Athens Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Over West Bloomfield

TROY – Athens shortstop Melissa Palmer earned some bragging rights over her future college teammate on Wednesday.

Palmer did a little bit of everything to help the Red Hawks sweep West Bloomfield in a doubleheader 4-3 and 3-1 to secure first place in the Oakland Activities Association White division.

The senior’s big day at the plate came at the expense of Lakers senior starting pitcher Allyson Kus, who she’ll be taking the field with next year at Western Michigan University.

“When we get Melissa on base, we score, “Athens coach Dave Marr said. “She’s been thrown out on the bases only one time this entire year. She turns routine base running into big plays.”

In game one, Palmer led off the seventh inning with a single. She proceeded to steal second and third base before scoring the winning run on an RBI single from Meg Richter.

Palmer continued to frustrate the Lakers in the second game. She had a hand in producing all three of the Red Hawks’ runs.

In the third inning, Palmer caught West Bloomfield (8-6; 4-3 OAA White) off guard when she stole home with two outs. She was already sliding into home plate by the time Kus threw the ball back to her catcher Brooklynn Powers.

The Lakers would answer with a run in the fourth inning, but in the top of the fifth, Palmer broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI double.

Palmer would come around to score again when Powers tried to catch her stealing third base and the ball rolled into the outfield. Palmer rounded third and scored easily on the error.

“We have some things we have to work on, I know we are going to work on throwing runners out tomorrow,” West Bloomfield coach Jessica Granger said.

Coming into the game, Palmer led Athens (13-3; 6-0 OAA White) with 24 runs scored. She pushed the total up even further with her four runs on Wednesday. She finished the doubleheader 4-for-8 with an RBI and three stolen bases.

Kus ended up on the losing end to Red Hawks starter Haley Zemmer in both games of the doubleheader. Only two of the seven runs Kus gave up were earned. She pitched two complete games, striking out 14 while giving up 12 hits and walking four. Kus added a home run in the first game.

“She had a great performance,” Granger said. “Unfortunately, we had some errors, but we’re building. By the end of the season, our goal is to improve greatly (in the field) and I think we are going to do that.”

Zemmer looked stronger as the afternoon went on.

In the first game, she gave up three runs on five hits and struck out eight batters. After intermission, she took the mound to open the second game and only two Lakers base runners reached third base over seven innings.

The only Lakers run was unearned and Zemmer only gave up a single base hit. She finished the second game with five strikeouts.

“We knew runs were going to be a premium,” Marr said. “If we can beat good pitching like that we know we can make a run at things down the road. This was huge for us because it puts in the driver’s seat (in the division).”

West Bloomfield heads to Rochester May 9 for a double header. Troy will host Avondale May 7 in a doubleheader.