Sports

Top-ranked Lady Wildcats to play in district semis at Hopkins

The Wayland girls’ softball team Girls-Softballwill head into this Saturday’s Division 2 district tournament with an overall season record of 28-2 and still ranked No. 1 in the state.

The Lady Wildcats are no strangers to lofty rankings, having often finished among the top four teams in the last 10 years, taking all the marbles in 2006.

Coach Cheri Ritz’s group will start tourney play at Hopkins in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday against the winner of Tuesday’s pre-district contest between Hopkins and Middleville Thornapple Kellogg. In other other semifinal at noon Saturday, Allegan will play the winner of Tuesday’s pre-district against either Hastings or Hamilton. The finals will be at 2 p.m. at Hopkins.

The Lady Wildcats retained the Division 2 top spot in the last state-wide poll of the regular season, which was announced earlier this week.

The team is led by all-state senior pitcher Mallory Teunissen. On the offensive side, the Wildcats are led by infielders Morgan Winger, Caroline (C.J.) Miller and Haily Houck, freshmen Sidney Urben and Abby Merice

They captured yet another O-K Gold Conference championship earlier this month, going 10-0 against league opponents. It was the 11th straight season they have won or tied for the title.

Teunissen, who plans to do her pitching for Davenport University nest year, has recorded 277 strikeouts this season in 138 innings or work, walking only four and allowing only six hits. Her earned run average is a microscopic 0.15.

When Teunissen, a four-year Wildcat varsity player, joins Davenport, she will be teammates again with former Wildcats Haley Obetts, Britt McLain and Samantha Merren.

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