Cheboygan Junior Girls take home district softball crown
CHEBOYGAN – It’s been a spectacular start to the summer for Cheboygan Little League softball.
That momentum continued on Friday, July 1, as the Cheboygan Junior Girls (13-14) All Stars captured a District 13 title with an 18-3 victory over Tri Rivers (Indian River) in the championship game held in Cheboygan.
“They enjoy playing, they enjoy playing with each other, and it’s just a nice group overall,” said Cheboygan coach Dave Schulz, whose team won all three games it played during the tournament. “They show up to practice to work hard and get better, and they’re competitive when they play games. They’re always doing their best, so it’s nice to be around them.”
After rolling to a 43-8 victory over Harbor Springs in their tournament opener, the Cheboygan All Stars found themselves in a battle with Tri Rivers in their second contest. But despite falling behind 8-0 early, Cheboygan rallied to earn a thrilling 24-23 victory and remain unbeaten.
“What stood out was the girls not giving up and kind of staying positive after they fell behind 8-0,” Schulz said. “They just kept chipping away, chipping away, and eventually they were able to pull it out.”
Trailing late, Lily McKervey delivered a game-tying hit for Cheboygan, which later won the game thanks to an RBI walk-off infield hit from Bea Schulz.
Schulz was impressed by the late-game heroics of his players, who showed resiliency when they needed to.
“The last inning, (pitcher) MaKayla LaHaie did a great job when we had obviously given up quite a few runs the first six innings,” Schulz said. "That was really big for us. The girls just hung in there and did a good job."
The two teams would meet again in the district final, but this time Cheboygan won in lopsided fashion to claim the title and earn its spot at the state tournament in Byron Center.
Among the offensive highlights in the title game came from Presley Chamberlain, who ripped a bases-clearing triple to put Cheboygan in command.
“She hit a triple off the fence to blow that championship game open,” Schulz said of Chamberlain. “It was a bases-loaded triple, it hit the top half of the fence and I thought it was going to be a grand slam, but it ended up being a triple. That kind just opened the floodgates, we had plenty of run support, and I thought our defense obviously played so well. Girls coming in and making plays, I thought Laney Marsh came in at third base, she had a double play and another put-out. Three of the six outs were from her, she had just come in in the second or third inning.”
Cheboygan’s district title triumph came one day after the Cheboygan Major Girls (10-12) won a district crown of their own with a victory over host Rogers City.
Cheboygan begins its state tournament with a noon game on Sunday, July 10.
“They’re very excited, I think they’re proud of winning their district, and having to play some good softball and some tough games along the way, but now they’re excited to travel downstate and take on some new teams,” Schulz said. “You can run into some pretty big challenges, but I think the overall goal is to play your best softball you play all summer and have fun. If you play your best and get beat, so be it.”
Members of this year’s Cheboygan Junior Girls team include Amber Gahn, Avery Crawford, Jaden Burnett, Abigail Babcock, Caleigh Easter, MacKenzie Stockman, MaKayla LaHaie, Presley Chamberlain, Laney Marsh, Bea Schulz, Mikayla Steiner and Lily McKervey. Cheboygan is coached by Dave Schulz and Stacey McKervey.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan Junior Girls take home district softball crown
