'They weren't afraid to play': Pinckney fares well against top softball teams

To win a district softball championship, Pinckney will have to get past two tough opponents Saturday in Adrian.

The Pirates are ready, heading into the postseason having competed favorably against some of the best teams in the state Saturday and Sunday in the Battle on Six Mile Tournament in Northville.

Unranked Pinckney, a Division 2 team, split two close games against teams ranked in the top six in Division 1 and split two games with Division 2 teams that received honorable mention in the latest rankings.

After going 3-0 Saturday, Pinckney took on the defending state Division 1 champion, top-ranked South Lyon, and lost a 3-1 decision Sunday in the semifinals.

The Pirates finished the tournament with a 7-2 loss to Detroit Country Day, an honorable mention Division 2 team. Pinckney won 7-2 over Trenton, which received Division 2 honorable mention, in its third game.

“That’s definitely a confidence builder,” Pinckney coach Eric Arnold said. “We’re hopefully peaking at the right time. The girls battled hard. They took Mercy, a ranked team, down. Basically, two plays on Sunday, if they don’t happen, we beat South Lyon, the No. 1 team.

“They hung with them. They faced the best pitcher in the state, probably. We scored one off her; it should’ve been two. The girls weren’t afraid to play. It was good to see they battled hard.”

South Lyon all-stater Ava Bradshaw allowed three hits and two walks in six innings against Pinckney, striking out eight. A solo homer by Lauren Kaus in the fifth inning accounted for the Pirates’ run.

Sydney Pease gave up four hits and four walks in six innings against South Lyon, which won the tournament.

“Sydney kept batters off balance,” Arnold said. “It was just us going against that competition and the girls not backing down. They were in some nail-biters, especially against Mercy, and they didn’t flinch. They played a heck of a game. It was fun to watch.”

Four errors led to six unearned runs in the loss to Country Day. The game was tied 2-2 before the Yellowjackets scored five in the fourth inning.

Pinckney is 28-7-1 with two nonleague games scheduled before facing Fowlerville (22-8) at noon Saturday in the Division 2 district semifinals at Adrian. The winner will face the Chelsea-Tecumseh winner at 2 p.m. for the championship. Chelsea (29-3) is ranked No. 3 in the Division 2.

Chelsea swept Pinckney, 10-2 and 18-1, on April 25.

“We’re definitely trying not to look past Fowlerville, because they’re a solid team,” Arnold said. “They play a lot of small ball. They’ve got a good team. They put pressure on you. We’ve got a tough first game. Hopefully, we’re ready for it. We’ve been practicing for it. Hopefully, this weekend kind of gears us up for that.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com.  Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Pinckney fares well against top softball teams in Battle on Six Mile