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LOVE-LL IT!!! Gladstone Girls Crush Jackson SW
 Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to ear post-game interviews. MATTAWAN, Mich.---Reese Lovell smoked two home runs, including one that cleared the left field fence, to lead the Gladstone 10u Minor Little League All-Stars to a 19-0 win over Jackson Southwest at the state tournament Saturday in Mattawan. Gladstone finished pool play with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents 45-0 along the way. The girls will face Blissfield in the state quarterfinals Sunday morning at 10:00.  The next time Lovell came to the plate, Jackson chose to intentionally walk her. It was a move that backfired when several more walks and wild pitches brought the runs in, as Gladstone went up 10-0 after two innings. So, her third time up, with the score 17-0, they pitched to her. Lovell launched an even longer shot to left field this time, a two-run homer that cleared the left field fence, a rarity in 10u Little League softball, especially with no wind blowing. She was mobbed by her teammates and coaches after touching home plate. Icing on the cake. "They felt really good," Lovell said. "Their pitchers were really good, and when you have a good pitch, you've just got to drive it. It was awesome to help my team." It wasn't only Lovell. Adria Douville, despite batting way down in the batting order, smoked a line drive to center field for a two-run double. "I was practicing a lot and I usually hit them up the middle," Douville said. "And I was using a different bat. I usually use my storm bat. But this is now my lucky bat!"  The girls have played a lot of softball this summer, with travel tournaments and those now-infamous two-a-day practices. "They were long, and hot," Lovell said. "We've worked hard, and it showed. I think they definitely helped." "They were super-long, and super-hot outside in the sun," Douville said. "To prepare, we worked hard and hit off a 50-mile-per-hour pitching machine. Because they said that no girl was gonna pitch that fast in this tournament." The game was called by the mercy rule after three innings. Reagan Carter earned the win in the pitcher's circle for Gladstone. She allowed no hits, and only one baserunner (on a walk). That runner, though, was thrown out trying to steal by catcher Josalyn Meyette. Gladstone advances to the state quarterfinals, where the girls will face Blissfield at 10:00 Sunday morning. The game will be broadcast live on Eagle 107.3 FM and on the Eagle page at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.  |
