LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONS!

TAYLOR, Mich.---They didn't wait until the last minute to pull out a win this time.

But the Delta County Junior Girls (age 13-14) still played a tight game on Sunday that wasn't truly decided until the end. The combined Escanaba/Gladstone team slipped past Beaverton, 2-0, to win the state championship at Heritage Park in Taylor.

Meanwhile, more than 600 miles to the north, the Escanaba Senior Girls (age 15-16) also won a state championship on Sunday, beating Keweenaw, 13-3, in six innings.

In Taylor on Sunday, Delta County was facing a Beaverton team that it had beat, 1-0, in pool play, earlier in the tournament.

Both teams managed only one hit in that game.

But Delta County managed t0 pull through, sending three girls back to the Central Regional after also winning state titles last summer.

"I feel awesome," said third baseman Heather Bergstrom. "It's really nice, winning two years in a row. State championship. Our defense was very tight today!"

"Beaverton, we played them in our first game, so we kind of knew how they were," said left fielder Chloe Caswell. "It kind of made it a little bit easier. This was just because of all of the hard work that we put in that made us win it two years in a row!"

Sydney Herioux RBI hit vs Beaverton

"This is awesome," said right fielder Maddy Griffin. "It was big for us to stick together. We have trust in each other. This is gonna be cool (going to regionals again). Last year was fun, but I feel like this is gonna be great!"

This summer's team is an Escanaba-Gladstone combo, which is a bit different.

"Coming from two different schools, was a bit awkward at first," Gladstone's Andi Balenger admitted. "Practice was pretty awkward. But we got through it, and we stuck with it, and that's what got us here."

"It's a good experience because I've never won before for states," said Gladstone's Serina Sinnaeve. "Coming together as a team, both Escanaba and Gladstone girls, it was pretty awkward. But now we're all like a family of sisters!"

Maddy Griffin gets base hit.

"I like it," Escanaba's Georgia Lehto said. "We kind of made it easy in the districts this year, not having to play Gladstone. Because normally, that's kind of a big rivalry."

Sunday's game was tight, only not quite as "tight" as the others in this tournament.

Beaverton had a scoring chance in the top of the third inning when Taylor Inscho led off with a single, and after she stole second, Anna Ware bunted her to third base.

Gabi Salo post-game comments

Kayla Longstreth also bunted, and she reached first base safely as Delta County first baseman Amber Lenards elected not to throw the ball.

But Delta County pitcher Gabi Salo got a pop up and a groundout to end the threat.

"That big out by Natalie (Hansen) catching it was huge," Salo said. "And then, just gettiing that third out! I think our defense played amazing today. Having that defense is great!"

In the bottom of the third inning, with two out, pinch hitter Lehto hit a ground ball to third base.

A high throw allowed Lehto to go all the way to second base, and Sydney Herioux came through with an RBI single to give Delta County a 1-0 lead.

"I was really, really nervous, because there were two outs," Herioux said. "She was standing in second, and I didn't want to be the one to strike out or anything! But once I got up to the plate, I just blocked everything out of my mind."

Maddy Griffin followed with a base hit to put two runners on base, and then Salo helped her own cause by ripping a base hit of her own to score Herioux with the second run.

That was plenty of run support for Salo, who didn't have to strike out a bunch of girls like she did in the other four games of this state tournament.

Gabi Salo RBI hit vs Beaverton

Salo struck out five, but also relied on great defense behind her. In particular, Lenards did a nice job at first base. Faith Howe took the loss in the circle for Beaverton. She gave up six hits, and both runs against her were unearned runs, thanks to that one error in the third inning. Salo allowed no walks in earning her fifth victory on the weekend.

Besides getting aboard on that error, Lehto also got a big base hit on Sunday.

"I've been going through a slump lately," Lehto admitted. "It was pretty exciting!"

Hansen caught all 34 innings of this three-day tournament, in 90-degree heat.

Final Out vs Beaverton. State Champs!

"It definately makes it a bit hotter, but you have to just block that out and make sure that you're paying attention to everything that's going on in the game," Hansen said. "They hit the ball well, Beaverton did, but our defense was good behind her (Salo)."

Delta County travels to South Holland, Ill., for the Central Regional Tournament. The first game is scheduled for 6:00 ET Saturday night against the Ohio State Champion.

That first game will not be broadcast on the radio. The remainder of the games, starting next Monday, will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos from the game, taken by Elijah Balenger.

ESKY SENIOR GIRLS ON TOP---Escanaba Senior Girls won all five games at the state tournament in the Copper Country this weekend. It was a three-team tournament, with Keweenaw and Melvindale as the opponents. Escanaba outscored them, 79-4, in the five games, ending with a 13-3 win over Keweenaw on Sunday.

The host team trailed just 5-3 in the fifth inning before the Escanaba girls poured it on to win the championship.

Escanaba advances to the Central Regional Tournament in South Bend, Indiana. The first game is at 12:00 noon on Friday against the defending regional champion Indiana District Eleven host team. The Escanaba girls will play twice on Saturday (noon against Iowa and 4:00 against Missouri), and then the semifinals and finals are on Sunday.

All of the Escanaba senior girls games will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.