Cloudy / 57° F
Lakeshore claims Division 2 title with 8-0 victory
Published 3:50pm Sunday, June 20, 2010BATTLE CREEK – For the second straight year, southwest lower Michigan will be the home of the Division 2 state softball championship.
Last year Niles captured the Division 2 title, while on Saturday afternoon the Lakeshore Lancers kept the title in the Big 16 Conference West Division by blanking Mt. Pleasant 8-0.
The Lancers are a perfect 5-0 in state title games.
This is the fifth championship in 16 years for Denny Dock and Lakeshore.
Pitcher Maggie Hildebrand did it all for the Lancers on Saturday.
She worked six and a third innings to pick up the victory, allowing just three hits and striking out six.
Her solo homerun in the second inning proved to be the game-winner. She finished the game with three RBIs.
Lakeshore scored three runs in the third and three more in the fourth to break the game wide open.
Hildebrand reached on an error in the inning to drive in a run after Mt. Pleasant’s Chelsea Davis had walked issued a walk to load the bases to Rachel Zwar.
Lindsay McNair followed with a two-run double to make it a 4-0 contest.
In the fourth inning, Kaitlin Cornwell singled home a run and came around to score after a double by Heather Guse and a throwing error by the Mt. Pleasant center fielder also allowed Guse to score.
Lakeshore added one final run in the top half of the seventh as a pair of walks set the stage for Hildebrand to drive in another run with a ground out.
The Lancers brought on Megan Hiler to start the seventh and after getting the first two outs, Hildebrand returned to the circle to record the final out of the game.
Lakeshore (34-7) finished with nine hits, led by Guse with a pair and three runs scored.
The Lancers actually advanced to the title game just moments before meeting Mt. Pleasant.
On Friday, Lakeshore’s game with Armada was suspended in the fifth inning with the Lancers leading 3-0.
Lakeshore returned to the Diamond Saturday afternoon to complete the victory and then took on Mt. Pleasant in the final.
Kim Murphy had two of the Lancers’ seven hits.
Hildebrand earned the victory as she worked sixth and a two-third innings, allowing four hits with eight strikeouts.
Hiler came on in the seventh and recorded one out.
Division 2 State Finals
At Bailey Park, Battle Creek
Lakeshore 013 300 1 – 8 9 1
Mt. Pleasant 000 000 0 – 0 3 4
Maggie Hildebrand (W), Megan Hiler (7) and Savannah Kennedy
Chelsea Davis (L) and Carrie Welsh
2B: Heather Guse (L), Lindsay McNair (L)
3B: Karley Burge (L)
HR: Hildebrand (L)
Records: Lakeshore 34-7, Mt. Pleasant 40-4
Semifinals
Armada 000 000 0 – 0 4 1
Lakeshore 001 200 x – 3 7 1
Maggie Hildebrand (W), Megan Hiler (7) and Savannah Kennedy
Erin Kownacki (L) and Morgan Weidner
Record: Armada 30-9
