Braves win tournament
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TRAVERSE CITY -- Excellent hitting helped the Gladstone softball team pull off three consecutive victories to win the Traverse City St. Francis tournament here Saturday.
The Braves (13-1) used an 11-run fourth inning to mercy Charlevoix in the championship game.
Sydney Herioux homered twice in the inning and Taylor Trudeau homered once. Trudeau also led off the game with a home run and finished with four RBIs, while Herioux added five. Taelor Zeise chipped in with three RBIs and Jenna Tardiff added two.
"We were only ahead 4-3 going into the last inning and then scored 11 runs. That was one of the best hitting displays I've seen in one inning in all my time coaching," Braves' coach John Nevala said. "They called the game when we were still batting because we only had two outs. Our entire coaching staff couldn't be more happy with the way the girls played. They played great."
Andie Balenger earned the win on the mound in the title game, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits through four innings. She struck out four.
Gladstone advanced to the championship game by taking down Kalkaska 10-3 in the opener and then knocking off Oscoda 16-1 in the second game.
Natalie Hansen led the charge against Kalkaska with three hits and four RBIs. Herioux and Morgan Letteriello each had two hits, and Balenger was the winning pitcher.
Tardiff led the way with three hits against Oscoda. Trudeau, Letteriello, Hansen and Olivia Wetthuhn each added two, while Letteriello earned the win on the mound, striking out six.
"Everyone through the whole lineup hit the ball real well this weekend. Our pitching was solid and defense made the plays," Nevala said. "That's what made the difference as to why we won so big -- our hitting was really solid. That's the thing about our lineup is there isn't an easy out. That's what makes it tough on an opposing team."
Nevala said an advantage of playing in a tournament like this is getting a closer look at potential playoff opponents.
"We seen three teams that are in our division, so we know how we stack up in case we run into one of them," he said.
Gladstone visits Marquette for a twinbill Tuesday.