Victory! Gladstone Braves win state title!
Lady Braves win 2014 State Title. The Gladstone Braves win the State Championship, defeating Unionville-Sebewaing by a nail-biting score of 2-1! The Gladstone Braves are officially state champions! (Photo courtesy of Keith Shelton/Escanaba Daily Press)
Talk about the perfect way to avenge a loss. The Gladstone Braves softball team won the 2014 MHSAA Division 3 Championship on Saturday over Unionville-Sebewaing, 2-1. The Braves were knocked out of the 2013 MHSAA Division 3 playoffs in the quarterfinals by the Patriots, 7-0. Unionville-Sebewaing came into the championship game 40-0.
Tinner Sharon led off the game for Gladstone with a triple. Sadie Strasser hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Sharon. The Braves led 1-0 after the top of the first. USA responded quickly in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own to tie the game at 1-1.
Lexi Hongisto came up with another big hit for the Braves in the third. With Strasser on first, Hongisto hit a double to right field, scoring Strasser. That gave Gladstone a 2-1 lead.
From there, Braves pitcher Tinner Sharon kept the Patriots offense at bay. Sharon, who pitched despite rolling her ankle in the semifinals against Coloma, held USA to four hits in seven innings while striking out 12 batters. Sharon did not issue a single walk in the game.
The Braves won their first state championship since 2009. Gladstone finishes the 2014 season with a 30-2 record.
You can view the box score of the game here.
