BELIEVE! BRAVES WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

EAST LANSING---Did this really just happen?

Did the Gladstone High School softball team really just do the unthinkable in the state championship game at Michigan State University?

Did the girls really beat the supposedly unbeatable Unionville-Sebewaing Patriots and win the school's third state title? In a word? Yes! BELIEVE!

Very few people besides the Gladstone girls truly thought that this could happen. But, yes, David does beat Goliath once in a while.

Tinner Sharon threw the best game of her career and the Braves topped the previously-undefeated Patriots, 2-1. Yes! Believe it!

"These kids are just absolutely incredible," an emotional Gladstone Coach Ashley Hughes said. "The seniors said 'Hey, Hughes, we told you at the beginning of the year that we were gonna be here'. So, they wanted this.

"And it was more, too, because it was USA and they had lost to them in the quarters last year. They had such a great attitude today."

"To start the game, our team, for sure, believed that we could," Sharon added. "That's all we talked about. Knowing that we could do it. Even if how good their stats were and how good their record everything is. We all knew deep inside that we could do it."

Braves Celebrate State Championship

Sharon, who willed her team to a semifinal win over Coloma on Friday, looked even better than that on Saturday against the Patriots, who were 41-0 entering the contest.

Sharon gave up a run in the first inning, and scattered a few hits here and there.

But when it came down to it, Sharon got stronger as the final innings approached. In the seventh inning, she struck out the side...in fact, she got five of her 12 strikeouts in the final two innings. Sharon says that she felt much better Saturday than she did Friday.

And she set the tone right away with her bat. Sharon smacked a long drive off of USA pitcher Nicole Bauer to start the top of the first inning, barely making it to third base with a triple.

Sadie Strasser drove her home with a sacrafice fly and it was 1-0.

The Patriots came right back, however, as Allison Hoppe led off with a double and scored on a single by Stephanie Neuman.

Erica Treiber followed with a hit to put two girls on with no outs.

But Sharon dug deep and got a pop up and two strike outs to end that inning, and then she retired worked two more 1-2-3 innings from there.

Gladstone broke the 1-1 tie in the top of the third inning. Sharon drew a one-out walk, and courtesy runner Alyssa Polley was forced at second on a Strasser ground ball.

Then Lexi Hongsito stepped up and clubbed one to the fence in right field. Strasser raced around the bases and scored all the way from first. It was 2-1 Gladstone.

Bridget Becker double play

USA tried to rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mackenzie Eurich led off with a booming double to right field. Then, with one out, Neuman hit one just out of the reach of three Braves fielders.

That brought up USA's #3 hitter, Treiber. Treiber hit a hot shot up the middle.

Braves second baseman Bridget Becker sprinted over, caught the ball, and threw to first baseman Jess Beaudry for a double play.

"That was huge," Hughes said. "Bridget has done a great job at second base this year. They're heads up. They know where the runners are, and what to do after that ball is caught. She squeezed that thing and tossed it over to Jess."

"And Jess made a great play, actually," Hughes continued. "Because it was a little bit high. She held on to it. That was such a swing in momentum, and we couldn't ask for a better play."

From there, Sharon took matters into her own hands. Nobody could hit USA relief pitcher Treiber (nine of ten Braves retired in three innings), but it did not matter.

"They weren't nervous, they weren't intimidated," Hughes said. "They came out right from the first inning. I couldn't be more proud of these kids right now."

Lexi Hongisto RBI double

The Braves (30-2) will return home to a hero's welcome on Sunday. The team is scheduled to arrive in Rapid River (along with the Braves boys team that finished third in the state) at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

The kids will board a pair of specially-decorated school buses, and will have a police escorted parade through the streets of Gladstone shortly thereafter. Then, the public is invited to meet the girls at the Gladstone High School parking lot after the parade.

Sadie Strasser RBI Sac Fly

The Gladstone girls will have their season-ending banquet on Tuesday evening at the Gladstone High School commons at 6:00.

This banquet is not open to the public. But the whole community is invited to come and meet the girls after the banquet at 7:30 Tuesday night at the school.

The Gladstone boys will have their banquet at a to-be-determined time later.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Lucas LaCosse, and listen to radio replays and interviews.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/8	4:00 PM	at Green Bay Preble	3 - 5 (L)	0-1

4/8	6:00 PM	at Green Bay Preble	4 - 1 (W)	1-1

4/18	4:00 PM	Norway Knights	11 - 2 (W)	2-1

4/19	1:00 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	3 - 2 (W)	3-1

4/19	7:00 PM	Rapid River Rockets	10 - 0 (W)	4-1

4/22	4:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	6 - 0 (W)	5-1

4/22	6:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	6 - 2 (W)	6-1

4/26	11:00 AM	Paw Paw Redskins	4 - 3 (W)	7-1

4/26	1:00 PM	Holland High School	10 - 0 (W)	8-1

4/26	4:00 PM	Williamston High School	11 - 1 (W)	9-1

5/1	4:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	5 - 0 (W)	10-1

5/1	6:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	3 - 4 (L)	10-2

5/6	4:00 PM	Rapid River Rockets	8 - 0 (W)	11-2

5/6	6:00 PM	Rapid River Rockets	11 - 4 (W)	12-2

5/8	4:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	4 - 0 (W)	13-2

5/8	6:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	5 - 2 (W)	14-2

5/13	4:00 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	1 - 0 (W)	15-2

5/13	6:00 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	6 - 4 (W)	16-2

5/17	10:00 AM	Birch Run	5 - 2 (W)	17-2

5/17	2:00 PM	Frankenmuth High School	6 - 4 (W)	18-2

5/17	6:00 PM	New Boston Huron High School	10 - 3 (W)	19-2

5/20	4:00 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	6 - 0 (W)	20-2

5/20	6:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	2 - 1 (W)	21-2

5/28	4:00 PM	Houghton Gremlins	16 - 0 (W)	22-2

5/30	2:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	5 - 0 (W)	23-2

5/30	4:00 PM	Manistique Emeralds	12 - 0 (W)	24-2

6/7	12:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	3 - 1 (W)	25-2

6/7	2:00 PM	Boyne City	4 - 1 (W)	26-2

6/10	12:00 PM	Muskegon Oakridge	5 - 1 (W)	27-2

6/13	10:00 AM	Coloma Comets	5 - 4 (W)	28-2

6/14	3:00 PM	Unionville-Sebewaing	2 - 1 (W)	30-2