SWEET REPEAT!!! Junior Girls Roll To State Title

JENISON, Mich.---The Delta County Junior Girls (age 13-14) rolled to another state championship on Sunday, beating Taylor, 10-0, and Georgetown, 13-0, on a blustery day in suburban Grand Rapids. The girls defended their state title from a year ago with a dominating weekend, winning all six games in Jenison by a combined score of 66-1.

The most dominant of the Delta County girls was pitcher Gabi Salo, who threw a no-hitter against Taylor and a perfect game against Georgetown.

Salo struck out all 18 outs against Taylor in the six inning game...the only runners to reach base against her were on a hit-battsman and an error.

In the championship game win over Georgetown, Salo retired all 15 batters she faced for her second perfect game of the tournament.

She mixed her lively fastball with a biting curveball and a devastating change-up that had many spectators murmuring and shaking their heads.

And Salo did all of this while racing back-and-forth from a travel ball tournament in Lansing. If she was overworked, she didn't show it, as she rarely went to a three-ball count all week.

The Delta County offense had a little trouble against Taylor pitcher Rachelle Frederick, who kept the girls off-balance with her changeup. But the girls eventually got it in gear, with Jenna Tardiff leading the way with a two-run, inside-the-park home run to left field in the second inning. Sydney Herioux added two triples, including one that brought home a run.

Tardiff had three hits altogether, with a double and single along with the round-tripper.

In the championship game, the girls did not wait around to put the host team into a deep hole, with Herioux getting her third triple of the afternoon, bringing home Maddie Block, who had a bunt single. Dakota Cloutier's RBI single made it a 2-0 game.

Delta County put it away with four runs in the fourth inning, with Natalie Hansen and Georgia Lehto getting RBI hits.

In the fifth inning, Delta County scored four more runs, with Nicole Kamin getting a two-run triple. Kamin also had an RBI single off the bench earlier in the game. In all, Cloutier had three base hits and Herioux had three hits plus a walk.

In the doubleheader, Andi Balenger had three hits (including a triple) and a bunt.

Delta County pounded out 15 hits against Georgetown to go along with 11 hits against Taylor. The speed of the Delta County runners was a factor...as was a 35-mile-per-hour wind, which frequently kicked up dust storms as the infield dirt was blown up into the girls' faces.

The DC Junior Girls become the third local team to win a state championship in less than two weeks, and the second to clinch their title against a District Nine team on its own field. The Escanaba Big League Girls (age 17-18) won their title with a win over Pinery Park last week. The Delta County Senior Girls (age 15-16) also won a state title, in Escanaba last week.

The junior girls return to the Central Regional in South Holland, Ill., where they finished as runners-up last summer. Their first game is set for Saturday morning.

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