COLDWATE, MI (WTVB) – In Branch County high school sports, the Girls soccer state tournament kicked off last night and the season came to an end for Coldwater with a 2-1 loss to host Eaton Rapids in their Division 2 district quarterfinal matchup. Eaton Rapids scored their first goal 9 minutes into the game on a ball that squirted away from Coldwater’s keeper on the wet grass. The Lady Cardinals tied the score with 22 minutes to play in the game on a goal from Breanna Eddy, assisted by Allison Germann. The Greyhounds got the winning goal about 5 minutes later on a deflection in the penalty box following a direct kick.
Coldwater outshot Eaton Rapids on the night 20-10, with Shelby Bowers making 8 saves in goal. Coldwater finished their season at 11-8-2, which is a school record for wins. Eaton Rapids advances to play Marshall tomorrow in the district semi-finals, after the Redhawks beat Jackson Northwest 4-0 Tuesday. On the other side of the bracket, Parma Western will face Mason. Western had a bye in the first round while Mason beat Charlotte 7-0.
Also last night, Quincy advanced in Division Four in the opening round of the Adrian Lenawee Christian District as the Orioles beat Lenawee Christian 6-0. Cailyn Hines led Quincy with 5 goals with her first two scores putting the Orioles up 2-0 at halftime. Hines scored the next 3 goals of the match and Quincy made it a 6-0 final late in the second half on goal by Laura Estalote. The Orioles outshot the host Cougars 24-6. Quincy will play at home in the semifinals tomorrow against Clinton with the match starting at 5 pm. Clinton drew a first round bye. In the other semifinal, it’s Blissfield at Manchester. The District Final is Saturday night at Lenawee Christian.
In baseball and softball, post season play started yesterday with MHSAA pre-district action, but the only games involving Branch County teams were rained out at the Bronson Division 3 District with the postponed contests between Union City and Delton-Kellogg re-scheduled for today. The other county teams all drew first round byes and will begin tournament play in the semifinals on Saturday.
Bronson managed to play yesterday on the road in games added late to the schedule as warmups for their district this weekend. In baseball, Daniel McMichael tossed his first career no-hitter as the Vikings beat Concord 2-0. McMichael had ten strikeouts with 3 walks and Bronson managed a couple of unearned runs to get by the Yellow Jackets. The Vikings will take on Parchment in the district semi-finals Saturday afternoon.
And in softball, Bronson swept a doubleheader at Comstock 14-0 and 7-5. Skyler Sobeski threw her third no-hitter of the season in the five inning opener with 11 strikeouts and 3 walks. She also had 2 singles and 2 RBI’s. Kelsey Robinson also had 2 RBI’s with 3 singles. Adyson Lasky was the winning pitcher in the second game with 9 strikeouts in the 5-hitter. Hannah Hoover had 2 singles and an RBI while Kinlea Blouin had 3 RBI’s with a double as the Lady Vikings improved to 31-7.
And yesterday in track and field, it was the annual Branch County Area Best meet at Quincy and the event featured two double winners in the boys competition and two triple winners in the girls meet. On the Boys side, Coldwater’s Logan Targgart finished first in the shot put and discus and in the process, broke his own school record in the shot put, bettering his previous mark by two inches with a toss of 57-feet, 8-inches. Also, Union City’s Aaron Watson won the 100 and 200 meter dash. Click here for complete results from the meet.
In the girls meet, Quincy dominated with a pair of triple winners and a double winner. Kayti Hawkins finished first in the discus, long jump and high jump while Kati Spalding won the pole vault along with the 100 meter hurdles and 300 meter low hurdles. And Gabby Porter took first place in the 800 and 16-hundred meter runs. Coldwater’s Ashley Chase was a double winner in the 100 and 200 meter dash.
On today’s high school sports schedule, it’s the MHSAA Boys golf regionals with Coldwater playing in the Division Two Regional at the Binder Park Golf Course hosted by Harper Creek. Coldwater made the Regionals after their fifth place finish in last week’s Parma Western District tournament. And in Division 4, Union City’s David Katz plays as an individual qualifier in the Regional at the Klinger Lake Country Club.
Today on the Coaches Corner, it Bronson baseball coach Matt Watkins.
