By Nicholas Huenefeld

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

ROSSFORD — A key force play went awry for the Lake softball team in its season opener on Saturday, resulting in a momentum swing that saw Gibsonburg produce a 12-5 win in come-from-behind fashion inside the TOCA Center.

Down 3-0, Gibsonburg had a runner on first with one out in the fifth. Lake’s starting pitcher, Kali Bedford, then tried to get the lead runner out at second in the next at bat, but the ball sailed wide, which put two runners in scoring position.

An RBI single and a fielder’s choice where the runner was safe at home then pulled Gibsonburg within one before Bedford punched out the next batter for the second out. The Golden Bears, however, struck with four consecutive run scoring singles to take a 7-3 lead.

“That (play is) going to be replayed a couple times in my head, (potentially) taking that out early and seeing what happens,” Lake coach Dave Rymers said. “That kind of gave them something to feed off, got them rolling. But I thought the idea of it was good, the execution needs some work.”

Alayna Meadows, who went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs for Lake, led off the home half of the fifth with a double. Bedford then followed with an RBI single, and courtesy runner Kyleigh Waxler later scored on a sacrifice fly from Kylee Pietrzak to pull the Flyers within two.

Gibsonburg responded with five more runs on five hits in the sixth inning, though, which resulted in a 12-5 lead.

Lake was able to produce three hits over the final two at bats but couldn’t manage to pull any closer.

“Like any season opener, you had some really good things and you had some things that need to be ironed out,” Rymers said. “We had our chances early and ran ourselves out of a couple innings in the first and second. We have to find ways to put teams away, regardless of caliber, when you have the opportunity.”

Lake’s offense had some opportunities early.

Back-to-back singles in the first inning ended up in a rare 6-5-4 double play. A one out, runners on first and second situation in the second was then erased on an unassisted double play from Gibsonburg’s shortstop, Ansley Fleming.

The Flyers took a three-run lead in the third behind three-consecutive RBI hits from Bedford, Sophia Gruetter and Pietrzak.

The top five hitters in Lake’s lineup had multi-hit games, led by Meadows. Bedford and Pietrzak had two-RBI efforts to lead the team.

“I thought (our hitters) did a good job of recognizing the pitch that they were trying to attack,” Rymers said. “Especially with two outs and RBI situations, they were sitting on their pitch, got it and did what they needed to with it. It’s exciting to see that, especially for some early season success.”

Despite the tough luck, Bedford went the distance in the circle while striking out 10 and walking just one.

Arianna Aldrich picked up the complete game victory for Gibsonburg, who was led offensively by Mariah McNett. The centerfielder went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI out of the leadoff spot. Aldrich and Emily Henderson knocked in three runs apiece.

It was the first time Lake has played at the TOCA complex, and Rymers was pleased with several freshmen who made an impact on Saturday, including Waxler.

“We had some girls missing that would normally be in our starting lineup,” he said. “We started three freshmen, and I thought they did well in the roles that we asked them to play.”

Lake will be back in action with five games next week, starting with a road matchup at Delta on Monday and ending with a home doubleheader against Northwood on Saturday.