It was a great day to play softball especially a game where the players and coaches could relax and have fun.

“It’s a blast,” said Norway’s Bob Bal who coached for the South. “The seniors have one last chance to get together.

“The thing is there’s no pressure. The girls want to compete and that’s what makes it fun.”

The North came up short, but Marquette coach Paul Seibert said it was more about being able to play ball and watch some great softball.

Avery Bundgaard | Daily Press Escanaba’s Katie Ross delivers a pitch for the South against the North Wednesday during the U.P. Senior All-Star Game at Gladstone.

“From a coach’s standpoint you don’t do much coaching. You just let the players play,” said Seifert. “It’s kind of fun and you get to coach kids you’ve been coaching against for years and it’s nice to get to know them from a different perspective.”

In the opener, the North got the scoring started with two runs in the first inning but the South pulled ahead in the third inning with four runs.

The South added to its lead with two runs in the fourth inning with RBIs from Escanaba’s Jerrika McAlpine and Taylor Segorski to go up 6-2.

The North scored five runs in the fifth inning to retake the lead but the South went ahead again in the seventh inning for the win with some clutch hitting.

Norway’s Britta Grayvold hit a RBI single to tie the game at 7-7 and later scored when she got caught in a pickle between third and home for the winning run.

“Britta stole home in the last inning and that was a good play,” said Bal. “She baited her into the throw and then she went home and that is how you get your winning run.”

Escanaba’s Katie Ross pitched the whole game for the South giving up six hits and had nine strikeouts and two walks.

In the second game, the South started fast to blow past the North 14-4.

“I thought the girls played real well,” said Esky coach Jamie Segorski who also coached the South. “It’s always fun to get a group like this together at the end of the season.

They played against each other all season long and some of them haven’t seen each other. It’s a chance to meet new people and have a good time.”

The North had a chance to take a first-inning lead as it loaded the bases with no outs. After a force out at the plate, South pitcher Rhiley Hubert of Rapid River struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

Hubert pitched all six innings allowing five hits while striking out five and walking four.

The South got the scoring started with a RBI single from Hubert in the second inning but it was the six-run third inning that allowed them to start pulling away.

“You start to get some singles and maybe they boot the ball around and it kind of explodes,” said coach Segorski. “You start playing some good teams and you make an error the wheels can fall off real fast. You just try to put the bat on the ball and sometimes good things happen.”

The North got on the board in the fourth inning when it scored three runs started by an RBI single from Gladstone’s Tasi Martinez.

“The girls stuck with it,” said Seifert. “They’re all good hitters so eventually they’re going to figure it out.”

The South scored two more runs in the top of the fifth and the North answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the fifth.

The South put the game away in the sixth inning as it scored five runs to close out the game.

“We played well today,” said coach Segorski. “The South came out with two wins so it was fun.”