Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and hear interviews with Tiahna Reynolds, Lauren Pare, and Gladstone Manager Tasi Martinez. Also see photos from Negaunee-Cheboygan game, won by Cheboygan, 13-1.

GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich.---The Gladstone Major Little League All-Star (age 10-12) softball team won the first game of the state tournament on Saturday, picking up a dramatic 10-8 win over Edwardsburg at University Liggett High School.
 

Gladstone scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and two more in the bottom of the fifth to rally from an 8-4 deficit.
 

Tiahna Reynolds had a clutch two-run double in the fifth inning to break a 8-8 tie, and then Lauren Pare pitched a scoreless sixth inning to seal the deal. But not before an epic 13-pitch at-bat from Edwardsburg's Kathryn Carlson before Pare got the groundout.
 

“That was pretty scary,” Pare said. “I was shaking up there. I was trying to strike her out, but she hit and we got her out!”
 

Gladstone's rookie manager, Tasi Martinez, got a crash course on Little League rules in the fifth inning when she learned that she had to get in three of her subs in that inning, rather than wait until the sixth inning.
 

But those girls that she “subbed in” turned out to be big, with Aubrey Gereau putting the ball in play and being safe on an error, and Baillie Dawley drawing a walk.
 

Both scored when Reynolds smoked one to left field.
 

“I'm still kind of shaking,” Reynolds said. “I was pretty nervous, but I feel pretty excited. I had really wanted that pitch, and it felt so good. I just wanted to get the bat on the ball and crank it.”
 

“Honestly, I let the game get ahead of me,” Martinez said. “I was like, I have two innings to get my subs in, and they're like 'no you don't'. But I just want to give a shout out to those girls who came into the game in the bottom of the fifth inning and executed beautifully. Without them, we don't win. Without them getting on base, Tiahanna is not getting that shot out to the field.”
 

Gladstone had jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with Pare smoking one to center field that was over the head of the Edwardsburg center fielder. But the District 15 champions tied it at 3-3 in the second inning when Brynn Young ripped one to left field, and with some bad throws attached, three runs crossed the plate.
 

Edwardsburg scored five runs in the top of the fifth, as Pare was removed from the circle in favor of Reynolds. Martinez says it was to give Pare “a break”, and Edwardsburg got RBI hits from Erin Solarek and from Coleman. Gladstone also made three errors that inning, and it seemed like the game was slipping away.
 

But in the bottom of the inning, Gladstone got four runs to tie the game, as Emma Trombley, Ava Goodman, and Malia Quigley all had runs batted in.
 

It all came down to that fifth inning rally, and then Pare winning an epic battle in the final inning to end the game.
 

“I feel like it was good because we haven't played on turf before,” Pare said. “This was the first time, and I think I pitched very well. I was definitely throwing them a lot of outside ones, to try to like hit the outside corner so they couldn't hit them. I threw some changes as well.”
 

“I think we changed our attitudes,” Reynolds said. “We just said 'we can do this'. We just had to try our best, and we got it done.”
 

Gladstone continues tournament play Sunday morning at 10:00 against the District 3 champions from Jackson Southwest. The game will be broadcast on FM-107.3 and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.