HESPERIA — Shelby dispatched Hesperia in both teams’ West Michigan Conference Rivers finales Tuesday night by scores of 17-0 and 15-0.
The scores were a far cry from the shutout losses the Tigers took the day before against a much larger school, Mona Shores. Coach Kevin Burmeister said the team fulfilled its goal of “getting better every day” with the way it performed Tuesday, even amid rain and wind.
“We made the plays we could,” Burmeister said. “We put a lot of balls in play with a lot of good at-bats. We’re really working on finding where our zone is and where we want the ball and where we’re good at hitting it.”
Burmeister added that he felt the Tigers pitched pretty well in the losses to Shores, but “good teams hit the ball” and his team had some struggles in the field.
“What we’re expecting to be seeing that Saturday in that district, the more of that we can see later in the season is really going to help us out,” Burmeister said. “Mona Shores played a really good game. They put the ball in play. We made a lot of good plays...You’ve got to make those plays. That’s how we get better defensively.”
The Tigers took command of game one against Hesperia with a seven-run first inning that saw the first seven Shelby batters reach, including six hits. Jayna Burmeister then blasted a two-run homer to cap the explosion.
Shelby added another seven-run inning in the fifth to clinch the mercy rule win. Jaedyn Allen had a run-scoring double during the inning.
Hali Hayes and Allen each got three hits in game one, and Gabby LaFever, Izzy Rudat and Burmeister got two apiece. LaFever drove in three runs, and Allen and Hayes each scored three. Burmeister pitched the game and struck out 12, allowing just one hit, by Madesyn Bolles. Olivia McGahan recorded two outs in relief for Hesperia, allowing one hit and no runs.
Game two was all Shelby from the get-go, and the Tigers scored six runs in each of the final two innings. Allen had a double and a triple, driving in five runs, and Burmeister also got two hits and scored three times. Emma Stovall scored three times as well. Burmeister pitched a three-inning no-hitter, striking out five.
Hesperia coach Rick Martin said before the season that his young team would be setting a foundation for future success this year, and he said the Panthers have shown positive attitudes even amid occasional struggles against a really good schedule that also included perennial power Holton and state-ranked Ravenna.
“We have a lot of kids out of position,” Martin said. “We’ve got girls that are normally infielders playing outfield, and we didn’t have any outfielders coming back, so I had to make outfielders, and they’re struggling, but they make some plays. They try. They keep playing hard. That’s all you can ask. They’ve got great attitudes. They don’t get down on each other. They don’t get down on themselves, which is a big bonus.”
Martin said McGahan, who started game two, played second base once she left the game, a position she’s never played. His third baseman, Eliana Sanker, is also new to the position.
Shelby doesn’t face similar difficulties, with a young but experienced and talented team that capped their WMC Rivers season at 6-6 for the second year in a row. The Tigers now are ready for a district Saturday where they might take on rival Hart for the championship. In future seasons, coach Burmeister would love to see a run at the WMC Rivers title.
“Our girls know if we want to compete with some of these other teams in our league, we have to continue to get better, even at home, taking as many dry cuts as you can, get as many ground balls or throw to Mom and Dad or brother,” Burmeister said. “Just get better. The growth we’ve made in two years is huge.”
