Desjardin’s gem lifts Neelin to title

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This article was published 18/05/2023 (933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Layla Desjardin eased any worried minds on the Neelin Spartans’ side.

The freshman pitcher turned the Brandon High School Softball League upside down on Wednesday, throwing five fantastic innings in the title game.

Desjardin tacked on two RBI as the Spartans dropped the Vincent Massey Vikings 8-1 at Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex for their second crown in four seasons, over the team that claimed the other 25 since 1994.

“It was stressful but I was confident and it was great,” Desjardin said. “I was a bit nervous but I was confident and I was really excited to pitch against this team.”

Second baseman Jada McMillan knows the feeling of starting as a freshman from last season and tipped her cap to the lefty pitcher, who seldom allowed a ball out of the infield.

“We actually had no idea she could pitch that well but she got here and I was just like ‘OK, she’s amazing,’” McMillan said. “We love her. She’s so nice and she works really hard.”

Massey pitcher Avery Birch got her team off to a strong start with a three-up, three-down inning and Desjardin did the same.

Neelin catcher Dani Black cranked a ball to the fence and Desjardin launched another deep ball that an outfielder dropped. Neelin took the lead on a pair of walks before a pop fly turned into a double play.

Desjardin let a runner on but struck out two batters to stay up 1-0 after two.

That’s when Neelin broke the game open.

McMillan cracked a double and freshman Reese Schutte traded places with her. Massey intentionally walked Black, only for Desjardin to hit the same blast the Vikings were afraid of and drive in a pair. Kennedy Smith, another Grade 9 player, scored her to lead 5-0.

“I was confused for a second,” Desjardin said of the walk, “but was like ‘As they should’ because she’s a really good player.”

Desjardin induced a few ground balls with McMillan and shortstop Alyssa Newitt nearly turning a double play. The pitcher fanned another batter to end the third.

McMillan sparked another good inning by hustling for an infield hit. Schutte drew a walk and both scored after Black smoked another ball up the middle. Massey’s Kamryn Cloet made a terrific barehand play to record the third out.

The Vikings finally got on the board when Billie Baranyk reached first on Desjardin’s one mistake, a dropped pop fly. She advanced on a pair of fielder’s choices and scored when Black tried to throw behind her at third.

Neelin’s No. 9 hitter Calleigh Kennedy restored the seven-run lead with a deep RBI double in the fifth. Top to bottom, the Spartans’ bats were too much to handle.

“They were on the ball today,” Baranyk said.

“The first game we played them we got the bats going. We were on the bases and with smart base running we could get runs in. (Wednesday), we just couldn’t. We were striking out, popping up, giving them the easy outs.

“They were capitalizing on our errors and we threw the same pitchers in so it’s not like we had a surprise for them but they were hitting their sticks and we weren’t.”

The Spartans invoked the mercy rule in style when Kelsey Huibers blasted a line drive straight back at Desjardin, who snagged it with tremendous reflexes to end the game.

They didn’t know right away but realized it was over when coaches Lana Dubois, Jen Dixon and Bre-Ann Robertson cleared the dugout.

“It was pretty special. I could tell they were quite excited about that. It was huge,” said McMillan, who lost all three league games to the Vikings last year before splitting the two in 2023.

“We didn’t win that often against Massey but (Wednesday) we just crushed it. We all had a lot of energy, we believed in ourselves and we did it.”

Added Desjardin: “I did not know it was over. I was ready for the next inning. I wanted to hit but I guess not.”

She’ll get that chance next Wednesday when Neelin visits Hamiota in an interzone qualifier. The winner moves on to provincials on June 2-3 in Winnipeg.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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