Pictured is the Hancock softball team. The team includes Alice Larson, Chloe Bastian, Josie Hembroff, Kaelyn Rouleau, Ella Storm, Megan Pelto, Sydnie Scholie, Sadie Biekkola, Sofie Freeman, Diem Kilpela, Brooke Koskela, Emilie Piernier, and Mallory Sporalski. The team is coached by Craig Biekkola, Gary Scholie and Hannah Impola. (Levi Erkkila/For the Gazette)

MARQUETTE — On Friday, March 29, four Copper Country softball teams made their way to Marquette for the annual Spring Swing Invite. The two-day tournament occurred on the Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome turf. The Calumet Copper Kings, Hancock Bulldogs, Houghton Gremlins, and Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes got invited to participate with 13 other teams from the U.P. and Wisconsin.

The Gremlins, Kings, and Lakes took the field four times over the 48 hours, while the Bulldogs played three times. The number of innings in each game varied due to a 75-minute time limit that decided the end of the contest.

Hancock went 2-1 on the weekend

In a five-inning battle, the Hancock Bulldogs lost their first game 7-4 against a Wisconsin school, Wittenberg-Birnamwood. Sadie Biekkola pitched four innings and gave up five runs.

Sydnie Scholie took the ball for the final inning and surrendered two.

Hancock faced another Wisconsin school in their second fixture, Bonduel, in a six-inning game that resulted in an 8-7 Bulldog victory. Sadie started on the mound for the second straight game and threw 93 pitches over the six frames, giving up seven runs, eight hits, and five walks. Sadie helped herself by producing three RBIs and two runs scored on a single and home run.

Mallory Sporalski singled and homered while driving in one run and scoring two, Diem Kilpela sent a solo shot out of the park, and Scholie managed a three RBI triple.

Menominee was the third and final matchup of Hancock’s weekend, which finished 9-5 in favor of the Bulldogs after six innings. Scholie started on the rubber but left the game after 3.1 innings pitched, three earned runs, and four hits. Sadie came in for the final eight outs; however, she gave up two runs on two hits, but Bulldog bats backed up their two pitchers. Sadie hit a home run for the second straight game and a single, resulting in two RBIs and two runs scored. Brooke Koskela had two base hits that produced two RBIs and two runs scored. Megan Pelto scored, singled, and grabbed an RBI. Alice Larson singled and scored.

Scholie doubled and scored while Josie Hembroff and Larson each crossed home plate.

Hancock head coach Craig Biekkola spoke on his team’s play over the two days.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start on Friday, but once everybody got through the batting order one time, we started to hit the ball better. Our pitching was a little bit off to begin with as well, but once the girls got some innings in, they played better,” he said.

“We got better as the weekend went along.”

The Bulldogs had two final-inning rallies with multiple runs, and Craig had an idea why his players succeeded in those crunch-time situations.

“I think they get more comfortable throughout the game once they get through their first at-bat,” he said. Once you see that same pitcher a few more times, you get used to how they throw, and then they’re more ready for the pitch, which gives them more confidence.

“It helps that everybody’s contributing offensively. Every player in our line-up 1-9 is hitting the ball.”

Hancock has high expectations after making it to the state quarterfinals last season.

“We’ve got a competitive schedule lined up,” Craig said. “We played a couple of really good teams from Wisconsin yesterday, and we’ve got a couple other Wisconsin teams on our schedule. We’ve tried to make the schedule as competitive as possible.

“We’ve had success over the last few years, and we even got to the quarterfinals last year, so that’s what we’re shooting for again. We want to keep going further in the playoffs than the previous season, with our ultimate goal being to make it to East Lansing and win it all.”