The Herald-Courier

Travel Softball: Lady Cards 10U wins 3; 12-Under also wins 3



Photo Courtesy of Coach Jeff Johnson
Catcher Leah Johnson awaits a Gabrielle Dern pitch in a 12-Under travel softball game last week with the Arcade Area Lady Cardinals.

In travel softball action last week, the Arcade Area Lady Cardinals won three games each in 10-Under and 12-Under, while the 14-Under team lost its lone start.

On May 15, 2023, the Lady Cards 10-Under team defeated host Oakfield, 19-4, and improved to 3-0 in the GLOW League (Genesee Livingston Orleans Wyoming). The 10-Under Lady Cardinals are sponsored by Edelweiss Farms of Freedom.  The 10-Under Lady Cards improved to 5-2-1.

Leah Johnson hit a baby cycle (single, double, triple) and scored five runs. She won the Carlee the Cardinal Award for the game. Layla Batterson, McKenzie Bauder, and Natalie Laskowski each hit two singles and scored three runs. Gabrielle Dern hit two RBI singles and scored two runs, while Aliyah Beaudette hit two singles also, with one RBI and scoring two runs. Avery Redden and EmmaJean Breymiller reached base five times each, but only Redden scored one run.

The Lady Cards had to go with eight players instead of nine. Coach Jeff Johnson said that the Lady Cardinals “play with what we have,” and do not bring in guest players or “ringers.” He praised the play of all eight players, especially Batterson, who played solid at shortstop, and Laskowski, who played at first base. Laskowski also executed a throw to home plate to stop a runner stealing home. Dern, Batterson, and Leah Johnson combined to strike out 14 Oakfield batters, plus they kept the ball in play all game long.

On May 17, the Arcade Area 10-Under Lady Cardinals defeated visiting Pavilion on Drennan Field in Arcade, 16-6. Leah Johnson threw three innings and struck out eight, while Hayley Richards, Dern, and Laskowski threw one inning each and combined for eight strikeouts, for a total of 16 strikeouts for the game (season-high).

The Lady Cards had 14 hits, led by Leah Johnson’s second baby cycle of the week (single, double, homer). Batterson hit a homer and double, while Dern, Jaelyn Kish, and Bauder hit two singles each. Breymiller and Arabella O’Neil hit one RBI single apiece. Aliyah Beaudette and Redden scored one run each, while Laskowski drew three walks and scored three runs.

Leah Johnson snagged a line drive on the pitcher’s mound in the third inning and picked off a runner on first base to end the game, leading the Lady Card defense. The Lady Cards improved to 6-2-1.

The Lady Cards beat host Pembroke Crimson Pride on May 21, 14-4, in the opener of a doubleheader. The Pembroke Nightmare won the nightcap and gained the split, 9-6. 

Dern threw seven innings and struck out 12, plus she scored three runs on offense. Kish and Redden also scored three runs, while Leah Johnson, Batterson, Richards, Bauder, and Aliyah Beaudette scored two runs each. Breymiller and O’Neil reached base many times but were not able to score. Dern and Kish each picked off a runner at third base and Bauder had an unassisted double play.

The 10-Under Lady Cards improved to 7-3-1. They hosted Dansville at Drennan Park on Sullivan Avenue in Arcade on May 23.

Photo Courtesy of Coach Jeff Johnson
Pitcher Grace Cornell is in the middle of a rally by her infield after one of her 17 strikeouts for the Arcade Area Lady Cardinals in their 12-Under travel softball game against the Lancaster Heat last week. The Lady Cards won 9-5.

In 12-Under GLOW play on May 16, the 12-Under Lady Cards, who are sponsored by Heineman and Sons Plumbing of Sardinia, beat host Pembroke, 15-7. Pembroke scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, 2-0, but the Lady Cards scored four in the top of the second to take a 4-2 lead, after Olivia Foss, Janessa Beaudette, Hannah Bauder, and Porschea Neamon scored one run apiece. Janessa Beaudette hit a two-run double for the inning’s biggest hit. 

Pembroke tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the second, but the Lady Cards rallied for nine runs and grabbed a 9-4 lead. Foss, Hannah Bauder, Janessa Beaudette, Leah Johnson, and Mya Raley scored, with Raley hitting an RBI single.

Pembroke scored one to make the score 9-5, Lady Cards, after three innings. In the fourth inning, Foss scored for the third straight inning, with Dern, Neamon, and Emma Kirsch also scoring to give the Lady Cards a 13-5 lead. Neamon hit an RBI single.

Pembroke closed the Lady Cards’ lead to 13-7 in the bottom of the fourth. Kirsch and Dern scored to give the Lady Cards a 15-7 lead in the top of the fifth. Dern and Neamon each hit an RBI single. 

While Janessa Beaudette battled through each inning in the pitching circle (10 strikeouts), her defense picked up to back her. Foss caught a line drive at first base and Raley, at shortstop, made a great play to end the game.

“It was a hard-earned win for sure, but these wins sure do build character,” said Coach Johnson.

On May 18, in a game that only took one hour and five minutes, the host Lady Cardinals defeated Oakfield Blue, 6-0. Grace Cornell threw the complete game win, with a one-hitter and eight strikeouts. She only needed 68 pitches. But Coach Johnson said that her defense “was truly spectacular in support of her.”

Alexis Brown had four putouts at second base, Raley had one at shortstop, Cornell had three of her own on the mound, and Leah Johnson threw to Janessa Beaudette at first base, who then threw to Raley at shortstop to pick off a runner trying to steal second base.

Janessa Beaudette scored in the first inning for a 1-0 lead and Kirsch scored for a 2-0 lead. In the third inning, Cornell, Janessa Beaudette, and Raley scored for a 5-0 Lady Card lead, as Raley hit a two-run triple and Brown hit a one-run single. Brown singled Beaudette home again for a 6-0 Lady Card lead in the fifth inning. Leah Johnson and Redden hit one single each, but could not score.

Coach Johnson awarded the Carlee the Cardinal Award to four call-ups from the 10-Under Lady Cards that “did a great job tonight,” and he added again that the Lady Cards do not bring in ringers or players from other teams. He praised the call-ups for their efforts: Laskowski, Redden, Aliyah Beaudette, and Mckenzie Bauder. The win improved the 12-Under Lady Cardinals to 11-2 overall and 4-0 in GLOW.

On May 21, the 12-Under Lady Cards improved to 3-0 in Metro and 12-2 overall after beating Lancaster Heat, 9-5. Cornell threw all seven innings and struck out 17. She also had three hits on offense and scored one run. Battling through multiple injuries, catcher Leah Johnson still caught a great game and had three hits, plus she scored three runs. Janessa Beaudette and Raley each had one hit, one RBI, and scored one run. Hannah Bauder hit a huge two-run single in the third inning that scored Brown and Kirsch to give the Lady Cards a 6-2 lead. Neamon hit a double and scored one run, while Dern also scored one run.

Coach Johnson said that the Lady Cardinals continue to battle through “little mistakes,” but improve each day by “sticking together and keeping their chins up when times get tough.”  The Lady Cardinals 12-Under team visit Akron and host Alden this week in GLOW action.

The 14-Under Lady Cardinals, sponsored by Great Lengths Solutions, lost to the Lakeview Lightning, 13-0. The 14-Under Lady Cards seek their first win after two starts (0-1 in Metro and 0-2 overall).

Savannah Beaudette threw three innings and struck out six, while Peyton Comstock and Mackenzie Leigh Johnson threw one inning apiece. Janessa Beaudette had the lone Lady Card hit, even though the Lady Cards put the ball in play all game long, as Lakeview made all the plays. The 14-Under Lady Cardinals visit North Buffalo on May 26 for a 6:15 p.m. start.

But as Coach Johnson says, “Keep it going, ladies. Go Cardinals Go!”

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