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MCP/OCP Sports Coverage is presented by: Baker Ford Ludington, Fresh Coast Foam, Mission Graphics, Quick-Way, Inc., Smith & Eddy Insurance and Michelle and Andrew Thomas.
KINGSLEY — Mason County Central split a pair of varsity softball games Saturday, falling to Bellaire 21-2 in the opener before bouncing back with an 18-3 win over Charlevoix in Game 2.
Bellaire capitalized on 19 hits and eight Spartan errors to take the first game.
Payton Cory pitched 2 1/3 innings for MCC, allowing 11 hits and five earned runs while walking and striking out none. Aubrey Chye worked the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs with two walks.
Offensively for the Spartans, Mackenzie Carney went 1-for-1, scored a run and drew a walk, while Ellen Norman finished 2-for-3. Charlee Budreau walked in both of her plate appearances. Chye added a hit, Lacie Salander scored a run and Andrea Lopez was hit by a pitch.
“Bellaire can hit the ball well,” said interim coach Denise Cory. “They hit everything we threw at them and we struggled in the field with eight errors. It did not help we had to move some players around after Graycee Kalush got hurt, but we made it work.”
The Spartans rebounded in the second game with an offensive outburst against Charlevoix.
Cory tossed a complete-game five-hitter, striking out two, walking one and allowing just two hits with no earned runs.
Jordyn Melvin led the MCC offense, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs and was hit by a pitch. Aubrey Chye collected two hits, drove in a run and scored four times. Addison Copsey went 1-for-1 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch.
Norman, Cory, Lopez and Budreau each drew two walks, with Norman also recording a hit. Ashlyn Lewis reached base in both plate appearances with a walk and hit by pitch.
“We came to play game two despite four fielding errors,” Cory said. “We held them to three runs. We showed patience at the plate and had several great hits. Proud of how our team played game two.”
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Quick-Way, Inc., 1004 Conrad Industrial Dr., Ludington, 231-845-6520, qkwa.net
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Michelle and Andrew Thomas
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