It certainly can be said Armada didn’t take the easy road to the regional round of the state tournament.
In fact, it can be argued nobody had a harder district draw than Armada during a Division 2 district hosted by Richmond.
Going into the district, all five teams had a chance to win the district: Armada, defending state champion Richmond, Catholic League Central Division regular-season co-champion Macomb Lutheran North, Marysville and St. Clair.
Adding to that is Armada drew the pre-district game Tuesday and had to win three tough games to advance, starting with a 4-0 win over Richmond in the pre-district matchup.
Armada then beat St. Clair — a 23-win team — in a district semifinal before outlasting Marysville (18-10-1) in the final, 5-4.
Armada has been led offensively all year by sophomore outfielder Lily Piconke, who has over 60 hits on the year with 11 home runs, 55 RBIs and 55 runs scored.
Next up for Armada is a noon regional semifinal contest Saturday at Richmond against red-hot Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, which won the Catholic League Bishop tournament title.
The winner will play the victor of the other semifinal between Warren Regina and Imlay City in the regional final Saturday afternoon.
Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Armada softball runs Division 2 district gauntlet to reach regionals
Reporting by Keith Dunlap, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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