News Photo by Jonny Zawacki Rogers City’s Hannah Fleming rounds first base and goes in standing at second as she hits an RBI double during the second inning in game one of a North Star League doubleheader against Mio on Monday at Gilpin Field in Rogers City.

ROGERS CITY — Putting up large amounts of runs has been a trend all season long for the Rogers City softball team and Monday’s North Star League doubleheader against Mio was no different as the Hurons scored runs in almost every way possible as they mercied the Thunderbolts twice, 16-0 and 10-0.

“I thought we did a lot of good things. We had some good base hits and made several nice defensive plays along with good pitching,” Rogers City coach Karl Grambau said. “It was a good day for the Hurons and we were happy to be back at home.”

Rogers City (25-1, 12-0 NSL) made quick work of the Thunderbolts in game one needing just three innings to pound out 16 runs.

The Hurons batted around in their only two innings at the plate and opened with seven runs in the first inning, followed by nine more in the second.

Hannah Fleming, Taylor Fleming and Saige Wagner each had RBI singles in the first inning. Hannah Dittmar and Mary Brege also singled in the inning. All five girls also crossed home plate in the inning along with leadoff hitter Jayna Hance and Kayla Rabeau.

Amanda Wirgau also drove in a run during the first inning. All but two Rogers City starters scored runs in the first inning and eight of the nine crossed home plate as the Hurons put together an even bigger second inning that was capped off by a two-run moon shot from Taylor Fleming that plated the final runs of the game.

Taylor Fleming and Hannah Fleming led the way as they both collected three RBI and scored three runs each. Taylor Fleming was 2-for-2 with a walk and Hannah Fleming was just a home shy of the cycle as she went 3-for-3. Rabeau had a hit, an RBI and also scored three runs. Hance, Dittmar and Wagner each scored twice and Dittmar collected two hits.

Hance picked up the win on the mound tossing three innings, allowing, three hits, two walks and striking out three.

“These girls play a lot of ball and they’re used to playing a lot of ball and they are pretty aggressive at the plate and on the bases. I think we’re getting better in a lot of areas and I’m happy with how we play,” Grambau said. “I think we learned a little bit from our first loss on Saturday. We learned that we need to put the ball in play when we have runners in scoring position and have opportunities to score and we did that today so I was happy with the way we didn’t dwell on that and how we bounced back.”

Game two was a similar story as the Hurons wasted little time taking care of Mio, but needed an extra inning and a half to do so.

Rogers City opened with four runs in the home half of the first. Hance led off with a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Kyrsten Altman. Rabeau then singled home Hance to put the Hurons on top.

Rogers City cashed in on two Mio errors in the first inning as Rabeau, Hannah Fleming and Taylor Fleming each came around to score.

The Hurons added two more runs in the third, one of which came to lead off the inning as Rabeau hit a solo home run. Taylor Fleming reached on an error and scored on an RBI single from Jazmyn Saile.

Rogers City added four more runs in the fourth to go up by double digits. The big hit again came from Taylor Fleming, who tripled in two runs.

Altman pitched five strong innings to pick up the win as she allowed a leadoff single in the first and went on to retire the next 14 batters in a row to end the game. Altman struck out nine in her five innings of work and gave up just the one hit.

Offensively, the Hurons were led by Rabeau who reached base three times going 2-for-2 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Taylor Fleming was also 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and three runs scored.

The Hurons continue their busy stretch with a doubleheader Tuesday against Oscoda before playing again on Thursday at home against Cheboygan, all of which will be at home as they play their final games before the postseason begins.

“We’re excited to get these games in and we’ve kind of been in this same routine the last few years where we play quite a few games the last week of the season,” Grambau said. “We just keep trying to improve all the time and hope the weather cooperates and allows us to play all the time. We know it’s a tough district, but it’s too early to look at that now and we need to just worry about one day at a time.”

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