LocalSportsJournal.com
It was anybody’s game to win between North Muskegon and Whitehall at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association’s Tier II softball city finals on Saturday.
North Muskegon was able to fight off the Vikings to capture the championship in back-to-back years, this time with a 10-8 win.
Both teams battled similar demons with errors on the field, but Whitehall couldn’t top North Muskegon’s pitching and a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning.
North Muskegon pitchers Madison Balon and Braedi Baker gave Whitehall all it could handle. The two Norse pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, five each in the dramatic victory.
Balon scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth, reaching home plate on a Whitehall error. Rylee Cooper scored the insurance run for a 10-8 lead, again on a Viking error.
The Norse had broken the game wide open with a six-run third inning after the two teams battled through the first two innings tied at 2-all.
Baker led the third-inning rally for the Norse, batting twice in the inning with a double and an RBI single. Balon added a two-run double while Cooper and Baila Lang each had RBI singles.
The North Muskegon eruption stung Whitehall as the Vikings nearly had their own rally in the top of the third inning. But the Norse were able to get out unscathed after facing the bases loaded, but with two outs.
Whitehall was able to claw its way back to tie the score 8-all by scoring three runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
North Muskegon was led at the plate by Lang and Baker, who each finished with two hits and an RBI.
Whitehall was led by Janie Fagan with three singles and an RBI. Evelyn Drake had a single and an RBI double while Bella Fogus had two singles.
