By Spinal Column Staff | on May 17, 2022

South Lyon East sophomore Kate Brigmon slides under the tag by Milford catcher Camryn Keogh in the Cougars’ 13-0 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday, May 12 at East. (Special to The Spinal Column Newsweekly/CHRIS WALL)

Milford’s Taylor Mitchell drives the ball to left field in the 13–0 loss to South Lyon East on Thursday, May 12 in game one of the twin bill. (Special to The Spinal Column Newsweekly/CHRIS WALL)

Coming off a doubleheader sweep at Walled Lake Central on May 10, Milford had a tough afternoon dropping a twin bill to South Lyon East on a sunny afternoon at East on May 12.

South Lyon East used the long ball in game one to shutout Milford, 13-0. Alyssa Lemmon, Paulina Ankawi and Claire Loveland all homered while Delaney Lis and Kaitlyn Solberg combined in the circle to limit the Mavericks to three hits in the opener.

Loveland led off with a sharp single to centerfield and scored on a long homer to left field by Lemmon to give the Cougars a quick 2-0 lead. Anna Lassan led off the bottom of the second with a single and scored on a towering homer to left field by Ankawi to give South Lyon East a 4-0 lead. Loveland followed with a three-run homer to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

South Lyon East cruised to the 13-0 final picking up 18 hits to win their ninth win in the LVC.

Lis was pleased with her performance in the circle in game one. “My rise was really snapping today. I knew it was going to work really well. Curve is always my strong pitch, and it was also really working well today, a little high today but it was still pretty good.”

“I want to take our hitting out of this game. I think we hit the ball really well and we worked as a team and our energy was up the whole time. I am really proud of how we played.”

Milford battled back in game two behind senior Taylor Mitchell and freshman Marisa Merz who both went three-for-four at the plate but came up short dropping the nightcap, 9-4. Merz had been on fire at the plate, raising her battling average to .564 to go with nine home runs so far.

“Freshman Marisa Merz has stepped up in a big way,” said head coach Heather Davis. “She is leading the team with a .564 average, .500 OBP (on base percentage), eight doubles, nine home runs and 40 RBIs on the season so far.”

“In addition, she has been a solid defensive third baseman for us all season. Merz is a breath of fresh air for a coach. She is a hard worker, coachable, a team player and just an all-around good kid.”

Mitchell led off game two with a single to left field and came home on an RBI single to right field by Merz to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. The Cougars came back to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first.

South Lyon East senior pitcher Delaney Lis leads the Cougars to a 13-0 victory over Milford. (Special to The Spinal Column Newsweekly/CHRIS WALL)

Milford freshman third baseman Marisa Merz fires to first for the putout. (Special to The Spinal Column Newsweekly/CHRIS WALL)

South Lyon East took the lead in the second inning, erupting for four runs. Lemmon drew a bases loaded walk to pick an RBI as Emma O’Donohue scored for a 2-1 lead.

Rachel Pennington scored on a sacrifice fly by Lis, and Loveland came home on an error to up the lead to 4-1. Sophia Propp’s line drive single made it 5-1. Merz led off the fourth with a single and came home on an RBI double by Reese Hefke to cut the deficit to 4-2. South Lyon East added five more runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 9-2.

Milford’s Kayla Hulswitt and Taylor Mitchell had back-to-back singles in the top of the eighth. Hulswitt scored on a fielder’s choice and Merz doubled to right field to drive in Mitchell for the 9-4 final.

“Game one was a tough loss,” said Davis. “I certainly don’t like to lose, but if the other teams earn it, and East did just that. I was proud of the girls for bouncing back in game two. We got the bats going a little bit more, just not quite enough.”

“The team has come together the last couple of weeks. We have really been stressing the team mindset, playing for our teammates, and having fun on the field. The atmosphere has changed, and it is fun to see them growing together.”

Loveland had a big game in game one going 4-4, including a towering three-run homer, while Lemmon went 2-4 including a homer for the Cougars. South Lyon East head coach Paul Nieto was happy to pick up two wins.

“We have really concentrated on our hitting over the last few weeks,” said Nieto. “Our girls have worked hard, and we are starting to see positive results. The girls are squaring the ball up and making solid contact.”

With the sweep, South Lyon East up their record to 10-2 in the LVC and 16-6 overall heading into the doubleheader on league leading South Lyon (13-1 LVC, 18-2) on Tuesday at home. Next up for Milford (8-6 LVC, 15-13) is a twin bill on Tuesday at home against Walled Lake Northern (11-3 LVC, 19-4-1.)

Watch our post-game interview with South Lyon pitcher Delaney Lis here.

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