CENTREVILLE, MI (WTVB) – Bronson’s softball team won its first MHSAA Division 3 Softball Regional title since 2015 Saturday at Centreville. The Vikings defeated Buchanan 4-2 in the Semifinals and held off Kalamazoo Christian for a 10-9 victory in the Regional Final. Action did not start until mid-afternoon due to rain that moved through that morning.
D3 Regional Semifinal: Bronson 4, Buchanan 2
Against Buchanan, Lydia Wells hit a pair of two-run homers and finished 3-for-3. Hermosa Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a double, and Braelynn Gimenez was 2-for-4. Winning pitcher Ashlynn Harris allowed one run on three hits in three innings of work.
In the second Regional Semifinal, Kalamazoo Christian’s one-out RBI single in the seventh brought home the winning run as the Comets earned a 7-6 victory against Coloma.
D3 Regional Final: Bronson 10, Kalamazoo Christian 9
The Regional Final started with Bronson’s Wells and K-Christian’s Jada Jager exchanging solo homers. The Vikings added a pair of runs in their half of the third to take a 3-1 lead. The Comets responded with a run in the fourth and four runs in the fifth. Bronson got a run back in the sixth and trailed 6-4 heading into the seventh.
Gimenez led off in the seventh and reached first on an error, Delanee Carpenter grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Hermosa Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Audrey Shiery hit a line drive right to the third baseman for an unassisted double play. With two outs, Harper Ratkowski hit a fly ball to center that was mishandled, allowing Carpenter to score. Madison Shaw drew a walk, and a bases-loaded walk to Harris brought home the tying run. Roni Bir took a 3-2 pitch deep to center field for a dramatic grand slam that gave the Vikings a 10-6 lead.
The Comets weren’t done, though, scoring three runs with one out in their half of the seventh. Shaw, who was the starting pitcher, relieved Harris and got the final two outs.
Bir finished the game 3-for-5 with five runs batted in. Harris and Gimenez each went 2-for-4, Wells was 2-for-3, and Shiery doubled.
Bronson improved to 35-5 and will take on Ravenna Tuesday at 1 p.m. in a Division 3 Quarterfinal at Kalamazoo College. Ravenna won the Regional they hosted by blanking Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 10-0 and Morley Stanwood 6-0.
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