PURPLE PRIDE!! Gladstone Girls Earn State Title

TECUMSEH---The Gladstone Major Girls (age 11-12) All-Star softball team beat the heat, and then beat two high-caliber downstate teams to capture the state championship on Wednesday in downstate Tecumseh. The girls beat Grandville in the semifinals, 5-1, then shook off a sluggish start to turn back Vicksburg, 13-4, in the championship.

It's the league's first Little League state championship since 2007, when the girls won the Central Regional and finished third at the Little League World Series in Oregon.

Montgomery Pepin was dominant in the circle, much like her older cousin, Gabi Salo, was one month ago in the high school state finals for Escanaba. Pepin threw a complete game in both the semifinals and the finals on Wednesday, allowing a combined five base hits and striking out 23 batters in the doubleheader.

In the semifinal game against Grandville, Gladstone jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Addie Trombley led off with a single and Lauren Sundquist doubled her to third base.

Trombley scored on a wild pitch, then Maggie Buckley singled home Sundquist to make it 2-0. Rylee Gerow followed with a booming triple to the outfield fence to bring home the third and final run of the inning.

In the third inning, Buckley smoked a two-out triple and scored on a single by Pepin to make it 4-0, then in the fourth inning, Adie Tryan came off the bench to get a base hit and she scored on a triple by Tia Schone.

Grandville made a stand in the fifth inning, as Emily Goodhart singled and Pepin walked two batters to load the bases. A wild pitch scored one run, but Pepin got Grandville leadoff hitter Anna Zoet to hit a deep fly ball to Cameron Buckley in center field.

Pepin gave up one more hit in the sixth inning, but finished things smoothly, ending up with a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Allison Dallett took the loss for Grandville.

The other semifinal game was a marathon, with Evart and Vicksburg hooking up in a classic.

Evart led, 2-1, and needed one more out to pick up the win before Vicksburg's Delaney Monroe hit her second solo home run of the game to tie it.

Vicksburg scored a run in the eighth inning to elimnate Evart, but had to use starting pitcher Audrie Dugan for all eight, leaving her with only four innings to pitch the championship game.

The District 15 champions started her for two innings against Gladstone, lifted her for an inning, put her back in for one, then lifted her again.

Gladstone got off to a shaky start in the championship game, committing three errors in the first inning.

Brenna McDonald smacked a run-scoring base hit, but a second runner (Monroe) also tried to score on the play, and was tagged out by Sundquist, who held onto the ball after Monroe slid into her.

Gladstone still trailed, 2-1, in the third inning, when Trombley led off with a hit and Sundquist bunted for a hit. Buckley delivered an RBI with a groundout to tie the game, then Pepin slapped an RBI single to center field to make it 3-2.

The turning point came in the bottom of the third inning when Gladstone had its three reserve outfielders in the game. Vicksburg's #2 hitter, Lauren Evans, smacked the first pitch of the inning to deep left field, where Alli Larson caught it. Then Monroe hit the next pitch to deep right field, where Tryan reached way out and hauled in.

Then the next batter, Dugan, hit a hard grounder that hopped to Gerow at second base, and she made up for two previous errors by making the 4-3 putout. The energy in the dugout was enormous, and Pepin went on to retire 12 batters in a row.

Gladstone's bats came alive in the top of the fifth inning, turning a 3-2 lead into a more comfortable 9-2 advantage. Pepin had a two-run single and Reese Herioux contributed a run-scoring hit. Then Herioux came around to score all the way from first base on a double by Samantha Drielick.

In the sixth inning, Gladstone added four runs to take a 13-2 lead. Pepin had her fourth hit, and fourth RBI in that inning. Gerow added an RBI double, and Herioux had her second straight run-scoring hit. Even though Vicksburg scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth (one of them on a McDonald hit), the Gladstone win was assured.

Gladstone advances to the Central Regional Tournament in suburban Indianapolis, taking off this weekend, for an opening game Monday evening. The girls games will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600) and at www.rrnsports.com.

CENTRAL REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Mon 7/22---Gladstone vs Tallmadge, Ohio, 5 p.m.
Tue 7/23---Gladstone No Game
Wed 7/24---Gladstone vs Columbia, Missouri, 11 a.m.
Thu 7/25---Bracket Play, Quarterfinals. Games at 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00
Fri 7/26---Semifinals, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Fri 7/26---Championship Game, 5 p.m.

The Gladstone girls will be honored with a parade and community "welcome home" ceremony Thursday night. The parade will start at the Gladstone Armory at 6:30, and the girls will go through the streets of Gladstone, before being intriduced at the Gladstone Sports Park. Everyone is invited to come cheer on the state champions.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Amy Sundquist. Also, see post-game interviews with Coach Rick Pepin, pitcher Montgomery Pepin, outfielder Morgan Dawley from the championship game. And interveiws with Tia Schone and Adie Tryan from the semifinal game.