Pine River claims softball championship

LEROY — After a memorable victory against McBain in the Division 3 district semifinals on Saturday, Pine River defeated Reed City 10-4 to win the tournament title. Jamie Justin tossed a no-hitter in the first game for a 1-0 victory over McBain. Cayman Gatt and Justin had the only two hits for Pine River. Christie Nelson scored the only run in the fourth inning. She walked, went to second on a passed ball, advanced on a grounder by Jandney Mattson and scored on another passed ball. “One was a little bleeder past first base and the other was a little slap that Cayman just flat beat out,” Pine River coach Laura Mumby said. “Jamie pitched a gem of a game. She came out ready to win. We had lost twice to them by one run. We came out ready to go. It was the best game we’ve played all year.” McBain had only two runners. Gabby Hoaglund was the losing pitcher. The Bucks were the visiting team against Reed City and had 16 hits with two runs in the first, five in the third and one in the fourth, fifth and seventh. Reed City had six hits and four errors. For the Bucks, Christie Nelson and Justin had three hits apiece. Gatt, Justin and Alex Sebastiano had triples while Jandney Mattson had two doubles .Justin had three RBIs and Gatt had two. Justin went six innings and allowed five hits and three walks while fanning seven. Brooke Pennington pitched an inning in relief and allowed one it and one walk. For Reed City Hannah Price went the first three innings allowing seven runs and nine hits while walking three. Jules Griffin pitched the last four and gave up six hits and three runs. Lindsey Greer and Price had two hits apiece. Brittani Yager, Riley Lawson and Griffin had one hit apiece. “We hit the ball really well,” Mumby siad. “Reed City never gave up the fight. They came out and got some hits and worked really hard too.” Reed City beat Manton 7-3 in a district semifinal. Price went all seven innings, giving up four hits and three runs while striking out seven and walking five. Griffin, Price and Yarger had one hit each. The Coyotes end the season at 9-22. “I felt that defensively the girls played their best ball of the year,” said Reed City coach Roger Steig. “Manton had won two from us earlier in the season. Hannah Price did a nice job. “Pine River had too much offense for us.” Pine River is 21-12. The Bucks avenged a district loss to Reed City last season. The Bucks play at Holton in the regionals at noon on Saturday in a semifinal game against the home team. Pine River 14, Lake City 3 Pine River 's girls softball team got its third crack at McBain by virtue of a 14-3 Division 3 pre-district win over Lake City on Tuesday, May 28. The Bucks played in the district semifinals Saturday against a McBain team that nipped Pine River twice by one run during the regular season. The game ended after five innings because of the mercy rule. Pine River, the visiting team, scored five runs in the first, two in the second, two in the fourth and five in the third. The Trojans had two runs in the first and one in the third. The Bucks had a 9-2 advantage in hits. Lake City had five errors compared to two for the Bucks. In the fifth, Jandney Mattson’s RBI single gave the Bucks an 11-1 lead. Jenny Wickens scored on a wild pitch and after an error scored a run, Cayman Gatt singled home two more for a 14-3 lead. Kassy Nelson, Erica Buchner, Gatt and Mattson had two hits apiece for the Bucks. Jamie Justin helped her own cause with a triple. "Kassy Nelson did a nice job of hitting the ball for us," said Nelson. Buchner had three RBIs while Nelson and Mattson had one apiece. "We got by the day," said Nelson. "It was nice after a long break to come out and get some swings in and play some ball." Justin was the winning pitcher. She went five innings and allowed two hits and no walks while striking out four. "We played good but we didn't play to the best of our ability," said Alexis Sebastiano. "Our base running could have been better." Maggie Eising was the losing pitcher. "We're pretty confident," Sebastiano said. "We have seven seniors. We've played with each other for so long. We know how everyone is." Last season, the Bucks lost out to Reed City in the bid for the district title. "(We) want it really bad, especially since we didn't get it last year," Sebastiano said. "McBain is pretty good, but we can beat them if we play to the best of our ability." "The second game with them was a 10-inning game," Nelson said. "That should be a good game."

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