SOFTBALL: Romeo eliminates Troy, Hartland for regional title
Lake Orion falls in regional semifinals
FOR MORE SOFTBALL COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Softball&x=8&y=11
NOTE: Have photos or video of this event you would like to share with digital daily www.northoaklandsports.com?Email pertinent information to results@northoaklandsports.com or to Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Romeo took another step up the ladder Saturday afternoon.
The past two years the Bulldogs lost in the regional finals to Troy and White Lake Lakeland, respectively. Now, Romeo has advanced to the state quarterfinals round for the first time.
The state-ranked Bulldogs rallied for a 3-1, nine-inning victory over Troy in the semifinals, then blanked Hartland, 3-0, in the finals. The regional title advances Romeo (31-8) to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. state quarterfinals at Saline, where Plymouth Canton awaits.
Taylor Weaver gained both pitching wins from the circle, including a dominant performance in the finals. She scattered six hits, six strikeouts and one walk in the finals after watching her team win in dramatic fashion in the semifinals against Troy — the same program that rallied to knock Weaver and the Bulldogs out of the tournament two years ago.
“We came close the past two seasons, so it feels nice to come back here and win it this time,” smiled Romeo coach Dave McIntyre. “This was a very tough regional with some great teams here. We found a way to win.”
Weaver struck out 12 in the semifinals. But it took a two-out, solo home run over the right field fence by Danielle Szajna to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, Erin Barg laced a two-run home run well over the left field fence to win the game walk-off style.
Troy scored it sole run in the fourth on an RBI double by Cori Mittelbrun. Freshman pitcher Taylor Schmidt kept the Bulldogs at bay for most of the game until succumbing in the end.
In the finals, Romeo scored single runs in the first, third and seventh innings, while Weaver silenced Hartland.
Barg drew an RBI hit-by-pitch in the first, Szajana ripped a solo home run and Kayla Noch supplied an RBI single in the seventh to account for the runs for the Bulldogs.
Hartland won three districts and three divisional titles in the WLAA the past four years — a credit to the Eagles’ senior class. Hartland (30-10) defeated six state-ranked teams, including Lake Orion in the semifinals, in the final weeks of the season.
“I think we had a great run for about three weeks,” noted Hartland coach Carl Gabrielson. “We beat six ranked teams and we were hitting the ball and everything went well. First game today, we had to come back three times to win. I was proud of them.”
The Eagles just ran into a better team in the finals.
“This game, we just didn’t get the key hits,” added Gabrielson. “We had people on base. Miss Weaver is a great pitcher. We couldn’t get anything off her.”
HARTLAND 6, LAKE ORION 3: Hartland broke open the game with three runs in the top of the ninth, taking advantage of three Lake Orion errors in the game, two in the ninth.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.
FOR MORE SOFTBALL COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Softball&x=8&y=11
Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Most Recently Updated Stories, Prep Wraps, Softball, Top Stories, Troy, Uncategorized
