Lake Fenton Softball Loses 9-4 in Regional Semifinal

The Lake Fenton softball team was unable to rekindle the magic it used earlier in the season and during the district tournament last week in the regional semifinal at Millington High School on Saturday.

The Blue Devils were unable to come back from an 8-0 deficit against Montrose, losing 9-4.

came from behind to beat Montrose earlier this year and , but it was unable to complete the rally on Saturday.

“I thought we could come back,” said Lake Fenton senior Alyssa McCoy. “We were hitting the ball, we were just hitting it at people. “

The Blue Devils dug themselves in a deep hole as the Rams scored six first-inning runs, highlighted by a Hannah Atwell home run. Montrose added two more in the third inning on a Melissa King double to make the score 8-0.

Lake Fenton got on the board in the fourth inning with a two-RBI single from Alexis Melton and added another on an error of a batted ball by McCoy that scored Jessica Keller to make the score 8-3 in the fifth inning.

“We have come from behind before, we were hoping it would happen again,” said Lake Fenton coach Amos Rinks. “But it was too much to overcome.”

A Taylor Sheychich single scored Paula Valacak in the sixth inning to make the score 8-4 and the Blue Devils had a chance to get back in the game as they loaded the bases with one out, but couldn’t get any more runs home as Montrose added another run and held on for the victory.

“We put the ball in play, we just didn’t hit the ball as hard as they did,” said Rinks. “We seemed jittery or nervous in the beginning of the game. We made mistakes we don’t normally make.”

It was the Blue Devils' fifth straight appearance in the regional tournament, and the team ended the season with a 23-12 record.

“It’s been fun,” McCoy said. “I love this team. We have good chemistry. We just know we could have done better.”