Softball: Chargers are District Champs

by Cory Butzin

Two must be a lucky number for the Midland Dow varsity softball team.

In Saturday’s district tournament, the Chargers played two games, scored two runs, had two shutouts, to pick up two wins for their second straight district title, beating Bay City Central 1-0 in nine innings in the championship game.

“I’m just ecstatic right now,” said Dow coach Jason Gehoski. “I’m so proud of the girls, they played great. It took us a little longer than we expected. The first game was great, but this game they just never said die.”

Courtney King pitched a complete-game shutout in the opener, and Lauryn Wilson saw no reason why that shouldn’t continue in the nightcap.

Wilson took to the mound in the afternoon game and pitched a gem, fanning one Central batter after another. She didn’t allow a walk and only four hits, while striking out 15. As a matter of fact, only one runner advanced past second base in the nine innings that Wilson pitched. Though that one runner could have spelled doom for the Chargers.

While the Wolves simply could not get anything going offensively against Wilson, Dow couldn’t get anything going offensively against Central starter Amber Ott.

Ott pitched all nine innings and kept the Chargers scoreless until late in the game.

With the score 0-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, Erica Weiler singled with no outs. After two sacrifices moved her to third, Dow’s season appeared to be in jeopardy. But Wilson struck out the final batter to send the game to extra innings.

That’s when the Charger’s bats finally woke up.

King stepped into the batter’s box to open the top of the ninth and promptly drilled a pitch to deep right field and raced around the bases, beating the relay throw for a triple. Staci Thornton was brought in as a pinch-runner. And two batters later, Delainey Doughty took a page from King’s book and launched a shot to right field scoring Thornton with a triple of her own.

Or so it seemed.

While rounding the bases, the umpire ruled that Doughty did not step on second when she rounded the bases and was called out, but the run stilled scored giving Dow the 1-0 lead.

“I kept waiting and waiting for those hits,” Gehoski said. “We finally got them, and when it clicked, it clicked.”

Wilson shut the Wolves down in the bottom stanza to seal the win and district championship for the Chargers.

While it isn’t Dow’s first district championship in softball, it is the first for Gehoski.

“It’s Dow’s second in a row, but it’s my first and I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m just very pleased with my team and I’m very proud of them.”

The Chargers improve to 30-8-2 and advance to regionals where they will take on Alpena Saturday, June 7 at Flushing High School.