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PINCKNEY — The hard part was out of the way for Mackenzie Burns.
The four-year Pinckney varsity softball player came to the plate for the final time in Wednesday’s game with a home run, triple and double in her back pocket. All she needed was a single to hit for the cycle.
But Burns didn’t become a great hitter by chasing pitches to reach individual goals, so she patiently took four straight pitches for balls and headed to first base with a walk.
She was oblivious to how close she came to hitting for the cycle during a 13-2 victory over Ann Arbor Skyline.
“I wasn’t really thinking about that,” said Burns, who was 3-for-3 and drove in five runs. “I was just thinking about hitting the ball hard and square.”
In the end, the most important thing for Burns and her teammates is that they won, something the Pirates have done plenty of in the first three weeks of the season.
Pinckney is off to an 11-3 start and challenging for the SEC White championship, despite losing an outstanding senior class that built the foundation for a successful program.
The Pirates graduated seven seniors, including four who played four full varsity seasons. In that group was center fielder and lead-off hitter CeCe Thorington, who now plays at the University of Michigan.
Pinckney entered the season with plenty of questions, but has answered many of them in fairly short order.
“They’re playing for each other,” Pinckney coach Eric Arnold said. “They’re having fun. It was kind of ‘who are we going to play?’ after last year’s lineup. So far, everything we’re plugging in is working. We’re moving players around and it’s still working. Some games are better than others.”
RELATED:Brighton's Brynn Bobby using her track speed to score on soccer field
RELATED:Thorington 2.0 making seamless transition into lead-off spot for Pinckney softball team
Pinckney’s three losses have been against teams in the current state rankings. The Pirates lost their opener, 4-0, to a Saline team that’s No. 2 in Division 1. They split a doubleheader with Laingsburg, the No. 5 team in Division 3, and split with Chelsea, which received honorable mention in Division 2.
“I definitely knew losing seven seniors was going to be hard, but I’m really happy to see where we’re at,” Burns said. “We definitely work as a team really well. That shows with the win against Chelsea in the second game. Everyone gets along. It’s a great team.”
Against Skyline, Burns led off the second inning with a homer and hit a three-run triple later in the inning, as Pinckney took a 13-1 lead after two innings. Addison Wroblewski and Makenzie Chelenyak each drove in two runs.
Hartland 4, Canton 3
Hartland 14, Canton 3
Hartland’s Alayna Gardner and Maddie Moore each drove in two runs in the first game, while Olivia Forrest allowed one earned run in seven innings.
Kaitlyn Brennan drove in four runs, Emme Kottong drove in three runs, and Sadie Malik and Skylar Spisz were both 3-for-3 in the second game for the Eagles.
Salem 11, Brighton 1
Salem 9, Brighton 4
Brighton’s Eryn McClendon drove in two runs in the second game.
Northville 4, Howell 0
Northville 7, Howell 5
Leighton Scott drove in three runs for Howell in the second game and Lara Anderson doubled in each game. Northville’s Mary Gugala pitched a one-hitter and fanned 10 in the opener.
Hartland 8, Canton 1
Hartland’s Ty Kraut allowed one hit and one unearned run in seven innings. Michael Zielinski was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Aidan Heidt also drove in two runs.
Hartland improved to 9-1 in the KLAA West and opened up a two-game lead over Northville (7-3), which lost to Howell.
Howell 5, Northville 2
Daniel Hampton had two doubles and drove in three runs for Howell. Brady Hamilton gave up one earned run on five hits in six innings.
Chelsea 12, Pinckney 2
Pinckney was swept by Chelsea in a three-game series this week after entering the week 6-0 in the SEC White. The Bulldogs led 9-0 after the top of the third inning.
Adrian and Chelsea are tied for first place in the SEC White with 7-2 records, while Pinckney is in third at 6-3. Adrian will face Chelsea three times next week and Pinckney three times the following week.
Salem 7, Brighton 1
Aden Bailey, Josh Metz and Alex Larson had two hits for Brighton.
Falcons and LB tournament
Playing in his first varsity event, Howell freshman Landon Halonen shot 76 to finish in third place at Lakes of Taylor. He was two shots behind medalist Carter Gogate of Detroit U-D Jesuit. Howell, which didn’t play its regular golfers, took fifth with a 325.
Brighton 14, Northville 1
Joe Skoczylas scored three goals and three assists for Brighton (9-2).
Pinckney 0, Ypsilanti 0
Grace Halash got the shutout for Pinckney.
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Pinckney softball slugger Mackenzie Burns falls single short of cycle
Continue reading...
The four-year Pinckney varsity softball player came to the plate for the final time in Wednesday’s game with a home run, triple and double in her back pocket. All she needed was a single to hit for the cycle.
But Burns didn’t become a great hitter by chasing pitches to reach individual goals, so she patiently took four straight pitches for balls and headed to first base with a walk.
She was oblivious to how close she came to hitting for the cycle during a 13-2 victory over Ann Arbor Skyline.
“I wasn’t really thinking about that,” said Burns, who was 3-for-3 and drove in five runs. “I was just thinking about hitting the ball hard and square.”
In the end, the most important thing for Burns and her teammates is that they won, something the Pirates have done plenty of in the first three weeks of the season.
Pinckney is off to an 11-3 start and challenging for the SEC White championship, despite losing an outstanding senior class that built the foundation for a successful program.
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The Pirates graduated seven seniors, including four who played four full varsity seasons. In that group was center fielder and lead-off hitter CeCe Thorington, who now plays at the University of Michigan.
Pinckney entered the season with plenty of questions, but has answered many of them in fairly short order.
“They’re playing for each other,” Pinckney coach Eric Arnold said. “They’re having fun. It was kind of ‘who are we going to play?’ after last year’s lineup. So far, everything we’re plugging in is working. We’re moving players around and it’s still working. Some games are better than others.”
RELATED:Brighton's Brynn Bobby using her track speed to score on soccer field
RELATED:Thorington 2.0 making seamless transition into lead-off spot for Pinckney softball team
You must be registered for see images attach
Pinckney’s three losses have been against teams in the current state rankings. The Pirates lost their opener, 4-0, to a Saline team that’s No. 2 in Division 1. They split a doubleheader with Laingsburg, the No. 5 team in Division 3, and split with Chelsea, which received honorable mention in Division 2.
“I definitely knew losing seven seniors was going to be hard, but I’m really happy to see where we’re at,” Burns said. “We definitely work as a team really well. That shows with the win against Chelsea in the second game. Everyone gets along. It’s a great team.”
Against Skyline, Burns led off the second inning with a homer and hit a three-run triple later in the inning, as Pinckney took a 13-1 lead after two innings. Addison Wroblewski and Makenzie Chelenyak each drove in two runs.
Hartland 4, Canton 3
Hartland 14, Canton 3
Hartland’s Alayna Gardner and Maddie Moore each drove in two runs in the first game, while Olivia Forrest allowed one earned run in seven innings.
Kaitlyn Brennan drove in four runs, Emme Kottong drove in three runs, and Sadie Malik and Skylar Spisz were both 3-for-3 in the second game for the Eagles.
Salem 11, Brighton 1
Salem 9, Brighton 4
Brighton’s Eryn McClendon drove in two runs in the second game.
Northville 4, Howell 0
Northville 7, Howell 5
Leighton Scott drove in three runs for Howell in the second game and Lara Anderson doubled in each game. Northville’s Mary Gugala pitched a one-hitter and fanned 10 in the opener.
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Baseball
Hartland 8, Canton 1
Hartland’s Ty Kraut allowed one hit and one unearned run in seven innings. Michael Zielinski was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Aidan Heidt also drove in two runs.
Hartland improved to 9-1 in the KLAA West and opened up a two-game lead over Northville (7-3), which lost to Howell.
Howell 5, Northville 2
Daniel Hampton had two doubles and drove in three runs for Howell. Brady Hamilton gave up one earned run on five hits in six innings.
Chelsea 12, Pinckney 2
Pinckney was swept by Chelsea in a three-game series this week after entering the week 6-0 in the SEC White. The Bulldogs led 9-0 after the top of the third inning.
Adrian and Chelsea are tied for first place in the SEC White with 7-2 records, while Pinckney is in third at 6-3. Adrian will face Chelsea three times next week and Pinckney three times the following week.
Salem 7, Brighton 1
Aden Bailey, Josh Metz and Alex Larson had two hits for Brighton.
Golf
Falcons and LB tournament
Playing in his first varsity event, Howell freshman Landon Halonen shot 76 to finish in third place at Lakes of Taylor. He was two shots behind medalist Carter Gogate of Detroit U-D Jesuit. Howell, which didn’t play its regular golfers, took fifth with a 325.
Boys lacrosse
Brighton 14, Northville 1
Joe Skoczylas scored three goals and three assists for Brighton (9-2).
Soccer
Pinckney 0, Ypsilanti 0
Grace Halash got the shutout for Pinckney.
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Pinckney softball slugger Mackenzie Burns falls single short of cycle
Continue reading...
