Hancock’s D’Andra Kero tags out Houghton’s McKenna Foster at second Wednesday at the Boneyard in Lake Linden. Hancock swept the doubleheader 3-1 and 11-10. (Bryce Derouin/Daily Mining Gazette)

LAKE LINDEN — The body language said it all for the Hancock Bulldogs. They looked cold and all but ready to admit defeat if it meant they could be done and head somewhere warm. Forget about thinking about a comeback; with no scoreboard at Lake Linden’s Boneyard, the Bulldogs were wondering if they had been mercied by rival Houghton.

Just one hit and five errors after four innings led to Hancock’s eight-run deficit and dejected demeanor as the sun set and gave way to colder temperatures. That’s when the umpires and coaches had to go over the scorebooks to make sure Hancock wasn’t in danger of losing due to the 10-run mercy rule.

And in a way, finding out they were still in the game was similar to getting a second life. The Bulldogs stopped throwing the ball carelessly around the field, utilized a patient approach at the plate and put together timely hits — like a grand slam by Abby Brooks — to pull off an 11-10 win over Houghton on Wednesday.

“That’s the craziest game we’ve been a part of,” said Hancock coach Randy Heinonen, whose team also won the opener 3-1. “I give our kids a lot of credit. They kept battling and got the win.”

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Vanessa Dulong completed the comeback victory when she was hit by a pitch for the walk-off victory.

The Bulldogs took advantage of Houghton’s inability to hit the strike zone. They finished with 15 walks, including eight in the last three innings. And after playing error-free in the first four innings, Houghton committed two mistakes as the Bulldogs rallied.

“Very frustrating, but hopefully we learned a lesson or two,” Houghton coach Melissa Baker said. “When you have a couple errors with a young pitcher, it gets in her head, and I think that’s when we fell apart.”

The free passes inspired the Hancock bats. Suddenly, the Bulldogs were ripping the ball all over the field. Jordyn Rowe and Maddie Johnson each recorded RBI singles in the sixth as Delaney Heinonen drew a walk to cut Houghton’s lead to 9-4. Then it was Brooks’ turn, and with the bases loaded, she launched a fly ball over the center field fence, where not even Houghton’s Cassidy Becia could reach it. Earlier, Becia robbed Janie Berg of a home run in the third inning, but now everything was going Hancock’s way.

“(Brooks) hit a big shot in the districts last year, so we know she can hit the ball,” Randy Heinonen said. “We got her in the middle of the order for that reason. I wasn’t totally shocked when she hit it.”

The Bulldogs would load the bases again in the sixth before Houghton escaped with a one-run lead.

Houghton’s McKenna Foster scored on an RBI groundout from Raili Therrian in the top of the seventh to push the team’s lead to 10-8. But once again, Hancock rallied.

Hancock’s Gabby Mukavetz scored Johnson on a sac fly, and Payton Dube sent Delaney Heinonen home on an RBI single to tie the game at 10.

“Our hitters started to time their pitcher,” Randy Heinonen said. “She had us off-balance, and we finally started to swing the sticks.”

Harlee Froberg recorded Houghton’s major offensive highlight with a two-run home run that made it 7-1 in the fourth inning. Josie Connors later scored from third as Hancock attempted to catch Sofie Kyllonen stealing, and Becia sent Kyllonen home on an RBI single for a 9-1 advantage.

“We had that lead and I thought we just felt comfortable and didn’t push to score more,” Baker said. “We’re settling for the little hits instead of wanting to go further.”

Heinonen allowed four earned runs on eight walks, five hits and three strikeouts. In Game 1, Heinonen struck out eight and surrendered one earned run on four hits and five walks.

Offensively for Hancock, Heinonen recorded an RBI double in the first to score Rowe, while Berg tallied a run in the fifth and Dube scored in the sixth.