and two steals.
On Thursday, Lawton was at home against Martin and won both games, 8-3 and 16-1.
Game one had Henry First get the win, as he gave up three runs, zero earned on two hits and 11 strikeouts. Martinez also had three strikeouts in three innings of scoreless work.
First had two hits, three RBI and two steals, Dustin Mallory had two hits, one RBI and two steals and Leighton had a single, one RBI, one steal and he scored three times.
In the blowout game two win, Matt Hall was the winner, as he pitched three innings and gave up one unearned run while not allowing a hit. He struck out seven batters and walked one.
First had two this and two RBI and Mallory added a single and two RBI.
Soccer
Lawton girls outscore Watervliet for second win of season
The Lawton girls soccer team traveled to Watervliet for a SWAC Lakeshore contest on Monday. The Lady Blue Devils came away victorious, 5-1.
Freshman Tiara Ellis had a big three goal game and fellow freshman Amanda Aumaugher also had a goal. Addie Modderman netted the team’s other goal, while Skyler Alsup and Ellis were credited with assists.
Lawton (2-1-1 overall) hosted Schoolcraft on Wednesday, heads to Kalamazoo Hackett on Saturday and hosts Delton Kellogg on Monday.