Local Sports Journal Oakridge High School sports fans have a lot to be excited about this weekend.
Their varsity baseball and softball teams won Division 3 regional championships Saturday at Morley-Stanwood High School and qualified for next week’s state quarterfinals.
The Eagle softball team won its first ever regional title by beating Montague 6-3 in the first round and McBain 2-0 in the 11-inning title game.
Oakridge pitcher Nicole DePender was the hero in the finals, tossing an 11-inning shutout. She worked her way out of two tight jams – with runners on second and third and one out in the eighth inning, and a bases loaded situation in the ninth.
The Eagles scored the winning runs in the top of the 11th. Maggie Dutton crossed the plate while teammate Morgan Giddings was caught between bases in a rundown situation, then Giddings scored on a wild pitch.
Oakridge will meet Gladstone in the state quarterfinals Tuesday at noon in Traverse City.
The Oakridge baseball team won its second regional title in four years by beating Morley-Stanwood 4-0 in the Division 3 tournament final.
The Eagles were led by pitcher D.J. Bowen, who was one out away from pitching a no-hitter.
Oakridge scored two runs in the first inning and one run in the second, which proved enough to seal Morley-Stanwood’s fate.
In the semifinal game the Eagles scored five runs in the fifth inning en route to a 6-1 win over West Michigan Conference foe Mason County Central. Pitcher Wyatt Hilton got the win for Oakridge.
The Eagles will play Gladstone on Tuesday afternoon in the quarterfinals in Traverse City.
