Shelby’s baseball team got strong pitching and timely hitting en route to capturing a Division 3 district title last Saturday in Hesperia.
The Tigers did OK in the hitting department in Wednesday’s regional semifinal at Kingsley but they couldn’t keep up with their opponent.
Shelby fell to Benzie Central, 18-8, as the Huskies unleashed a 17-hit barrage.
Shelby closes the season with a 17-13 overall record. Benzie Central (21-13) advances to Saturday’s 12 p.m. regional final at Traverse City Central, where the Huskies will meet the winner of the Pinconning/Reed City regional semifinal today (June 6).
“At the Kingsley regional, Shelby ran into a very good Benzie Central team,” Shelby coach Brian Wright said.
Benzie Central jumped out to an 8-0 lead through two innings and extended the margin to 10-0 before Shelby scored three runs in the third and three more in the fourth. The Huskies threatened to end the game with the mercy rule in the sixth inning, going ahead 16-6, but the Tigers responded with two more runs. Benzie Central put the finishing touches on the win with two runs in the seventh.
Evan Waller delivered a two-run single to key Shelby’s three-run third inning. In the fourth, DayDay Garcia had an RBI single and Lalo Garcia a two-run single to pull the Tigers within 13-6.
DayDay Garcia paced Shelby with three hits, while Lalo Garcia had three RBIs. Carson Stovall doubled, while Garrin Waller and Cam Smith each singled.
DayDay Garcia took the pitching loss for Shelby, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits with one strikeout and one walk in two innings.
For Benzie Central, Tyrone Brouillet went 3-for-5 with an RBI and four runs scored, while Tyler Brooks finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Lane Sanchez doubled, homered, and drove in four runs. Evan Chandler picked up the pitching win in relief of Sanchez, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits with one strikeout and two walks in three innings.
