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	The Ypsilanti Courier A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Lady Braves get big victories

By Bruce Mason, Special Writer

PUBLISHED: May 17, 2007

Call it a blessing in disguise.

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With four girls on spring break in Virginia Beach just a short while ago, frustration settled in for Ypsilanti varsity softball coach Ryan Minarik. After all, his top three hitters were gone, and he was left juggling positions in an effort to make everything click.

Boy, did it ever.

Ypsilanti has won two consecutive games and some player have unexpectedly stepped up.

On May 7, Ypsilanti players earned their redemption against a Wyandotte team that laughed at them in their last meeting in a 19-3 rout. This time around, Ypsilanti rallied from a five-run deficit against and scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the eighth to win, 8-7.

"That was huge," Minarik said. "I mean huge. We just made plays that game. Everyone contributed."

Carol Ossienheimer went 2-for-5 and Jenessa Gafford was 3-for-5 with five RBIs.

And then on May 9, against Woodhaven, Ypsilanti trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, but that was when Anna Inoue came through with a two-RBI base hit, and Ypsilanti went onto win, 5-3, improving to 3-8 on the season.

The mini-winning streak can be attributed to strong defensive play. In that victory against Wyandotte, Minarik was impressed with a relay between left fielder Ossienheimer and shortstop Dominique Brigham to throw out a Wyandotte runner at the plate.

Minarik said Brigham has been "playing outstanding," and Gafford has made just one error in two games.

"Now they're making regular plays," Minarik said. "(We're) playing like we've been doing this for years.

"Everything is clicking. Thank God for Virginia Beach."

Bruce Mason is a freelance sports writer for The Courier and View. He can be reached at bruce_mason19@hotmail.com.