UPDATED SATURDAY.–Minor girls place third in state
A magnificent tournament run came to an end for the Rogers City Little League Girls Minor all stars as they lost to Mattawan in the semi final round. The team finished third in the state,playing agains, and sending home, teams from all sizes of leagues, most with many more players to choose from than the RC league, which boasts 22 players total. The league plays in Rogers City, but has players from RC and Posen school districts.
Coach Jay Schuiteman said the team did very well, earning the respect of fans, coaches and players along the way. Tournament organizers gave the RC/Posen team a special award for their performance and attitude.
With only three teams left in the 9-10 year old league, the RC/Posen girls faced Mattawan Saturday at 11 a.m. in the loser’s bracket, with the winner to take on undefeated West Portage in Sunday’s finals.
A poor start cost the RC team, as Mattawan put up 5 runs in the first, two in the second, and five more in the third to take a 12-0 lead, and eliminate the locals after a long run. West Portage defeated rival Mattawan earlier in the week.
Coach Jay said the girls played hard throughout their entire run at the state title, which featured five wins and two losses over an eight-day run in Port Huron. Plans were for the team to return to Rogers City sometime Sunday, after possibly attending a Detroit Tiger ballgame Saturday evening.
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The team defeated Huron area 9-4 Friday, which earned them third place in the state.
In Friday’s win, Lindsay Ponik pitched the first five innings and took the win. Logan Schuiteman went the last two innings and earned the save.
Coach Schuiteman praised the defensive work of catcher Emily Marx and outfielder Leanne Buczkowski in the win.
The Minor Girls continued their march through the state tournament in Port Huron with an 8-6 win over Gladstone Thursday. There were some hairy moments in the late innings, but the Rogers City girls turned away a late rally .
IN THE WIN against Gladstone, the all-stars let their guard down a bit, after taking an early lead. The girls scored two in both the first and second innings, and kept Gladstone on their heels, after not allowing the opponent to score in a bases loaded situation in the first inning. Nice defensive plays by Leann Strzelecki and Logan Schuiteman kept Gladstone off the scoreboard, as Rogers City scored three runs in the third inning, and were on top 7-0.
The score was 8-1 going into the bottom of the fifth when Gladstone started bunting. Schuiteman said the
Schuiteman said Emily Marx received high-praise from the Mattawan coach, who was scouting Rogers City Thursday, and called the young catcher the best at the tournament.
The Minor Girls placed highest of any of the teams from the Little League program from Rogers City this season.
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Look for more details online Monday and photos included in next week’s print edition of the Presque Isle County Advance.