WEST BRANCH – July 12, 2005 – The West Branch Junior League softball team had its chances. Not taking advantage of them proved costly in the final inning as East Jordan put three runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal a 4-3 District 8 semifinal victory on Tuesday, July 12, ending West Branch’s tournament run.

The final blow was Holly Crick’s two-out, two-run double down the right field line that erased a 3-2 West Branch lead. But the stage was set in the opening innings.

West Branch loaded the bases in the first, third and fourth innings but came away with just one run. That came on Jacie Lucas’ bases-loaded walk in the fourth that gave West Branch a 1-0 lead. In all, WB left 14 runners on base as East Jordan pitcher Shayna Peters wriggled out of jam after jam.

Kate Dombrowski pitched a gem for West Branch, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 10.

East Jordan tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth, but West Branch took the lead in the sixth when Angela Carollo scored on an outfield overthrow by East Jordan after Ashley Thompson’s single. West Branch added an insurance run in the seventh when Cassie LaPointe’s single drove home Ashley Hebert from third base.

But in the seventh, a walk and an error put two East Jordan runners on base. Another error brought home Peters from third base to make it 3-2, but Dombrowski struck out the next batter to get West Branch to within one out of the win. Crick’s game-winning hit, which landed a foot inside the right field line, ended that.

Thompson had three hits and Lucas drew four walks to pace the West Branch offense.