Calumet’s Laura Giachino, left, is greeted by teammates as she crosses home plate after hitting a home run against Gwinn on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Hancock, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — The Driving Park in Hancock was the place to be for all things Calumet softball on Tuesday.

On one field the Copper Kings’ JV squad was battling the JV Hancock girls, and on the other, the Copper Kings’ varsity girls were taking on the Gwinn Modeltowners in a doubleheader.

The varsity Calumet squad swept Gwinn 22-12 and 25-2. Both games ended early due to the mercy rule.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the first four batters in the Calumet (6-4) lineup batted three times each in the first inning. Even more impressive, clean-up hitter Laura Giachino hit two homeruns in that first inning alone in route to a 19-run frame.

The big- run inning was a combination of poor pitching by Gwinn’s starter Maddie Langford and eager Copper Kings’ bats.

“The girls are finally waking up and hitting the ball,” said Calumet head coach Joel Rastello. “They are not up their looking for walks.”

The Modeltowners were able to regroup and play a stronger second and third inning in that second game much to the delight of their coach Monica Sylvester. Her squad even posted two runs in the second.

“That first inning was a disaster,” she said. “I was very happy to see them put that aside and come back and to battle. That showed character.”

Sylvester added that she was very pleased with the hard work her girls put in during the first game as well. The Modeltowners came into Tuesday’s matchup with their first victory in three years. That was a win against Manistique on Monday.

“We are a young team. We have just one junior and one senior,” she said. “They are working hard, and they came ready to play.”

The Modeltowners took a 5 -3 lead after the first two innings and the game was tied at 10 after three. Gwinn’s Shawna Sundholm and Somere Sylvester both had RBI singles for a five-run third.

However, the Gwinn defense couldn’t keep the Copper Kings off the basepaths in the fifth inning. Calumet’s Giachino, Helen Beiring and Kate Newman opened that frame with hard-hit singles to the left side of the field and their teammates brought them across the plate for a nine-run rally. Jana Loukus and Natasha Bemis both had RBIs in the sixth inning, and the game ended with the 10-run mercy rule (22-12).

Monday: Houghton softball sweeps Calumet

HOUGHTON — A chilly breeze blowing across the Peter Bugni Sports Complex at Houghton High School on Monday afternoon could not keep the hot bats of the Houghton Gremlins cool enough for the Calumet Copper Kings to catch up as they lost a doubleheader 12-3 and 14-12.

The sweep kept the Gremlins perfect at 8-0 on the young softball season and moved the Copper Kings to 4-2.

Gremlins head coach Mel Baker chalked the victories up as complete-game performances by her team..

“The bats and the fielding went well, and the pitching was outstanding,” she said.

Grace Brunet was the starter in the opener. She went the distance giving up just three runs on six hits in seven innings and had a good set of Gremlins’ fielders backing her up. The infield wasn’t afraid to get dirty in the Gremlins home opener, and in the outfield, not much fell.

“I was impressed with the hustle,” Baker added.

In the opening game, the Gremlins posted a 4-2 lead after four innings, but put the game away in the fifth with a four-run frame. With bases loaded, left fielder Chloe Morley slapped a double to left center for two RBIs. She herself would eventually score on a Stella Soumis base rap before the third out was recorded. While the Copper Kings notched one more run in the bottom of the fifth thanks to doubles by Helen Beiring and Emily Peterson, it would not be enough. The Gremlins added four more runs in the top of the seventh to clinch the victory. Among those getting hits in that final frame were second baseman Aydra Williamsom and Mackenzie Ekdahl. Ekdahl went 2-2 in the opening game and 3-5 in the second with a total of four RBIs in the double header. Williamson was 3-6 for the afternoon.

HHS 031 040 4 – 12

CHS 000 210 0 – 3

In the second game, pitching earned the win for the Gremlins and was the downfall for the Copper Kings.

Soumis was in the circle for Houghton, and she threw strikes. In four innings, the freshman had eight strikeout and no walks. On the other hand, Gremlins’ pitchers gave up 12 walks in the six-inning game, and too many of those free passes turned into runs.

“Pitching has been our struggle all year,” noted Copper Kings’ head coach Joel Rastello. “In the second game, we hit the ball better, however.”

It was Houghton again who had a big inning in this one. In the second, they scored eight runs and put the game out of reach. Williamson had an RBI double in this inning as did Brynn Arko. While Calumet valiantly mounted a five-run final inning it was not enough as they loss by four.

“We are aw work in progress,” added Rastello. “I am not worried about where we are at during this point in the season. It will come.”

CHS 003 215 – 11

HHS 083 21x – 15