U.P. Power! Gladstone Girls Cruise Into State Finals

WYOMING, Mich.---The Gladstone Minor Girls (age 9-10) are one step away from following in the footsteps of the state champion Escanaba Junior Girls and Delta County Junior Boys. The girls beat Grandville, 7-0, in the state semifinals at Pinery Park on Tuesday. That sends the girls into Wednesday's state championship game.

"I think we've represented Delta County pretty good right now," said Gladstone manager Rodney Schwartz. "I don't think we played our best ball today, but we got seven runs up there and it was more than enough. But our bats weren't very sharp today."

Indeed it was, because Andie Balenger made life tough on the Grandville batters. She did not issue a walk, she strucuk out ten, and allowed just one base hit. The only other base runner was in the third inning when Ashlyn Luke was safe on an error.

"She stayed loose, composed, ashe was hitting her spots," Schwartz said. "She pitched a good game today."

So what was Balenger's plan in the circle?

"Just to strike them all out," she said. "I used some change-ups, some outside to make them swing."

Gladstone scored a run in the first inning on a Taylor Trudeau RBI single.

Then, in the fourth inning, three walks helped the girls to get a rally going. Balenger's grounder to second base scored a run for third, and she was safe on an error on the play, scoring a second run. Then Brittany Schwartz ripped a two-run triple.

Brittany Schwartz RBI triple.

The final run came in the sixth inning when Maddie Algren walked and scored on Schwartz's second triple of the game. Gladstone will face Freeland out of District One in the state championship game on Wednesday.

"They're pretty comparable to us," Rodney Schwartz said of Freeland. "We're not gonna get a lot of walks. We're gonna have to put the bat on the ball to get some runs."

Game time is 1:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting with the pre-game show at 12:45.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS to see more photos.

2012 Michigan State Little League 9-10 Softball Tournament
At Wyoming , Michigan

Friday, July 27, 2012
D10 Gladstone 4, D7 St. Clair 0
D5 Taylor East-West 2, D13 Rogers City 1
D1 Freeland 13, D6 Harper Woods 1
D15 Three Rivers 15, D11 Negaunee 0
D14 Essexville-Hampton 7, D2 Kalamazoo Eastwood 2
D16 Tecumseh 16, D3 Ypsilanti Lincoln 2
D8 West Branch 10, D4 Rochester Hills 3
D9 Grandville 19, D12 Tri Cities North 7

Saturday, July 28, 2012
D10 Gladstone 22, D3 Ypsilanti Lincoln 1
D16 Tecumseh 6, D7 St. Clair 3
D9 Grandville 10, D4 Rochester Hills 9
D8 West Branch 6, D12 Tri Cities North 5
D6 Harper Woods 5, D11 Negaunee 2
D2 Kalamazoo Eastwood 1, D5 Taylor East-West 0
D13 Rogers City 13, D14 Essexville-Hampton 2
D15 Three Rivers 10, D1 Freeland 4

Sunday, July 29, 2012
D10 Gladstone 1, D16 Tecumseh 0 (7 Innings)
D5 Taylor East-West 3, D14 Essexville-Hampton 2
D6 Harper Woods 15, D15 Three Rivers 6
D13 Rogers City 4, D2 Kalamazoo Eastwood 1
D1 Freeland 16, D11 Negaunee 1
D7 St. Clair 18, D3 Ypsilanti Lincoln 0
D9 Grandville 10, D8 West Branch 9
D4 Rochester Hills vs D12 Tri Cities North

Monday, July 30, 2012
Quarterfinal: D5 Taylor East-West 11, D16 Tecumseh 0
Quarterfinal: D1 Freeland 10, D8 West Branch 9
Quarterfinal: D10 Gladstone 8, D13 Rogers City 5
Quarterfinal: D9 Grandville 5, D6 Harper Woods 4

Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Semifinal: D1 Freeland 8, D5 Taylor East-West 0
Semifinal: D10 Gladstone 7, D9 Grandville 0

Wednesday, August 1, 2012
1:00---Championship: D10 Gladstone vs D1 Freeland