DEARBORN >> One day after being postponed due to weather, the Catholic League softball doubleheader between Macomb Lutheran North and Dearborn Divine Child ran as scheduled on Wednesday.

Both teams came into the matchup with identical 11-3 records so far on the season. Positioning for the upcoming CHSL playoffs was very much still in play, with Divine Child holding that coveted No. 2 seed, one spot ahead of Lutheran North and two games in hand as well.

LHN needed a sweep of Wednesday’s twin bill to lock up that No. 2 seed and a bye in the CHSL tournament.

It was a good start overall to the day for the visiting Mustangs, cruising to a big victory in game one, but the Division 2 No. 2-ranked Falcons were able to bounce back and salvage a split on the afternoon.

GAME ONE | Lutheran North 8, Divine Child 1

Behind a brilliant pitching performance from Megan Rocker, Lutheran North made an early statement to the day and the league with a game one win.

LHN needed almost every bit of Rocker’s efforts in the circle as it was only a 1-0 game after four innings of play. The lone run came in the first inning after Addison Wodowski, who led the game off with a double, scored two batters later on back-to-back fly ball outs.

A late power surge struck for the Mustangs, who clubbed six extra-base hits off Divine Child ace and Oakland University signee Jessica Nelson. Five of those XBHs came from the fifth inning onward with three of them leaving the yard.

In the fifth inning, a solo home run from Claire Shannon and a two-run blast from Mikenna Campisi helped Lutheran North grow their lead to 4-0. After the two teams traded single runs in the sixth, the Mustangs plated three more on a two-run shot from the aforementioned Rocker as well as a single from Priscilla Guthrie.

That proved to be more than enough run support for the junior Rocker, who in her complete game effort allowed just one run on three hits and four walks while striking out a dozen DC batters. The junior was part of a top third of the batting order for LHN that went a combined 8-for-11 with five RBIs and six runs scored.

Wodowski ultimately set the tone for the Mustangs offensively. The Macomb Community College signee finished game one going 4-for-4 with her leadoff double and three runs scored.

Divine Child at one point saw 11 hitters retired in order by Rocker before later getting their only run of the game on a Nelson two-out single in the sixth. That inning proved to be the best chance for the Falcons, who had the bases loaded with two outs and trailing by four at the time.

Rocker, however, was able to get an inning-ending strikeout to diffuse the threat.

Nelson was touched up for all eight runs on 13 hits. The senior issued no walks to LHN hitters and picked up six strikeouts. Her and Loyola-Chicago signee Lexi Hansen each reached base safely twice in the game one defeat.

GAME TWO | Divine Child 10, Lutheran North 5

The back end of the twin bill on Wednesday saw parallels to game one with Divine Child this time putting together a big rally late to pull away for the win.

Switching sides on the scoreboard in game two, it was the ‘home’ team Lutheran North racing out to a 2-0 lead after one inning of play. Divine Child responded with four unanswered runs, including three in the top of the third, before the Mustangs got one back in the home half.

The big blow, however, was a sixth inning that saw the Falcons bat around and score six times. RBI hits from Nelson, Hansen, and Aubree Soto, as well as a Katie Modrzejewski batted ball that was booted defensively by Lutheran North, turned a 4-3 DC lead into a 10-3 game.

The Mustangs put together one final comeback effort in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs but the sudden seven-run deficit proved to be too much to overcome and they had to settle for a split.

Eight of the nine Divine Child batters tallied at least one hit in the game two victory with four of them — Soto, Zoe Ryan, Natalie Hansen, and Ava Bowman — each turning in multi-hit games. Soto, Nelson, and Natalie Hansen each had a pair of RBIs as well for the Falcons.

Bowman started the first two innings for DC and loaded the bases up in the home half of the third. She eventually gave way to Nelson, who did allow one run to score but otherwise escaped the jam and tossed the final five frames.

Lutheran Nirth used a combination of Elizabeth Jones and Elisa Mantay to get through their seven innings in the circle. The former started the first 2.1 before turning to the latter to close things out.

The Mustangs got another strong showing at the dish from their 1-2 hitters Wodowski and Rocker, each of whom had three-hit games. The No. 3-6 hitters of Campisi, Mantay, Guthrie, and Jones all drove in one run each for the visitors.

UP NEXT

Divine Child (12-4, 6-2 CHSL-Central) will wrap up the CHSL regular season slate when they visit Warren Regina for a doubleheader today. At least a split there will officially lock up the No. 2 seed for the Falcons in the CHSL playoffs.

Wednesday was meanwhile was the final set of CHSL games for Lutheran North (12-4, 6-4 CHSL-Central), who will turn around and visit Troy Athens for a single non-conference game on May 8. The Mustangs will then partake in a tournament hosted by Grosse Pointe South on May 10.