Minors finish second at state Little League tournament
3207-Minor girls by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
A talented group of 9- and 10-year-old girls played some inspired softball last week, bringing home the state runner-up title for the Rogers City Little League Minor League All-Stars. The finals were played at Pinery Park in Wyoming, a suburb of Grand Rapids.
?They played with a lot of emotion,? said Dennis Meredith, manager of the team. ?They seemed to rise to the occasion when they needed to. It was quite a ride.?
Meredith and assistant coach Chris Dils directed the team to a 3-1 record in pool play, which qualified Rogers City to play in the eight-team, single-elimination bracket play. The team made it to the state championship game but lost 8-4 to Cros-Lex Thursday afternoon in sweltering heat. Cros-Lex, combining the school districts of Lexington and Croswell, just north of Port Huron, entered the championship game with a 6-0 record in the tournament, having mercied six opponents and allowing only two runs.
ROGERS CITY SCORED a run in the top of the first to take an early lead. First baseman Courtney Streich reached on an error and scored on a groundout by second baseman Cassy Brege. But Cros-Lex answered with two in the first on one hit and three walks, and three more in the second inning, on two hits and three walks off starter Rieana Altman. Nikki Radke came on with one out in the second and finished the game on the mound. She held Cros-Lex scoreless in the third, and fifth innings, but allowed three runs in the fourth.
Rogers City came back with three runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 8-4. Jessica Butera walked and later scored. Logan Fleming singled and Streich doubled and each scored. Ashley Meyers drove in a run with a single, one of four hits for RC. Radke had a single to lead off the sixth inning and advanced to second on a walk to Butera. While aggressive base-running led to many runs during the tournament for RC, this time it cost them as Radke was thrown out trying to steal third.
THE MINOR all stars made it to the state championship game against after a 15-14 win in the semifinals over Tecumseh. Rachel Chojnacki’s bases-loaded, two-out single scored Butera with the winning run in the bottom of the last inning Thursday afternoon. Cassy Brege got the win on the mound. Rogers City led 14-5 in the top of the sixth, needing three outs to advance to the finals. But Tecumseh rallied for nine runs to tie the game. In Rogers City’s half of the inning, two outs on the base paths had the locals looking at a possible extra-inning game. Then Rogers City filled the bases and Chojnacki came through in the clutch to win the game.
The team had 16 hits in the semifinal game led by catcher Sarah Meredith with three. Brege, Fleming, Streich, Butera, and Morgan hall had two hits each. Cros-Lex played the early semifinal game Thursday, then had a chance to rest in the shade of a 95-degree day while Rogers City played back-to-bac
A 13-3 WIN over Mattawan in the quarterfinals Wednesday put the team into the semifinals. A four-run rally in the second inning gave RC a 4-3 lead. The team put up nine in the fifth inning, sending 12 batters to the plate. Streich had two singles in the inning, scoring both times. Altman and Streich each had two hits in the game in support of winning pitcher Ashley Meyers.
?THIS IS a great group of girls and they will be tough if they stick together through majors,? Meredith said. Meredith said support from the parents, grandparents and the community was outstanding. Other teams that made bracket play were Western, Escanaba, Rochester Hills, Cros-Lex, Mattawan, Tecumseh, and Southtown.