When the Class 3A softball playoff bracket was released, Burrell coach Brandon Daughtry glanced ahead and saw that Mt. Pleasant would have nearly two weeks off and thought maybe there would be some rust for them to shake off.
“We knew if we could jump on them early that there could be some rust or some nerves in their first game back,” Daughtry said.
But, having played Mt. Pleasant twice already this season, Daughtry also knew if the Vikings weren’t kept down, they were going to fight back, and that was evident in third-seeded Mt. Pleasant’s 9-4 victory in Monday’s quarterfinals at Gateway.
“We were able to grab an early lead, but they are a good lineup and you’re not going to hold them down for long,” Daughtry said.
Despite building a 3-0 after the first inning, the combination of not being able to string hits together later in the game and committing seven errors proved to be back breakers for No. 6 seed Burrell (11-9).
Mt. Pleasant coach Paul Reho felt relieved.
“It’s been some years since we won a playoff game,” said Reho, whose team improved to 14-4. “I didn’t get it done last year, so it feels good to get that monkey off our back.”
In the first inning, it looked like the Vikings were shaking off a few cobwebs.
Burrell leadoff hitter Shelby Novak was hit by a pitch, Sophia Gregg struck out and Addy Wojtczak walked.
With runners on first and second, Bucs center fielder Tina Gural came up and hit what appeared to be a routine fly ball to right field.
Vikings senior Carly Surma was parked underneath it and looked poised to make the catch, but just as the ball was falling from it’s apex, the sun came out from behind a cloud and Surma dropped the ball. Her throw to third base got away, giving the Bucs a two-run lead.
Burrell scored a third run when Gural advanced on a Cayla Brothers groundout to second and a single from Haylee Heasley.
“After that, I knew I couldn’t hang my head. I just had to contribute anyway, anyhow,” Surma said.
Surma got her chance at redemption in the bottom of the second inning.
After starting pitcher Danica Trainer singled, Kendell Waters reached on an error with one out, and catcher Emma Miller advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Surma came up with runners in scoring position and two outs.
“I always get told to keep my head down, chest down when I head to the plate,” she said. “So, I followed that instruction and got a good pitch to hit and I ripped it into the gap.”
Surma doubled into the right-field gap and came around to score on a single from second baseman Autumn Jurkovic.
“She makes that catch 99.9 percent of the time,” said Reho. “Then in her first at bat she came up with runners in scoring position and drives a ball into the gap to get those two runs back. I’m really proud of her for coming through.”
For Reho, it was nice to see his team respond after being in a similar situation in their scrimmages between the end of the regular season and the playoffs.
“We played some really tough teams from the end of section play until this afternoon’s game,” Reho said. “We got down in those games in the first inning like we did today, and we didn’t fight back. What I’m most happy about is how we responded today. We had been there before and we had to decide, are we going to let this continue or are we going to stop this.”
Trainer made sure to keep the Bucs at bay for the next three innings, setting down all nine batters she faced. She struck out only one, which meant the Vikings had solidified their defense.
“After the first inning, we woke up and realized that this is our game to go out and win,” said freshman shortstop Chloe Borelli. “Whenever I’m in the field, I’m always looking to pick up Dani, or whoever is pitching, and I have confidence that we’re going to pick each other up as a unit out there.”
Trainer threw a complete game, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits. She walked one and struck out five.
“Dani pitched well,” Reho said. “The zone was tough today, but you just have to keep battling. She knows she has a great defense behind her. I’m proud of the way she settled in. She’s been doing it all year. I haven’t had a short leash with her all year. I’ve let her go, and she’s built for it.”
With the score tied 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth, Mt. Pleasant got some insurance runs off the bat of Sadie Poole.
With runners on first and second and one out, Poole hit a ball toward Burrell second baseman Brothers, but the ball kicked away and both runners scored. It was the third error of the game for the Bucs.
“We told the girls coming in, even when we played some bigger schools in section play, if we play a clean game, we can hang with anybody,” Daughtry sid. “If you play a clean game and the other team is better than you that day, you tip your cap. It leaves a bitter feeling knowing we gave them more help than they needed.”
Burrell cut the Vikings’ lead to one in the fifth when Novak scored on a Wojtczak single, but in the sixth, the Vikings put the game out of reach.
Surma led off and reached on another Bucs error, pinch-hitter Claire Keefer singled and Poole reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases.
Borelli then hit a high chopper that sailed just out of the reach of Novak, and Surma and Keefer scored to give Mt. Pleasant a 7-4 lead.
“I was mainly thinking I needed to get the ball in play,” said Borelli. “I didn’t care where it went. I needed to show up for my team and provide a chance for us to win the game.”
Borelli finished with three RBIs, and Trainer and Surma drove in a pair each.
Burrell’s Novak pitched six innings, gave up nine runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out three.
“Shelby’s a battler, and we’ve told her that since she was in ninth grade,” said Daughtry. “She’s going to go out there every day and give everything she has and it’s going to take us dragging her off the field for her to be willing to step off. She gave us everything she had today.”
Mt. Pleasant advances to take on either No. 7 Keystone Oaks, a 2-0 upset winner over No. 2 Mohawk, in the semifinals at a site and time to be determined.
For Burrell, it was a tough way to end a strong season, and Daughtry is hopeful his team will use this as motivation for next year.
“I think we exceeded the expectations of a lot of people outside of our group,” Daughtry said. “We’ve got a pretty young team coming back, and I know this is going to make them more hungry and ready to go next year. This will sting for a little bit, but then we’ll use it as fuel for the fire next year.”