HOWELL — After being indoors for most of a week due to cold weather, both the Hartland and Howell softball teams ere happy just ti e outside on Wednesday.
But it was the Eagles who went home hapy after sweeping the Highlanders, 1-0 and 8-5, in a KLAA West doubleheader at Howell High School.
The sweep saw the Eagles improve to 16-1 overall, 10-0 in the KLAA West, while Howell fell to 11-6, 6-4.
‘They were not pretty games, by any means,” Hartland coach Taylor Wagner said. “Not well-executed games, but sfter coming off a long week of not really begin outsude, they did what they needed to do, and that’s all you can really ask for.”
Click here for the archived broadcast of Game 1!
Going into the opener, Hartland had a clear statistical advantage. Eagles starter Kylie Swierkos came in with a 1.06 ERA, while Howell’s Delaney Gillett had an ERA of 4.73.
But, after walking the bases loaded in the first inning, Gillett pitched her way out of trouble and didn’t issue another walk while striking out 11.
“I just calmed myself down,” Gillett said. “I was a little stressed out in the beginning, but then I got into a groove and felt good.”
Hartland scored the game’s only run in the fifth. Skyler Spisz grounded to Howell shortstop Addison Caldwell, who overthrew first baseman Olivia Bonkoske for a two-base error that put Spisz second. The next batter, Kate McIntyre, then doubled, scoring Spisz.
Swierkos, who had doubled in the second, wasn’t as dominant as usual inside the pitching while facing a Howell team that wen into the game batting a collective .405.
“Howell’s always a tough competitor,” she said. “The first few batters are very good, and I think there were some initial nerves. But once I got a roll, I was able to lock it in.”
Swierkos found her groove in the fifth, striking out the side on her way to nine strikeouts for the game.
Both pitchers allowed four hits apiece.
The nightcap was a different story.
Click here for the archived broadcast of Game 2!
Faith DeLanoy led off the Hartland second with a single, went to second on an infield out and to third on a two-out single by Olivia Forrest.
After Spisz walked to load the basew, McIntyre belted a grand slam over the left-field fence, the big blow in a five-run inning.
“The pitch was lower, but down the middle,” she said. “I don’t know if it was a changeup or not, but I ended up seeing it well and hitting it.”
The Eagles cruised after that, helped by eight walks as all five Howell pitchers saw action.
Forrest got the win, with Swierkos picking up a rare save
“It’s nice to come in and be able to help Liv after what she had done already,” Swierkos said.
Howell coach Scott Pasini was -pleased with his team’s effort.
“If we can’t take one or both, we’d like to make them close,” he said.
Of the eight batters who walked, four scored for Hartland.
It was McIntyre, though, who carried the Eagles, driving in five runs on the afternoon.
“She’s always going to give us a good at-bat,” Wagner said. “She gets up there and we know something good is going to happen.”
