St. Mary will know right off the bat whether it will advance far into the Division IV girls' softball District playoffs being held Saturday, May 31.

The Eagles' first opponent will be long-time nemesis St. Francis in a 10 a.m. game at the St. Ann Elizabeth Seton Middle School ball fields on Three Mile Road in Traverse City. Glen Lake and Leland will take the field for the second game around 11:30 a.m., with the championship game expected to start around 2 p.m.

LELAND BASERUNNER Dena Popp slides
safely into second base against Frankfort
Tuesday.

The two teams met Saturday at the Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Tournament, with the Glads coming out on top, 8-5. St. Mary coach Ed Merica said he was pleased with how the Eagles started the game.

“They didn’t have their starting pitcher in and we got three runs off of her in the first inning. Then they put their starter back in,” he said, and the Eagles couldn’t sustain the momentum they started the game with.

It was the only meeting between the two schools this year since St. Mary didn’t face the hosts at the Gladiators tournament on April 26.

The Eagles will be relying on ace senior pitcher Susan Herman in the tournament, and Merica said the 8-5 score from Saturday’s match-up is not indicative of how well St. Mary might do against the Glads.

“You have to remember when we played St. Francis Saturday, Susan was pitching her third seven-inning game of the day and was getting a little tired. Of course we have to remember their starter will be fresh as well,” he said.

The second game features Leland, a young team that at times has shown a spark of offensive firepower, and Glen Lake, another young team that’s balanced with a core of experienced senior players. Both teams have good pitchers: Cori Kahler for Glen Lake, and Dena Popp for Leland.

“Leland is a team we cannot look past. In the three games we played this season, we won all of them, but Leland was in them right to the end,” Laker coach Gary Galla said.

If the Comets play Glen Lake like they did during the first four innings of the first game against Frankfort Tuesday afternoon, there could be an upset brewing. Coach Joe Nedow said his team’s Achilles heel all season has been defense.

“We can hit and we can run, but our fielding, our defense is something we always need to improve,” he said.

Galla said he doesn’t know much about the Gladiators since the two teams weren’t able to schedule a doubleheader this season. “They’re a bit of an unknown to us. We know they’ll be tough, as will St. Mary and Leland. There are no easy roads in the district,” he said.

Comets coach Joe Nedow (right) gives
instructions to his players.

The Suttons Bay softball team may be in unique position when it plays Mancelona at Elk Rapids Tuesday afternoon for a Division III pre-district game. The Norsemen have just two wins on the season, but coach Jennifer Kloosterman said her young team has improved with each practice, even if that improvement has not always shown itself in games.

“I look at how they played at Glen Lake (Tuesday night) and while they didn’t win, they were in those games. The girls looked relaxed and were having fun. I’m hoping we can continue that into Tuesday against Mancelona,” she said.

The winner of the Suttons Bay-Mancelona game will face Kalkaska in the second game of the day on Saturday, May 31 in Elk Rapids, with the winner of that game going on to the championship. The second game should start around noon, with the championship possibly starting as early as 2 p.m.