Lakeview records 13 hits, stomps LaBrae 14-1
Trending
LEAVITTSBURG -- Lakeview's hit parade is marching on to the district title game.
The Bulldogs put together a 13-hit effort to take down LaBrae in their district semifinal matchup, dispatching the Vikings 14-1.
"I think we got a great jump on them and we kept the dugout going," Lakeview coach David Kelm said. "Energy is huge in a game like this. It helps with the momentum. Everybody knows in baseball and softball, when you got that momentum, you want to keep it going. What a great season from LaBrae, they were absolutely amazing. We were thinking about them for four days now. We were ready for this and we’re excited about (continuing on)."
A scary moment happened in the bottom of the second inning when junior Hallie Capan twisted her ankle getting to second base. But it didn’t take long for her to get back on her feet. After a quick tape-up, she returned to the game where she went a perfect 3-of-3 at the plate, with three RBIs.
"She performed every single at-bat," Kelm said. "Even sometimes when we thought 'Hey, we don’t need you to run,' she wanted to be out here. This team -- we have a really good streak of showing up for the playoffs. Last year we had a pretty tough showing by Ava Bacon, so with that toughness, we’re just going to keep going with it."
That same second inning is where Lakeview (18-5) exploded at the plate with a nine-run effort.
The Bulldogs added a pair of runs in both the third and the fourth innings to get 14.
Lakeview's reward for taking down LaBrae is a rematch with Champion for the district title. Thursday’s district championship tilt is set for 5 p.m. at LaBrae High School.
Despite having played Champion on May 2, there’s no comfort factor in the familiarity.
"I’m never comfortable," Kelm said. "I don’t know if you watch me in the dugout, but it doesn’t matter who we’re playing or what it is. There’s never a comfort factor, but being uncomfortable is the best way to learn how to deal with it."
Going into Thursday’s game, the preparation starts with Flashes pitcher Gabby Gradishar, who is not an easy pitcher to replicate in practice.
The Bulldogs have a game plan ready to go however.
"We’ve got some good ideas, but you can never fully replicate it," Kelm said. "You’re always trying to figure out how to get better but (she has) speed and spin, so you just can’t go with one. You’ve got to figure out how to do both, so it’s going to be something that we’ve been working on. I think we’ve got an alright game plan and we’re going to give it a shot."
LaBrae’s season ends at 20-9, but the turnaround the Vikings have made over the last two seasons has been staggering.
From a single win two years ago to 20 this past season is a dramatic rise. Now, the program needs to take that next step.
"We expect to keep improving," Vikings coach Dwayne Buck said. "I told them that these next few years is our time. ... The next step is getting through districts and getting to regionals. The ultimate goals -- let’s try and get to state. The next two years, we’ve got this whole group together so it’s going to depend on them. They’re going to play a lot together over these next few years, so that’s important. As long as they keep working to get better and stay busy in the offseason, they’ve got a chance to do it."
Have an interesting story? Contact Brian Yauger by email at byauger@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @_brianyauger