Junior girls advance to state tourney in Kalamazoo
Brittany Styma hit the game-winning home run that helped earn the Junior Girls all-stars from Rogers City the District 13 championship banner and a berth in the state tournament in Kalamazoo. After dropping their first game to Cheboygan 3-2, the all-stars came back to take the next two, with the deciding contest coming down to extra innings. It took until the ninth inning to come up with a winner. In the final inning, Tiffiny Krueger singled and stole second, which was followed by the Styma?s homer to sew up a 14-13 victory.
Rogers City will arrive in Kalamazoo today, along with the other 13 qualifiers, with the opening ceremony to take place tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Rogers City plays its first game of the double-elimination tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The state championship game will be Tuesday. The girls will be treated to a picnic/bonfire Saturday. The all-stars struggled at the plate in their opening loss to Cheboygan, 3-2, with Krueger and Styma providing the only hits.
The girls turned the tables in the second game, 4-2, behind the solid pitching of Jenny Ciarkowski, the winner on the mound in both district games. Laura Konieczny and Chelsie Brege both went two-for-three for Rogers City.