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Cros-Lex claimed the 9-10 Year Old Little League Softball State championship last Thursday by defeating Rogers City, 8-4, in the finals at Wyoming's Pinery Park. The young Pioneers were so dominating in the week-long tournament, going 7-0, winning six games by mercy ands allowing just six runs all together.

"We've been through a lot with these kids," reveled Scott Young, who, along with dad Bob Young, brother Andy Young, plus Leroy Guitar and Rob Church, coached the team "There's not many words to describe this. The kids came up to us and were so excited afterwards. What a great feeling!"

When play began in the tournament last Saturday, the C-L coaches knew they had a very experienced team, having only to replace four players from a squad that finished fifth at State a year ago.

"We worked hard all season," added Young. "We knew what our focus was, but we didn't know we would be this successful. The girls really dug down and achieved a great season." The State title was the first for a Cros-Lex team and is likely a first for a team from District 7.

With a good four-player rotation, pitching had been dominant for Cros-Lex throughout the State tournament and at the Districts before that. It showed up again in the finals.

Rogers City scored a run in the opening inning, but the Pioneers came back with a pair in the bottom of the inning and never looked back. They built an 8-1 lead before Rogers City kept some hope alive with three unearned runs in the fifth.

"Megan Guitar (the winning pitcher) struggled a bit with walks, but they really couldn't hit her, she gave up just three hits," noted Young. "We played pretty well on the infield in the game, but in the fifth inning we stumbled a bit with three errors. But, other than that inning, we were good to go."

Sadi Overland came in and tossed a scoreless sixth inning to close out the win.

Young, who said the coaches scouted as many teams as they could during the tournament, related that Rogers City had pitched their ace in the semis. "And, they didn't have much left in the tank."

Cros-Lex had nine hits and also used nine walks in the title game. Kylee Barrett, who went 9-for-9 with five doubles and 11 RBI in the three playoff games, was 3-for-3 with four RBI in the last contest. Victoria Bender was 2-for-4 with two RBI, Guitar was 2-for-2 and Brooke Smith and Rachel Schadd each added a single. Smith also chipped in with great defensive play on a key running catch in center in the fourth inning.

In the semis earlier on Thursday, C-L whipped Western Little League, 11-1, in four innings. Barrett was the winning pitcher, walking seven but giving up just one hit.

"She still pitched good. The walks were spread out," said Young, who added the defense played well, too. "We did so well in the field and our catcher (Bender) threw out a couple of runners."

Barrett had three hits and four RBI while Guitar and Abby Bringard each had two hits and two RBI. Jamie Goline, Overland and Sara Wilson added one single apiece. Wilson, meanwhile, snagged a sharp line drive in leftfield for an important out.

On Wednesday, in the playoff opener, the Pioneers blanked Rochester Hills, 11-0, in four innings. Barrett, Guitar, Overland, and Bringard all pitched one inning, allowed no hits, and combined four eight strikeouts.

Young explained that the biggest reason for winning the title was the team's pitching depth. "It was huge. For us having four pitchers in the rotation, that gave us an edge. We were able to have our two aces for the last games. There's not too many teams that can say that."

Overland, Barrett and Bender (triple, 3 RBI) all collected three hits, Guitar had a pair of singles against Rochester Hills while Bringard and Goline each had one.