PORT HURON — What a summer it’s been for Little League baseball and softball in the Blue Water Area.
Kimball Township won its first-ever Little League softball district title on June 25. Twelve days later, Richmond’s intermediate baseball team battled Taylor North in an emotional state championship game.
But summer isn’t over, and the dream is still alive for three other area programs.
Croswell-Lexington survives late scare to clinch junior softball state championship
After allowing a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning, Croswell-Lexington didn’t panic. It remained calm and delivered in the clutch.
Cros-Lex responded quickly to defeat Grand Blanc, 9-6, in eight innings of the Michigan junior state championship game on Thursday, July 10.
“Momentum was going the other team’s way, but we answered back,” Cros-Lex coach Scott Young said. “The girls really stepped up in all aspects of the game — putting the ball in play, fielding, pitching — it was, all around, a team effort where we really came together and played some good softball.”
The team advanced to the Junior League Central Region tournament, which begins Thursday, July 17, in Pendleton, Indiana. It’ll face either Indiana or Missouri at 5 p.m.
“This is a very good group to be around,” Young said of his players. “The experience (of competing in regionals) is going to be the best part (of the tournament) — whether we win or we lose. As long as we go out and do our best, I’m looking forward to the experience.”
Cros-Lex’s roster includes Gray Shaw, Violet Bird, Cora McGarvie, Olivea Pearson, Piper Cayce, Payton Masi, Olivia Young, Gracie Smith, Faith Mitchell and Phoebe Schultz.
St. Clair captures junior baseball state title on its home field
With home-field advantage on its side, St. Clair shut down Petoskey, 6-2, in the junior state championship game on Monday, July 14.
“It was awesome,” St. Clair coach Bart Stockwell said. “What our kids do — just the hard work they put in and seeing it all culminate was outstanding … we set a goal before we even started districts. We were state champs last year and we set the bar at repeating. They did everything that was required of them to go do that. When they put their mind to something, they get it done.”
The hometown fans did their job, too.
“The amount of people that were at that game was crazy,” Stockwell said. “The support from the community has been top notch.”
St. Clair advanced to the Junior League Central Region tournament, which begins Wednesday, July 23, in Midland. It’ll play Kentucky that evening at 5:15 p.m.
The team consists of Auden Alley, Jacob Ameel, Brayden Burnham, Tucker Ginop, Lane Kaltz, Liam Lumley, Jimmie Macri, Aidan Moran, Jack Murdock, Cooper Roberts, Lucas Turrell and Brian Ursitti.
Algonac grabs third-straight 10U district championship
The streak continues.
Algonac held off St. Clair, 6-4, in the 10U District 7 championship game on Saturday, July 12.
“We’re always excited to see it,” Algonac board member Kevin Malburg said of the program’s third-straight 10U title. “Last year was fun. This year was, I think, even better. Because a lot of the girls on this team, they haven’t experienced stuff like this before … to see them growing as a team, that was pretty cool.”
The team advanced to the state tournament, which begins Friday, July 18, in Cheboygan. That day, Algonac will meet West Branch at 3 p.m.
“It’s just an experience that they’ll remember forever,” Malburg said. “It’s not all softball the whole time (while at the tournament). But when it comes to game time, you need to have your game face on.”
Algonac’s roster features Arianna Lozen, Quinn Thaler, Piper Rose, Kenzie Lozen, Aylivia Heath, Emily Furtah, Ryleigh Hicks, Addie Provost, Ainsley Harms, Avery Malburg and Fiona Hogan.
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Little League roundup: Successful summer continues for Blue Water Area teams
Reporting by Brenden Welper, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
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