POSEN – After defeating Mio 8-7 in the first game of the day, the Posen softball team met with Pickford/Cedarville in the championship game of the Wozniak Invitational.

Despite trailing 10-2 in the fifth inning, the Vikings rallied with an improbable comeback to win the game 11-10 and take home the tournament title.

The Vikings got off to a rocky start early as they trailed by four runs after one inning of play. Jolene Reese relieved starting pitcher Arianne Chojnacki after the first inning.

Reese allowed two runs an inning later and Posen found themselves in a big hole early, trailing by six. The Pirates extended the lead to seven by adding a run in the fourth.

The Vikings finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning as Kayla Lenard hit a leadoff single and later scored on a wild pitch. Lauren Romel reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brooke Ciarkowski to cut the lead to five.

The Pirates responded scoring three runs in the home half of the inning and were on the verge of ending the game via the 10-run rule, but Jenna Hincka relieved Reese to keep the game going.

As the rain began to pick up, so did Posen’s offense in the sixth inning. The first two batters of the inning were retired, but the next 10 Vikings reached base safely as the team rallied for eight runs to tie the game. The big hits in the inning came off the bats of Hincka who ripped a double off the fence that scored Lauren Romel and Kayla Lenard. Lindsey Romel also doubled to drive in two runs, one of which was the tying run.

“I told the girls that was a character-building moment when your down eight in the sixth inning and you have two out. Hitting is contagious and being aggressive on the basepaths is something we have done and will continue to do the rest of the season. Good things happen when you put the ball in play and force teams to make plays against you,” Posen coach Glenn Budnik said.

With the game tied at 10 runs apiece, Posen went into the top of the seventh inning needing a run to keep the game going because the Pirates owned the tiebreaker by allowing few runs throughout the tournament.

Posen got the run they needed as Kayla Lenard ripped an RBI single up the middle that scored Hannah Stone.

The Pirates had a shot to walk off with the win as they loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Hincka got Taylor Thermas to strike out looking on a full count to end the game and secure the Championship for the host Vikings.

Kayla Lenard led the way for Posen going 3-for-5 with a walk, two stolen bases and an RBI. Taylor Roznowski went a perfect 2-for-2 and reached base safely in all four of her plate appearances. Lindsey Romel and Hincka each added a hit and two RBI in the win.

“This win just proves that it doesn’t matter what point of the game is in, our team can rally and come back at any point. Hopefully for these girls they’ll believe that no matter what point of the game they are in, they can always come back and put up a win,” Budnik said.

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.