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2008 Youth Enhanced Sports Summer Camps!

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Come listen to Coach Trickey’s message of team play and his advice for success in endeavors on and off of the athletic field.

If you’d like to see more information about attending the event see this form.

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To view the photos, click on “Photo slideshow” in the top right corner of this article. The photos are also available for purchase by clicking the “Buy photo reprints” link.

Photos by Doug Julian

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“We’ve had some injuries and players being pulled up to varsity,” said Dow coach Kim Dankert. “So we have been trying people in different positions and everybody contributed tonight.”

Sam Wood started things off for the Chargers in the opener, taking the mound and striking out nine Lumberjacks while allowing only one hit.

“Sam did a great job on the mound tonight,” Dankert said. “She was in control of the first game and then came in to finish off the second one.”

Taylor Thurston lead Dow offensively, going 2-for-3 with a triple and five RBIs, while Ashley McIntyre went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs. Wood helped her own cause with a triple.

Alisha Lukins started for the Chargers in the second game and struck out eight, allowing three runs. Wood closed the nightcap to pick up the save.

McIntyre continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Amanda Larson went 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Stephanie Russell had a home run.

Dow improves to 15-2-1 on the season and 9-1 in league play. They return to action Wednesday when they travel to Bullock Creek to take on the Lancers.

Photos by Doug Julian

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“They pitched well and it’s always disappointing when you don’t score any runs,” said Loons manager Juan Bustabad. “I think we were swinging at a lot of balls in the dirt. We need to take advantage of the fastball and be more aggressive.”

The Loons fell into an early hole when Joseph Dunigan blasted a three-run home run in the top of the first off of starter Daigoro Rondon (2-3).

After the blast, Rondon settled down and allowed only one more run in going 5 2/3 innings to record the loss.

Offensively, Great Lakes just couldn’t get on track. After two first-inning singles, with the exception of a third-inning walk, Adcock retired 13 consecutive batters going seven innings and striking out a career high nine batters to pick up the win.

The Loons threatened in the sixth when with three consecutive single to load the bases with no outs, but Adcock battled out of the jam with two strikeouts and a ground ball to end the inning.

“That was disappointing,” Bustabad said. “All we have to do is put the ball in play. We get a hit and we might score two. Maybe mix in three, four hits together and we’re right back in the game. (Brian) Mathews strikes out and (Alex) Garabedian strikes out. That killed us right there.”

Wisconsin added three more runs, highlighted by an Alex Liddi solo home run to close out the win.

After dropping the opening series to Beloit 1-2, Great Lakes took won two of three against the Timber Rattlers to finish their six-game home stand at .500. The Loons (14-17) return to action Thursday when they travel to Ohio to take on the Dayton Dragons. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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After four impressive years on the Dow High varsity basketball squad, Mantyla has signed a letter of intent to continue her basketball career at Saginaw Valley State University. She and her family celebrated the signing with school administrators Tuesday morning at Dow High.

“It feels really great considering all of the trials that I’ve been through,” she said. “It’s really good to get his opportunity. It’s what I wanted for my whole life and it’s awesome.”

Mantyla will join the Cardinal program after a senior year that saw her average 12.8 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 steals in leading the Chargers to the district championship.

“Taylor had a great four year career at Dow and I enjoyed coaching her all four years,” said Dow coach Bob Wellman. “Her overall game improved so much this year. She not only was our best pure shooter, but she distributed the ball better than everyone.”

Not only will Mantyla be taking her athletic talents to SVSU, but also academic ambitions as she seeks to major in special education.

While it is a happy time, it also brings with it a measure of sadness leaving behind friends and teammates.

“I know I’m going to be close to my teammates in college, but in high schools it’s different,” Mantyla said. “It’s a different environment, it’s a different feeling. My teammates in high school are like my sisters, and I don’t know if I’m ever going to find that again.”

Wellman sees Mantyla’s career continuing to grow and shine at Saginaw Valley.

“She should have some nice success playing at the next level,” he said. “She has the athletic ability, the physical strength, the shooting ability and size to play and be an important player for her team. I look forward to watching her play.”

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Click Here to view and purchase photos from the games.

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It ended a whole lot better, though.

After losing to Marquette 4-3 in the day’s opening contest, the Chargers rattled off a pair of impressive victories to reach the championship game where they defeated Midland High 1-0 to win the 2008 Chemical City Softball Classic at the Redcoat Softball Complex in Midland.

The three wins and one loss puts Dow’s season record at 17-4-1 and came on a day where windy conditions and prom could have made concentration a little bit harder to come by.

“Today they proved that they’re ballplayers,” said Dow coach Jason Gehoski. “I didn’t hear anything about prom or anything like that until after the game was over. They were focused on the game and that makes them true ballplayers.”

Lindsey Allen’s RBI single in the bottom of the first inning of the championship game scored Allison Hamilton for the contest’s only run. Both pitchers took over from there.

Courtney King went the distance in picking up the win for Dow as she struck out eight, allowed only two hits, and did not walk a batter. After allowing a single to Genni Kohoyda in the first inning, King retired 14 straight Chemics until Heather Stoney singled off her in the sixth.

“Courtney pitched a great game and the girls played strong,” Gehoski said. “They knew what they had to do. “

Jami Shafley suffered the tough-luck loss for Midland, striking out six in six innings of work.

“We just couldn’t string the hits together,” said Midland coach Christina Griffis. “We got on base intermittently, but just could not get them around the bases.”

Midland had no problem getting anyone around the bases in its trio of games to start the day as the Chemics won all three contests and outscored their opponents 24-5. Shafley earned the 2-1 victory over Bullock Creek in the day’s second game while Amber Gerstacker picked up wins in 10-0 and 12-4 drubbings of Traverse City Central and Davison, respectively.

Perhaps the biggest story for Midland, though, was the play of Emily Bentley and Melissa Rathbun. Bentley had seven hits, slugged two home runs, and drove in six runs in the three games, while Rathbun added five hits off her own on the afternoon.

“Our pitching and hitting were great,” Griffis said. “Gerstacker and Shafley were both outstanding and very composed on the mound. Bentley and Rathbun really started hitting, too.”

Dow also started hitting after a disappointing loss to Marquette in game one. Lauryn Wilson took the loss in that game, striking out seven in seven innings of work. She allowed four runs, only one of which was earned.

“Our biggest thing was errors,” Gehsoki said of the loss to the Redettes. “I think once we woke up a little bit they started playing within themselves and not getting down and just realizing we had to play fundamental softball.”

King took the mound in game two and led the Chargers to an 8-1 win over Detroit Country Day. She struck out 11 and allowed six hits and two walks. Allen was 3-for-4 with two runs driven in, while Abby Lerner also went 3-for-4. Delainey Doughty had a hit and an RBI.

That hit and RBI for Doughty came after a 2-for-3 performance in game one, but both paled in comparison to what the senior first baseman did in game three against Gibraltar-Carlson. Doughty turned in the stat-line of the day in that game with a grand slam, two doubles, and nine RBIs to pave the way to tournament MVP honors.

Dow will return to action Monday when it hosts Saginaw Arthur Hill.

As for the Chemics, they will also return to action Monday when they host Flint Northern. Griffis’ team will head into that game with a 13-7 season record and renewed confidence after Saturday’s strong performance.

“I think bottom line they can take away the fact that they played four outstanding games today,” Griffis said. “The girls are coming along, we looked great and I look forward to seeing Dow again.”

For photos from all 13 Chemical City Classic games, click here.

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