BOYNE CITY---Lauren Sundquist continues to scorch the ball, Tia Schone continues to dominate in the pitcher's circle, and the rest of the girls keep contributing both at the plate and defensively in the field.

The result? Another MHSAA Division Three regional championship for the Gladstone Braves high school softball team.

The Braves dusted off Grayling, 6-2, in the semifinals, and then overwhelmed Kingsley, 9-0, in the regional final on Saturday at Boyne City High School.

It's a second straight regional championship for the Braves, putting them one step away from a trip to the Final Four at Michigan State University. The Braves will play in the state quarterfinal game on Tuesday at 4:30 in Cheboygan against the Clare Pioneers.

Sundquist led off both of Saturday's games with solo home runs, giving Schone a right-off-the-bat cushion to work with. Sundquist, who has signed with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) had four hits altogether in the doubleheader.

Schone helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 against Grayling, and 3-for-5 against Kingsley. In the circle, Schone threw a complete game against Grayling, striking out ten batters and scattering five hits. In the title game against the Stags, Schone struck out nine more batters and scattered six hits in throwing a seven-inning shutout. She will be playing at Grand Rapids Community College this fall.

But it wasn't just those two girls at the top of the order, and as pitcher and catcher on the field. Malia Quigley had an RBI double in the fourth inning against Grayling to make it 2-0, and then in the fifth inning, Lauren Pare doubled home a run to make it 3-0. And a Tiahna Reynolds sacrifice fly made it a 4-0 Braves lead.

And then after the Vikings had cut it to 4-2, Ava Goodman put the game away with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning, making it a 6-2 final.

Grayling finished its season with a 27-10-1 record.

Kingsley then had a wild game with Negaunee in the second semifinal in which the Stags blew a 6-0 lead, falling behind the Miners, 8-6. But the thoughts of an All-U.P. Final ended in the top of the seventh inning when Kingsley scored nine runs to win, 15-8. Negaunee finished its season with a 21-14 record.

Kallen Schultz had a solo home run for the Miners, and seven players had at least one hit. Annie Strang had four hits and drove in four runs to lead Kinglsey.

In the championship game, after Sundquist got her team going with another round-tripper, the Braves added a run in the third inning on an RBI hit by Schone. And then in the fifth inning, Pare kept up her hot hitting with a home run to left field to make it a 3-0 game, and then after a Maddy Sundquist single, Alli Larson came through with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Quigley's second RBI plated another run, and then in the sixth inning, icing on the cake as Quigley smacked another double to center field to bring home the final two runs of the game. Kingsley's season ended with a 26-11 record.

For the Braves (31-4), its on to the Elite Eight, against a tough Clare Pioneers team that has a 37-2 record. First pitch is set for 4:30 Tuesday afternoon in Cheboygan.