Norway girls varsity softball head coach Robert Bal congratulates Knights catcher Averie Popp (33) on her aggressive baserunning that got her to third base and set her up to score against Ishpeming in the Division 4 Regional 25 tournament at Marion Park in Norway on Sunday. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

NORWAY — With a razor’s edge victory over Ishpeming in their MHSAA Division 4 Regional 25 semifinal game, the Norway Knights appeared to have plenty of momentum heading into the tournament’s championship clash against Pickford on Sunday at Marion Park.

The Knights had fought off the Hematites and standout sophomore pitcher Payton Manninen in a game that was originally scheduled for Saturday but pushed back to Sunday because of rain and poor field conditions.

Norway senior pitcher Kali Stanchina threw a 3-hit shutout against Ishpeming without issuing a walk. The team’s defense was rock-solid, and the Knights felt good about their chances the title game against a Pickford team beat Hancock 12-1 in 6 innings in the other semifinal, on Saturday, but had lost 14 games during the regular season.

Additionally, Norway coaches had scouted the Pickford hitters against Hancock and felt the Knights’ pitching and defense could handle them. But that, and everything else, seemed to change in one swing of the bat.

Leading off the game, Pickford senior catcher Lucy Bennin (3-5, 3 R, 3 RBIs) launched a deep, high drive to left field that cleared the fence to put the Panthers ahead immediately. The blast seemed to halt all the good vibes the Knights felt heading into the championship contest.

Knights shortstop Hannah Burklund (18) looks to tag Ishpeming’s Miley Phillips (9) for an out during Norway’s 2-0 win in the district semifinal Sunday. The game was originally set for Saturday but postponed due to rain and poor field conditions. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

Things never really changed from that point forward as Pickford defeated Norway 11-4 for the regional title. The Knights finished the 2022 season with a 28-9 record.

“That kind of burst your bubble a little bit,” Norway coach Robert Bal said of Bennin’s homer. “The first game was a 2-0 pitchers’ duel. But you get into this game, they hit a home run right away … and we just never seemed to get into the flow.”

Before the top of the first was completed, Pickford scored 3 more runs and, as a team, hit for the cycle. The key blow after Bennin’s HR was a 2-run triple down the right-field line.

The Knights did not go quietly by any means. They hit Pickford with 2 runs in the bottom of the first when senior second baseman Gabrielle Leiker (1-3, 2 RBIs) drove in Hannah Burklund (0-3, R) and Averie Popp (2-3, R) with a 2-out single to center to cut the gap to 4-2.

However, the Panthers (24-14-2) answered right back. Bennin drove a deep double to left, barely missing her second homer of the day. Sophomore Chloe May (4-4, 4 Rs, RBI) followed with a double to center that gave Pickford a 5-2 lead before senior left fielder Lizzie Storey singled to center to help her team re-establish its 4-run advantage 6-2.

Norway cleanup hitter Donna Van Holla (0) watches and checks her swing on an outside pitch during the Knights’ 11-4 loss to Pickford in the regional championship game Sunday afternoon. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

By that point, the Panthers had made a deep impression on the Norway coaching staff.

“We didn’t see (the powerful hitting) when we watched them play Hancock,” Bal said. “They didn’t hit nearly that well. But they did their homework on our pitcher, and they put the ball in play and they hit some deep shots.

“We didn’t play poorly, but we didn’t play clean, either.”

The first sign of that came in the bottom of the first when the inning ended on a base-running gamble. The Knights ended up running themselves into four outs during the contest.

“We’re really aggressive on the bases and today it might have cost us,” Bal said. “We made a couple of mistakes on the bases and that’s usually not like us. But that’s part of the game.

Knights third baseman Elizabeth Romitti (17) looks and checks an Ishpeming runner after nabbing a grounder and stepping on third for a force out in Norway’s 2-0 win over the Hematites on Sunday. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

“Today just wasn’t our afternoon,” he added. “We spent so much energy on that first game, I don’t know, for good or bad. That first game was tough.”

The final calmed down a bit until the top of the fourth inning when Pickford increased its lead to 8-2 when sophomore first baseman Laura Bush (2-4, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs) belted an RBI double and Storey (2-4, 2 RBIs) followed with a run-scoring single.

In the bottom of the fifth, Norway started with consecutive singles by sophomore third baseman Elizabeth Romitti (2-3, R) and freshman left-fielder Emma Dube (1-3). The runners advanced on a wild pitch, but Pickford then pulled off a double play when centerfielder Madison Thurmes gloved Norway junior Taylor Adams’ (1-3, RBI) fly to center and threw to second for the twin killing.

Pickford sophomore pitcher Finley Hudecek induced a fly out to center from Stanchina (1-4) to end the threat and take the life out of the Knights’ players and the home crowd.

The Panthers threatened to end the game in the sixth, keyed by Bennin’s second homer of the afternoon, this one even farther and higher than her first one. Pickford scored one more run in the frame on a wild pitch to set the score at 11-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Norway first baseman Mackenzie Gilroy (5) squeezes the ball in her glove for an out as Ishpeming’s Kadie Kaukola (4) runs down the line during the regional semifinal Sunday at Marion Park. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

The Knights added two to their final tally in the seventh on a two-run error that plated senior first baseman Mackenzie Gilroy (1-3, R) and Romitti.

But the potential rally ended there and the Knights fell one step short of a regional title and a trip into the state quarterfinal.

Afterward, Bal reflected first on his memorable senior class which included Gilroy, Leiker, Stanchina and Popp.

“It’s emotional,” Bal said with tears in his eyes. “They mean so much to the program and they’re brilliant kids. All of them are going to college, two of them to the (University of Michigan.) Three of them are in the top six in their class and they’re all in the top 10. They’re all going to do great things in life.

“I love them kids. You don’t replace kids like that.”

Bal said that his team will likely take a hit next spring from the loss of those four seniors, especially early, but he said the 2023 Knights will fight to be a force in Division 4 softball again.

“The cupboard’s not bare,” Bal said. “Maybe we won’t be as solid, but we’ll keep at it. It might take a little bit, but we’ll get back on the horse and we’ll be back.”

KNIGHTS 2, HEMATITES 0

NORWAY — The Knights earned their way into the MHSAA Division 4 Regional 25 championship game with a 2-0 victory over Ishpeming in the early game Sunday at Marion Park.

The Knights scored both of their runs in the top of the fourth. Stanchina (1-3, R) drove a catchable fly ball to right-centerfield, but the Hematite outfielders banged into each other and the ball fell to the ground. Stanchina, who had hustled out of the box, came around to score on an errant relay throw to third base.

Three hitters later, Popp (2-3, R) smacked a single to center, advanced on consecutive wild pitches and scored on a sacrifice fly just over second base by Norway clean-up hitter Donna Van Holla (0-2, RBI).

“What doesn’t show up in the box score is our pitcher, Kali, hits the ball to right field that should be a can of corn,” Bal said. “Instinctively, she hustles all the way to third and she gets a throw to third. That was huge.

“And I told Averie on that tag up, ‘Wherever (the defender) catches it, you go. We get gunned out at home, hey, I’ll live with it.'”

Those two runs were all Stanchina would need. After Ishpeming senior shortstop Ella Luke (1-3) and sophomore pitcher Payton Manninen (1-3) reached on back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the fourth, Stanchina promptly set down 13 of the next 14 hitters to complete her 3-hit shutout. The right-hander fanned 6 and did not issue a walk.

Stanchina’s effort was needed given the pitching of Manninen. The Hematite right-hander was impressive in the circle as well, also throwing a 3-hitter. She fanned 10 and did not issue a walk.

But for a couple of plays, Manninen would have been locked in a shutout duel with Stanchina.

Manninen also reached base twice herself, once on an error and once on a solid single to center.

“I think she’s the top Division 4 pitcher in the U.P.,” Hematite coach Ben McGuire said. “She’s also a very good hitter; she batted over .600 this year.”

Coming into the regional tournament, the Hematites had put together an historic season with a 19-12 record, breaking the school’s previous season record for wins by one. Ishpeming also earned its fourth district championship.

The final game, however, was a disappointment, he said.

“I thought we were very evenly matched,” McGuire said of his squad and Norway’s. “We had a couple kids missing today, including my third baseman who was one of my best hitters, so that hurt. But my kids played really hard and played really well.”

With two talented pitchers throwing strikes, the game Sunday flew by in just over an hour. The difference was that Norway was more stout defensively than Ishpeming.

“We’ve been hanging our hat on our defense all year,” Bal said. “I told the girls, ‘It’s 21 outs, I don’t care where they come from.'”

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 247, or at jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.