Things change.
Like all the time for the Livonia Churchill softball team, which was forced to face rivals Stevenson and Franklin on back-to-back nights on May 5 and 6 because of weather delays.
That’s a big deal because all three entered the week in contention to win not only the City championship but also the Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East title.
Belleville upset Stevenson (13-7, 7-1) early in the season, but the Spartans handed Franklin its first league loss during a 3-0 win on April 22. Then, Stevenson sophomore pitcher Allie Cramer struck out 13 and recorded her 100th strikeout of the season during a 9-2 win over Churchill on May 5.
Entering May 6, all three teams had one league loss, making Churchill and Franklin’s matchup almost a do-or-die situation. A five-run second inning helped the Chargers (14-4, 5-1) beat the Patriots (20-2, 6-2) 7-3, though nothing is safe yet.
When the three teams face each other during this weekend’s City tournament, any one of them can walk away with rivalry bragging rights and a lead in the East standings. Stevenson and Churchill, though, hold the edge over Franklin with a one-game advantage.
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“For them to come back today after losing here last night, where everyone is in the same boat, I thought they responded very well,” Chargers coach Abe Vinitski said. “It was a big win for us, and it puts us in a spot for Saturday where we control everything we need to control.”
Churchill might also have a big advantage.
Usually, Madonna University hosts the annual four-team round-robin tournament, which also includes Livonia Clarenceville from the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference. Except the college accidentally double-booked the facility.
So Churchill stepped up at the last minute and will host the six games on May 9.
While home-field advantage didn’t help against Stevenson, it certainly did against Franklin. The Chargers are hoping it helps again in three days.
“Coming in here today, I told them we can’t (lose to Franklin) and give up our position when we’re going to be at home this weekend,” Vinitski said. “That’s an advantage to us, and we can get them (Stevenson) backright here. The three of us have been going back and forth for the KLAA, but now we’re in a position that if we take care of business, we can walk out of here on Saturday with one loss, and everyone else has more than one loss. So we’re in a great spot. We’ve just got to go out there and execute.”
The Chargers certainly executed against the Patriots, who scored first after Makenna Goldman ripped a triple to right field that brought home Kinlee Goldman from second base.
Churchill answered immediately in the second inning.
Jordyn Jackson floated a bloop single to left field that scored Lauren Lowry. Zoe Freeman then brought home Emma Karbowski, and Tayler Fisher narrowly smacked a line drive past Franklin's lockdown shortstop, Savana Mullen, to score Kara Kingery.
Two at-bats later, Aydan Soper, the team’s lone senior and a three-year captain, doubled home Freeman and Fisher for the eventual winning runs.
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“Bouncing back like this, it’s really good for our confidence, especially going into City’s,” said Soper, who went 4-for-4 with three singles. “It’s not an ideal situation to play both rivals back-to-back, but I’m really proud of our team for powering through that challenge, never giving up and keeping going. The way we supported each other today after yesterday’s loss is going to be really good going into City’s this weekend.”
Soper said she took pride in how Churchill responded because it’s a young team with little experience. In most games, the Chargers start at least six underclassmen but sometimes seven. Vinitski jokes that the roster is “Aydan and the kids.”
After graduating leaders Betty Adams (Michigan-Dearborn), Anna Battagin (Madonna) and six other seniors last year, Soper has taken her new leadership role seriously.
“I definitely feel some pressure, even if I think it’s more self-imposed,” she said. “I have so much to live up to from last year’s seniors that I want to make sure that I embody everything I want from this team, from toughness in the field to mental tougheness and picking yourself up after you make an error. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m happy I can at least let it go for that inning and keep going back to the next pitch, the next at-bat and power through because that’s what I want from my teammates. If I can do it, that’s me leading by example and making sure the other kids can do it as well.”
Soper backed that up against Franklin.
Not only did she reach base all four times against pitcher Lily Ruhl, who struck out five, walked two and gave up 13 hits, but she also dove for a foul ball near third base, resulting in her dragging her chin across the turf near the fence.
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“She has hit and played like this all year for us,” Vinitski said. “She’s seeing beach balls at the plate, plus she’s a leader and playing incredible defense. She has been top-notch, leading a very young group that can be super strong at one minute, and then the next minute, you see their eyes get big, like, ‘What’s going on today?’ Today, she helped them refocus.”
Soper’s encouragement worked, even when Franklin fought back.
The Patriots answered with Kinlee Goldman scoring Mullen on a sacrifice fly in the third and Sarah Schniers singling home McKenna Goldman in the fifth, but the Chargers added two insurance runs late. Ella Clenney lined a single to center field that scored Lowry in the fifth, and Kingery, who finished 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
Clare Carpen also pitched well, striking out seven, walking two and allowing seven hits.
“My message to the team was to make sure we’re focused on making those routine plays, making sure we’re being patient in the box and making sure we’re doing our best we can,” Soper said. “We just really wanted to play hard, play strong and believe in ourselves. We didn’t want to lose sight of each other because we can’t win a game without backing each other up, encouraging each other.”
Essentially, Soper wants her teammates to control what they can control.
They can’t control a postponement pushing the Stevenson game to one night before they faced Franklin, nor can they control Madonna bungling what should’ve been a great showcase atmosphere on a college campus.
But they can control how they respond to adversity. And at least for one night against Franklin, Soper had the Chargers looking resilient.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at@folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com:Livonia Churchill softball beats Livonia Franklin, 7-3
