COVER PHOTO: Kami Morse went 7-for-7 in the second and third games of the Gull Lake Invitational Saturday.

The opening line in Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat” said “It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day.”

Indeed, the Wayland softball nine Saturday was considering the possibly of a really awful day at the Gull Lake Invitational, trailing 7-1 to Byron Center after losing 10-4 to Vicksburg in the opener. But then something happened.

The Lady Wildcats erupted for a dozen runs in the fifth inning to overtake the Bulldogs 15-7 and then they mercied Parchment 18-0 in their finale. So they won two of three and finished third in the tourney.

Wayland drilled 17 hits in that second game, with Izzy Johnson and freshman Maddi Ludema both unloading home runs. Harmony Laker added a double and a triple and Lauren Wright belted a three-bagger as well.

Kami Morse went 4-for-4, Ludema 3-for-3 and Rae Stallard, Johnson and Carli Miklusicak each contributed two hits.

Miklusicak picked up her first varsity pitching victory by hurling three scoreless innings in relief of Ludema.

The ‘Cats kept the lusty hitting going in the victory over Parchment.

Morse collected three more hits in three plate appearances, and Stallard and Kaylee Lown both had three hits as well. Wright and Johnson both had two hits.

One of Stallard’s was a home run, Wright and Morse had a triple and Lown had two doubles and Morse and Johnson one apiece.

Harmony Laker threw a three-hit shutout, striking out six and walking only one.

It was a striking difference from what easily was Laker’s worst outing of the season in that opening loss to Vicksburg, which pounded out 13 hits, including a five-run rally in the fifth inning.

The Wildcats were held to just seven hits, with Ludema getting two of them.

The loss to Vicksburg halted a seven-game winning streak. Wayland now is 9-2 for the season.