Escanaba Mjr Girls Beat Gladstone For District Title
GLADSTONE---First, there was the long rain delay. Then, there was the 30-minute-long first inning that saw 11 runs cross the plate. Then, there were two extra innings. The Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) won a district championship in Gladstone Sunday night, but it sure wasn't easy. The Esky girls rallied from 4-0 and 8-7 deficits to post a 9-8 win to earn a spot in the state tournament, which will be held in Gladstone next week.
Esky's Claire McInerney gets an out.
But there were lots of ups and downs on both sides for the previous two hours as the teams waged a friendly, but intense, battle. In what most thought would be a low-scoring pitcher's duel, the game saw 11 runs cross the plate in the first inning alone. And it happened after the 6:00 start was delayed by 75 minutes after heavy rains flooded the Don Howes Field. In the top of the inning, Gladstone scored four times off of Escanaba ace Hannah Edington. Jaden Schwartz had a two-run, infield single, and Heather Bergstrom ripped a two-run single to right to give Gladstone a 4-0 lead. But in the bottom of the inning, the Escanaba girls returned the favor against Gladstone pitcher Taylor Gauthier. Escanaba scored seven times in the inning, sending 11 batters to the plate.
Gladstone's Hannah Sharon on Sunday.
Gladstone didn't fold, however. Leigha Woelfferr's RBI single make it 7-5 in the second inning, then Jenna Steinhoff's single made it 7-6 in the third. Gladstone took the lead in the fourth inning on a hit by Serena Sinnevae and a wild pitch and infield error. Escanaba retied the game in the fourth inning and had a chance to take the lead, but Edington was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a loose ball. From there, it was Edington vs Gauthier, as the two pitchers put goose-eggs on the scoreboard. Escanaba had a chance to win in the seventh inning when Edington singled and, with one out, Savannah Barron doubled. But Gauthier got a strikeout and a fly out to force an eighth inning. Edington got a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, just as she had done in the seventh inning. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, a breakthrough for Escanaba. Sam Henderson hit a pop fly that the first baseman missplayed. Megan Dagenais bunted, and she was called safe at first base. With two on, Emily Bruntgens bunted, and there was nobody covering. So, with the bases loaded, McInerney smacked one down the left field line to score the winning run. It was her third hit of the game. Escanaba advances to the state tournament, which will be held next week in Gladstone. The Escanaba girls will face Taylor out of District Five at 10:00 Friday morning. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see photos and listen to radio replays from the Escanaba-Gladstone game. |