The USA Patriots will once again be competing in the regional tournament this year, as they defeated Ubry 11-0 in the district championship and will advance to the Marlette Regional Tournament.
“Winning the division was another goal on our to-do list,” U.S. coach Mark Reinhardt said. “The girls did a good job, hitting well. We didn’t have any big hits, but we did have some hits that advanced runners.”
In preparation for Saturday’s regional tournament, the Patriots played two games against Division 3 Evart, losing to the Wildcats 7-2 and 1-0.
“Both games were great,” Coach Reinhart said. “In game one, Ebert beat us with six runs in the sixth inning. In game two, we made two errors, one of which led to a run. There were mistakes, but these games were just for both teams to sharpen each other. We lost, but we learned. It will help us heading into Saturday.”
The Patriots will face Brown City in a regional game.
“We know what happened last year against Brown City,” Reinhart said. “We’ve got to stay focused and play our game. We’ll be competitive. They’ve got good pitchers and good foot speed. They’re a good team. They won the Greater Thumb East. It’s two teams going head-to-head. We’ll see what we can do.”
The Patriots will look to win another regional championship behind pitchers Riley Betson and Olivia Green, who beat Avery in the regional finals, and Betson, who plans to attend Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia.
In the second match, the Marlets will face Kingston.
“We played Marlette early in the season,” Reinhart said, “the first game was a good one. We got after them for most of the game. Daranee Gage is a good pitcher. Kingston has some good players as well.”
“I don’t know who’s going to win, but we have to get the job done,” Reinhart added. “After that, we’ll think about who the next opponent is.”
The team’s mindset going into the regional tournament is “every pitch, every play.”
“I talk about focusing on those kinds of things,” Reinhart said. “Every pitch is a play. Whether it’s on the offensive side or the defensive side, you’ve got to be ready to make it at any time.”
“I’m looking forward to the competition,” Reinhart added, “The next goal is to win this championship and achieve that goal, and hopefully we can achieve that, and I wish Cass City the best of luck in the regional tournament.”
The Division 4 Regional 32 is scheduled for Saturday, June 8. The Patriots will open play at 10 a.m. against the Green Devils.
