Todd Rose | Daily Press The Escanaba Eskymos softball team awaits McKayla Mott at home plate to celebrate her two-run homerun during an MHSAA Division 2 state quarterfinal against Hudsonville Unity Christian in Midland Tuesday afternoon.

MIDLAND — The Escanaba Eskymos softball team is once again heading to East Lansing for the Final Four of the MHSAA Division 2 Softball State Championship Tournament as they defeated the Hudsonville Unity Christian Crusaders 4-3 Tuesday afternoon in Midland.

This will be the fifth time in six seasons that the Eskymos have made it to the state semifinals.

“It was a big goal of ours to start the season,” said Escanaba coach Andy Fields of reaching the semifinals. “We wanted to get to East Lansing. It’s not enough to just get there.

“We ultimately want to win it, but we know that the four teams that are there now are good teams.

“Now, we’ve given ourselves a chance, and that’s really all we wanted from the start of the season. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They fought today.”

Esky put three points on the board to get things started in the first inning and gain the early advantage.

Leadoff batter Carsyn Segorski got aboard on a ball four walk then was pushed to second on a sacrifice bunt from Paxton Bullen.

Moments later, Lizzy Sliva batted in Segorski on a single to center field. As Segorski scored, Sliva advanced to second.

With Sliva on second, McKayla Mott stepped up to bat and battled to a full count, eight-pitch at-bat.

As she has done all year, Mott stayed patient and selective at the plate, and it paid off as she hammered her 11th home run of the season over the left field fence.

“It was a pretty long at-bat, and I was just looking for a good pitch,” Mott said. “I think she missed her spot, and I just took it.”

The Eskymos pushed another run across in the third as Mott singled to bring Paxton Bullen home.

Mott also came into the game pitching in the fifth inning for Grayson LaMarche, who started and went five and a third.

LaMarche finished her day with nine strikeouts and two walks, allowing one unearned run and five hits.

Mott finished with no hits allowed, one walk, and two unearned runs.

“I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, and we’ve been working on a lot of things the past few practices and everything,” Mott commented on her approach to pitching the last two and two-thirds innings of the game. “I just went in there, knew that I needed to relax, throw my game and throw my pitches the way I know I can throw them.”

But, it wasn’t smooth sailing to the end as a few errors in the bottom of the seventh allowed runs on the board for the Crusaders.

One error came when Anna Boutilier made an athletic dive for a ground ball and made the throw — which was off the target — to first base.

It didn’t take long for Boutilier to get that play back as she earned the final out of the game on an identical dive and throw to Erica Moore at first base.

“She made great plays over there,” said Fields of Boutilier’s efforts. “The throw was off (on the first), but it happens when you throw from your knees but to be able to throw from her knees and make that play is incredible.”

With an injury sidelining catcher Carley Bowden last Saturday in Gaylord, a familiar face donned the catcher’s mask and gear as Carney Salo made her first start at the spot since an injury to her ACL last year.

“Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous,” said Salo following the game. “But, once I saw the team hitting the ball, and we got those three runs in the first inning, I was set and knew I just needed to play.”

The switch was a bit of an adjustment for Salo who was just warming up to her spot in center field.

“It was very much of an adjustment, especially because — in center field — I was just getting comfy out there,” she said.

With the exception of Carsyn Segorski, the trip to East Lansing is a new experience for the whole Eskymos team after being knocked out by Gaylord last year and the canceled 2020 season.

“It really feels amazing especially because we had a really good shot last year,” said Salo. “Just to come back this year and regroup and come this far is amazing.

“All the girls haven’t been there besides Carsyn. She’s the only one who has played in a state final game, so we’re hoping to get there again.”

It didn’t take long for Salo to reaffirm her prowess behind the plate as she made a throw to catch a runner stealing second for the final out in the third inning.

Aside from the HUC Crusader, the Eskymos also battled the weather with some of the hottest conditions they’d played in all year. Coach Fields commented that seeing his team persevere through the heat from the start of batting practice to the final out — four hours — was a bright spot of the day.

“That’s why I’m so proud of the girls,” he said. “They hung in there to the last out, and that’s kind of been our mantra is just hang in there. And that’s what they do.”

The season ends at 36-7 for the Hudsonville Unity Christian Crusaders.

“They took advantage of some of our mistakes early on, but I can’t discredit the effort our girls gave,” said Crusaders coach Dave VanderMeer. “They kept fighting, kept fighting, kept fighting.”

VanderMeer noted the foundation built by his three seniors — Tory Decker, Ashley Veldheer and Mya Vander Vliet — as part of the team’s success.

“I’ve got three seniors, and it hurts for them,” he said. “They put so much effort into the program. I told them that we lost a year because of COVID, but I think this team has close to 100 wins in three seasons. So, they set the bar high for Unity Christian softball and that’s what we want to keep reaching for.

“But, Escanaba’s going to go a long way. Escanaba’s good. I knew we were in a dog fight today.”

The Escanaba Eskymos play today in the MHSAA state semifinals in East Lansing, with game time set for 5:30 eastern.