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Gladstone Softball Confident Heading Into Regional
 GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School girls softball team practiced Thursday ahead of Saturday's MHSAA Division 3 regional tournament. Before the rains came. anyway. The rain couldn't dampen the girls' spirit as they spent time in the batting cages, going over their bunting, and fine-tuning their baserunning skills.  The other regional semifinal will see Manistee take on Boyne City at 10 a.m. First-year Braves manager John Nevala says his girls are ready. "We don't knwo a heck of a lot about them (Grayling), but we like our chances if we keep playing the same ball that we've been playing lately," Nevala said. "Our strength of (regual season) schedule should help. I think the key is to get some girls on base early and get some clutch hitting to get some runs in. And Jenna (Steinhoff) has been excellent." Steinhoff, a senior, has carried the load for the Braves in the pitching circle. The Gladstone Braves now have a 31-9 record on the season, with four of those losses coming to defending Division Two state semifinalist Escanaba. The Gladstone girls are confident as they prepare to head below the Bridge Friday afternoon.  "We're solid all the way through," senior first baseman Tasi Martinez added. "We don't have a weak spot in our line-up. That helps, especially if a player gets hurt or something happens. There's not a point in the batting order when I'm like, 'oh crap'. It's always like 'this girl can get us a hit'." The winner of the regional goes to the state quarterfinal in Petoskey on Tuesday. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see video interviews with Polley and Martinez, and listen to Nevala's comments.  |
