Beverly Hills, Birmingham, West Bloomfield

Groves softball moving on

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

LATHRUP VILLAGE — Birmingham Groves softball is moving on in the Division 1 postseason.

The Falcons won their district, beating West Bloomfield High 8-3 June 2 at Southfield-Lathrup. This marks Groves’ second straight district title.

“It’s a good feeling, definitely. It’s what we wanted the whole season, and it’s good to accomplish it,” Groves pitcher Keely Nowland said.

Carli Cozenza broke the tie with a two-run double in the third inning. The Falcons would go on to score two more in the top of the third for a 4-0 lead and to take control.

“She hit the gap, and all of a sudden the floodgates opened. It put some pressure on them,” Groves coach Ryan Minarik said.

West Bloomfield responded by putting a run on the board in its half of the third when Taylor Rose crossed the plate.

Groves extended its lead, scoring two more in the fourth and one in the fifth for a 7-1 lead. The Lakers bounced back in the bottom of the sixth, getting two runs, but Groves added an insurance run in the seventh before ending the game in the bottom half with three straight outs.

West Bloomfield finishes 12-17 overall.

“We definitely started playing better softball during the district. Unfortunately, we made a couple of errors,” West Bloomfield coach Jessica Granger said. “They were physical errors, and that happens. Mental errors are ones that never make a coach happy, but physical errors, you can’t do too much about that.”

Groves goes to 23-13 and plays Farmington Hills Mercy at noon June 9 at Novi High.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062. Follow Christian on Twitter.