Three Delta County high school softball teams will play for a trip to Battle Creek's Bailey Park on Tuesday as the MHSAA state quarterfinals are held in Traverse City and Mount Pleasant.
The Escanaba Eskymos will face #3 ranked Saginaw Swan Valley in the Division Two quarterfinal at Central Michigan University The #3 ranked Gladstone Braves take on the Reed City Coyotes in the D-3 quarterfinal at Traverse City West High School. And the #3 ranked Rapid River Rockets will face the Bellaire Eagles, also at Traverse City West.
Escanaba has the biggest challenge of the three teams.
The Eskymos (25-14) are facing a team with the nickname of Vikings for the third straight game, but this one, from Saginaw is by far the best.
They have a 35-3 record, and advanced to the state semifinals in 2011.
Saginaw is led by MacKenzie Boehler, who had 22 strikeouts last Saturday in regional wins over Croswell-Lexington (10-0) and Birch Run (4-1).
Escanaba, meanwhile, made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003 by beating Howard City Tri-County, 10-0, and Cadillac, 9-1.
The game will be broadcast live on www.eskymos.com starting at 4:00 from the campus of Central Michigan University. The winner of the game will play either Coloma or Flat Rock at 1:00 Friday afternoon at Bailey Park in Battle Creek.
Rapid River is in the quarterfinals for the second straight year, and are favored to beat the Bellaire Eagles on Tuesday. The Eagles are 25-12 this season, and are in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.
They are lead by MacKenzie Verellen, who had nine strikeouts in a 6-4 win over Maple City Glen Lake last Saturday. She also had six strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Frankfort in the semifinals. The Rockets (32-5) got two strong pitching performances last Saturday from Heather Sanderson as Rapid River edged Posen, 2-1, and Rogers City, 6-1.
Neena Brockway helped out in the game against the Hurons with a two-run homer. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and rrnsports.com starting at 2:45 Tuesday afternoon from Traverse City West.
The winner of the game will play either Dansville or Allen Park Inter-City Baptist at 6:00 Friday night at Battle Creek's Bailey Park.
Gladstone is used to playing in the quarterfinal round. This makes ten straight years that Jerry Smith's team has made it to the Elite Eight. The Braves (28-5-1) will face the Reed City Coyotes (29-9) in the D-3 quarterfinal on Tuesday.
The Coyotes won their first district and regional since 2008, while the Braves beat Tawas (8-0) and Traverse City St. Francis (6-2) last Saturday in Charlevoix.
The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and rrnsports.com starting at 11:40 in the morning on Tuesday. The winner of that game will play either Buchanan or Springport at 11:00 Friday morning at Battle Creek's Bailey Park.
