It was a bad day in Holland Saturday for the Wayland High School softball team

The Wildcats entered the Holland Invitational Saturday with an overall record of 11-3 and left with an 11-6 mark. Even worse, two of the losses were by one run, one in extra innings. They started the day getting mercied by Grand Haven, 10-0, then lost 6-5 in nine innings to Grosse Pointe South and finished the day with a walkoff 9-8 loss to Niles.

The first game was downright awful and alarming. Sophomore ace hurler Harmony Laker just wasn’t her customary self, giving up nine runs on eight hits and two walks in just an inning of work. Freshman Madi Ludema did a creditable job in relief, yielding just three hits and a run and striking out three in three innings, but it was too late.

The customarily potent offensive attack was strangely anemic, as Ludema and catcher Kaylee Lown both had a single, but that was all.

Things seemed to go much better in game two. Pitcher Carli Miklusicak, making her first start, went seven and two-thirds innings, giving up eights, walking two and striking out eight. But Grosse Point was able to push across the winning run in the ninth inning, saddling Ludema with the loss on the mound.

Kami Morse and Lauren Wright both belted a triple for the ‘Cats and Reese Veltman and Izzy Johnson each added a double. Morse finished with three hits and Laker and Miklusicak had two apiece.

Wayland was up 6-1 on Niles, before fading badly in the sixth and seventh innings. Niles scored eight of its nine runs in the last frames.

Laker started on the mound and gave way to Ludema in the sixth inning, but she and Miklusicak were unable to stop the bleeding. The winning run was a walkoff in the seventh off Miklusicak.

Verltman and Izzy Johnson both had a double and Morse and Wright added a triple apiece. Morse and Laker both had two hits.