FLAT ROCK – Flat Rock’s sister act was too much for Whiteford.
Senior Emma Neace and her sophomore sister Vanessa each went 2-for-3 and they split pitching duties to lead a 3-2 victory over Whiteford on Wednesday, May 27.
“They’ve been our sister tandem all year,” Flat Rock coach Morgan Delhey said.
Emma didn’t give up any earned runs over the first three innings, then Vanessa took over in the circle and finished the game with scoreless relief.
“They are too completely different pitchers even though they go to the same coach,” Delhey said. “It works for us.”
The sisters know how to motivate their teammates.
“They are both full of energy,” Delhey said. “They are both leaders. As a senior, Emma is a little more outspoken. Vanessa has a couple of years to grow into that.”
Avery Mack had an outstanding game at third base to lead the defense.
“After the second inning, our defense stepped up,” Delhey said. “That’s huge going into Districts Saturday. That had to be cleaned up. We made four errors in the first two innings, then worked hard to correct it.”
Flat Rock takes a 15-10 record into the Division 2 District at Airport.
“We’re on a six-game winning streak,” Delhey said. “The bats are finally coming alive a little bit.”
Peyton Welch went 2-for-2 and pitched into the sixth inning, racking up 10 strikeouts.
“All four pitchers in the game threw well,” Whiteford coach Matt VanBrandt said.
His team takes an 18-11 record into the Division 3 District at Erie Mason.
“This was a great game for both teams to get ready for Saturday,” VanBrandt said. “We’re not perfect. We’re never going to be. We battled through this game and came back from our mistakes.”
WEDNESDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
BOYS GOLF
Connor Zimmerman, Ida: Recovered from a quadruple bogey on the first hole to shoot 78 and earn a trip to the state finals. Also headed to state are Flat Rock’s team and Fischer Zawacki of Whiteford. Zawacki carded an 80, then won a playoff for the final individual qualifying spot. Flat Rock shot 336 as Ben Scully checked in at 79, Owen Klein 84, Landon Higdon 85 and Colin Gilleran 88.
SOFTBALL
Lily Vidra, Bedford: Went 3-for-3 in the second game of a 14-5, 5-2 sweep of Chelsea. Maddy Kwiatkowski and Lexi Diesing logged two hits each in the first game and Kaitlyn Kwiatkowski notched two in the second.
Hannah Williams, SMCC: Blasted a grand slam and finished with three hits in a 7-2 victory over Plymouth. Hayley Southerland, Lauren Tolliver and winning pitcher Olivia Piepnsey added two hits each. Braelyn Runyon threw four shutout innings with eight strikeouts.
BASEBALL
Reece Kalb, Summerfield: Pitched well and notched two hits as the Bulldogs completed a 13-3 win over Sand Creek that was started on April 22. Rylee Schiffler also had a pair of hits for Bulldogs, who finish the regular season at 14-7 overall and 11-1 in the Tri-County Conference to share the title for the first time since 2019.
TUESDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
BOYS GOLF
Taleon Guess, Bedford: Shot 1-over 73 at The Polo Grounds to qualify for the Division 1 state finals. He was nearly joined by his team, but Bedford missed the cut by one spot by shooting 131 to finish fourth behind Brighton (286), South Lyon (301) and Saline (306). Julian Pirrone added a 79, Bradey Kozlowski 80 and Nolan Fischer 81. Gibraltar Carlson’s Chase Moore shot 83. Monroe was led by Solomon Schramm and Flynn Cooper with 88.
Brayden Siders, Airport: Logged a round of 80 to help the Jets place third in the Division 2 Regional at Dearborn Country Club to qualify for the state finals. Landon McGregor (84), Evan Mullins (87) and Sam Mitocariu (88) supported Siders. Brendyn Raschke (81) and Hunter Wyszynski (82) qualified individually for New Boston Huron, but the Chiefs just missed making it as a team in fourth place. Brody Cicotte shot 86 for Milan.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Roundup of Monroe County Region varsity sports events for May 26-27
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
