Rain doesn’t stop Hatchet’s parade to the title

BY CHRIS OGRYSKI
Editor
It was well worth the wait.
Due to inclement weather last Friday, officials at Bad Axe were forced to delay the D3 district championship game until Saturday at noon. But when the game was finally played and all was said and done, the host Hatchets had knocked off USA 8-6 to win the district crown.
Against the Patriots, Tim Rader pitched 6 2/3 innings to get the win, striking out eight and allowing three earned runs (six total). Pete Salens came on in relief to get the save for the Hatchets, while Heath Schmidt took the loss for the Pats.
A key to Bad Axe’s win, was their four run rally in the sixth, which included a Mitch Roth RBI single and a two run double from Chris Smith, which gave the Hatchets an 8-4 lead.
Overall for Bad Axe, Roth had three hits, Smith a double and a single, while Jason Brown added a fifth inning solo home run.
Lance VanHoost had two doubles and a single for USA, while Kelson Gettel and Heath Schmidt added two knocks each.
In the semis, Bad Axe beat Lakers 11-1. Salens earned the win with six solid innings, while EPBP’s Craig Smith allowed six runs in three inning s to take the loss. Brown led the Hatchet offense with a two run homer, a double and four RBIs.
Zack Gilbert had a double for Lakers.
Bad Axe advances to regionals this Saturday at Reese, where they face Hemlock at 10 a.m.

Lakers win district title

The EPBP soccer team finished 21-3 overall in 2007 and made a run to the state semi-finals where they lost to Ann Arbor Greenhills. The Laker’s took the first step in another post-season run last Saturday, when they beat host Bad Axe for the district title.
The Lakers advanced to the finals with a 6-1 win over Harbor Beach in semi-final action last Thursday. Kaycee Damm led the team with two goals and an assist, while Brittany Albrecht and Katie Beachy each added a score and a help. Brittney McGathy and Erin Gettel also scored for EPBP, while Shaina Damm and Julia Voelker added assists for the Lakers.
Beth Ritter had four saves in net for EPBP, while Alicia Kramer had 21 saves in goal for the Pirates.
The Hatchets advanced to the finals with a 6-2 win over Marlette. Shayna Polega led the attack with four goals, while Jennifer Morneau added a pair of scores and two assists. Jackie Rochefort also added a pair of assists, while Katie Essian had one for Bad Axe.
Goalie Sara Thoms earned the win with five saves in net.
In quarter-final action, Harbor Beach beat Sandusky 8-0. Jennifer Sorenson led the offense with three goals and an assist, while Jillian Roggenbuck added a pair of scores and one help.
Kramer made her first appearance out of the keeper position and scored twice, while Kaylee Mazure also scored and Abby Lemanski contributed two assists.
The Lakers advance to regional play this week at Auburn Hills-Oakland Christian.

Patriots knock off Cass City to win district crown

BY CHRIS OGRYSKI
Editor
After winning back-to-back D3 state titles, expectations were high for another amazing season for the USA softball team. While the regular season was another successful campaign, there were a few hiccups along the way, including a pair of losses to Reese, which cost the Patriots a shot at the GTW title.
But for those that thought the lack of a league title meant the end of USA’s extended post-season runs, think again…the rumors of the Patriot’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Last Friday, USA got back on track, as they knocked off Reese 9-3 and Cass City 15-0 to win the D3 district title at Bad Axe.
Against the Rockets, USA trailed Reese 1-0 after the first, but rallied to tie the game on in the fourth on a solo shot from Carly Treiber. In the fifth, the Patriots took the lead, as Kiersten McBrayer led off the inning with a triple and scored on a bang-bang play at the plate, after a knock from Estay Ruppal that didn’t clear the pitcher’s mound.
But things didn’t really turn around until the fifth, when Katie Schaus sparked the offense with a three-run homer as part of a seven run rally. Schaus’s three run blast ignited USA, as they went on to outscore the opposition 22-0 from that point on.
“Katie Schaus has been getting big hits for us all year,” coach Larry Houthoofd said.
He explained, “Down at Detroit-Mercy when we played Ida, she had a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to tie that game. She is a warrior; she just knows how to hit the ball and she is one of the best hitters on the team.”
Following Schaus’s drive, Treiber and Dani Gremel added a pair of RBI hits, before Marissa Lemere chipped in with a two run shot. Against the Red Hawks, USA got three more round trippers as Gremel homered twice and Treiber put another over the fence to spark the Patriot offense.
Of the home run barrage, Houthoofd said, “I hate to live on home runs, but it is nice when they come; especially when they are timely.”
On the mound, Lemere, who threw a four-hitter in the semis, no-hit Cass City in the championship game. “As the season goes on, she gets really strong and she is at the top of her game right now,” Houthoofd said. “Her drop ball is really moving (at this point).”
Overall, Houthoofd is happy with how the team seemed to “flip the switch” on Friday and elevate their game to a whole other level.
“This team has been up and down all year,” he admitted.
“I don’t know, maybe some of these kids are bored a little because of all the success they’ve had. I hope that is not what is happening, but I don’t know,” Houthoofd explained. “We (the coaching staff) haven’t been able to put our finger on it this year; we’ve been a little frustrated at times with the way they’ve played.”
He added, “It’s not like a water faucet where you just turn it on, I keep telling them that, but maybe they can.”
USA advances to the D3 regionals at Reese this Saturday.

The North Huron Warriors continued their amazing season last Friday, as they beat Harbor Beach 5-1 on their home field to win the D4 district crown. The Warriors led 2-0 at one point, but nearly gave away the lead as the Pirates had the bases loaded in the third. But North Huron escaped and allowed just one run and proceeded to score three insurance runs to secure the win. The Warriors beat Owen-Gage 5-4 in the semis, while Harbor Beach pounded Caseville 15-5 to advance to the finale.

PHOTO BY DALE BALL, SANILAC COUNTY NEWS
The Lady Bearcats recaptured some of their past post-season glory last week, as they knocked off Deckerville 9-2 to win the D4 district title at Kingston last Friday. Beth Weber tossed a two-hitter for Ubly and struck out seven, while adding three singles at the plate. Stephanie Baslock chipped in two singles and a double, while Camay Messing contributed two triples. In the semis, the Bearcats advanced to the finals by shutting out Kingston 7-0. Weber struck out eight in the win.

The Harbor Beach Pirates won the D4 Districts at North Huron last Friday with a 5-3 win over Caseville in the finals. Trailing 2-0, Pirate’s hurler Brittany Braun tied things up with a two-run blast in the third, which got Harbor Beach’s offense going. The Pirates went on to score runs in the next three to secure the win. On the mound, Braun struck out nine for Harbor Beach, while tossing a no-hitter in a 5-1 semi-final win over North Huron. The Lady Eagles knocked off Port Hope 6-2 to make the finals.