Pinckney pitchers answer questions in softball sweep of ranked Canton
PINCKNEY — CeCe Thorington, Alli Novick and a few other hitters were givens, but pitching was a big preseason question mark for Pinckney’s softball team.
That question mark turned into an emphatic exclamation point Monday, as three pitchers helped the Pirates open the season with a 5-1, 8-3 sweep of a Canton team which received preseason honorable mention in Division 1.
Junior Abby Rauser pitched a complete game in the opener, striking out six while allowing five hits and no walks. She threw 66 strikes in 99 pitches.
Freshman Natally Pease started the nightcap against a team that played in the KLAA championship game last season, striking out six batters in four innings. She allowed five hits, three walks and two earned runs in her high school debut.
Junior Emma Arnold got the save, pitching three scoreless innings. She gave up three hits and no walks.
“We’ve got three pitchers, and I’ve got confidence in all of them,” Pinckney coach Eric Arnold said. “It was great pitching all around by all three pitchers.”
All three will either continue pitching by committee or vying to take over the No. 1 spot from four-year varsity pitcher Sydney Pease, who was a first-team All-Livingston County selection last year and currently pitches for Henry Ford Community College.
“Sydney was not just an amazing pitcher, but a true role model for all of us,” Rauser said. “I take after her when I’m on the mound. I think of what Sydney would do. It’s really important we fill her shoes, so she feels her job here is complete and she can fully move on to college and focus there.”
Rauser and Arnold saw spot action in the circle the last two years. Rauser had four starts and appeared in 14 games as a pitcher, throwing 38 1/3 innings last season. Arnold had six starts in 10 appearances, throwing 34 innings.
“It was amazing, a dream come true really,” Rauser said. “It’s something I’ve aimed toward since I came up to high school. Getting to finally do that was amazing.”
It wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill sweep for the Pirates — it was a statement.
Canton was 27-6 last season, hitting .384 as a team and averaging 8.9 runs per game. The Chiefs returned five of their top eight hitters, earning honorable mention in the preseason rankings. Pinckney, despite a 30-9-1 record last year, didn’t receive preseason mention in Division 2.
“They’re one of those teams that are a benchmark team,” coach Arnold said. “If you can come out and put two losses on them, that says a lot about our team and the way we played and all the effort they put in over the offseason.”
Pinckney’s biggest offseason news was Thorington’s verbal commitment to the University of Michigan, one of the top college softball programs in the nation.
She lived up to the hype by going 5-for-6 with six runs and three stolen bases from the lead-off spot.
“We knew coming into this that Canton was good,” Thorington said. “We knew they were ranked in D1. I think it set a tone for the season today. I’m excited for what’s next.”
In the first game, Pinckney broke open a 2-1 lead by scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth inning and once in the sixth. Mallory Dickey was 2-for-4 for the Pirates.
Pinckney jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings in the nightcap. The Chiefs got within 6-3 with two runs in the fourth, but Arnold blanked them the rest of the way.
Pinckney’s Kylee Douglas had a two-run double in the second inning and scored on a two-run homer by Novick. MacKenzie Burns was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Pirates.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Pinckney pitchers answer questions in softball sweep of ranked Canton
