After two quick outs in the seventh, it looked like South Lyon’s district title streak was on the ropes, with the Lions trailing Howell, 4-3, in the district title game at Brighton.
Two straight walks kept it alive, then Mady Furstenau’s two-run double put the Lions ahead, 5-4, with an insurance run scoring a batter later on Renee Porter’s RBI double.
The Lions would need the cushion, as Natalie Savage homered for Howell to lead off the seventh, and the potential tying run reached base on a single before Molly Crouch got three straight outs to end the threat, giving the Lions a 6-5 win.
Porter was 3-for-4 in the game, and Cece Dudek was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Crouch threw a no-hitter in the semifinal, as the Lions beat Brighton, 14-0, in five innings. Dudek was 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI, while Ella Glowacki drove in three, and Grace Walters was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Howell beat South Lyon East, 1-0, in the other district semifinal, as Delany Gillett outdueled East’s Kaitlyn Solberg, throwing a one-hitter.
D1, District 20 (at Farmington Hills Mercy)
The host Marlins (28-0) stayed unbeaten by knocking off North Farmington, 16-6, in six innings in the semifinal, and Farmington, 10-1 in the title game.
Against the Raiders Kaitlyn Pallozzi threw a six-inning no-hitter, striking out 16, while Asia Barbato, Sophia Chaput and Izzy Chaput all tripled, while Sophia Chaput added a homer and drove in two, Evelyn Miller drove in three.
Barbato and Pallozzi combined on a three-hitter in the finals against Farmington, each striking out nine, while Kat Burras and Sophia Chaput were both 2-for-3, and Miller and Sabrina Shea drove in two each.
Farmington (5-18-2) beat West Bloomfield, 11-1 in five innings, in the other semifinal. Riley Bohanon homered and drove in two, while Madelynn Pope was 2-for-2 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Kylie Greene struck out 10 in four hitless innings for the win in the circle.
D1, District 30 (at Lake Orion)
Lake Orion (30-6) had the bats out on Saturday, beating Waterford Kettering, 13-0, in one district semifinal, then knocking off Clarkston in the finals, 10-4, to win the district title.
Jada Lopez threw a four-hit shutout for the Dragons against Kettering, striking out six, while Sydney Bell was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI, Addy Dukus was 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored, and Anna Gardner was 3-for-5 with two RBI.
The Dragons used a six-run fifth inning to blow the game open against Clarkston, while Rylee Limberger got the win in the circle, striking out four. A. Hazen drove in three runs, while Madison Eckert was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Gardner, Dukus and Limberger all drove in two. Ella Cady tripled and drove in three for Clarkston.
Clarkston (14-21) beat Waterford Mott, 12-1 in five innings, in Tuesday’s pre-district, and Rochester Adams, 4-2, in Saturday’s first semifinal.
Hannah Wayne doubled and drove in three against Mott, while Nakenna Knowlton was 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBI against Adams, and Alex Moore drove in two. Ella McDonald was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Adams (19-14-3).
D1, District 25 (at Auburn Hills Avondale)
Bloomfield Hills (23-7) won a pair of mercy-rule games, knocking off OAA White champion Birmingham Seaholm, 6-3 in six innings, in the semifinal, then downing Troy, 15-3 in five, in the title game.
The Black Hawks posted a pair of five-run innings against Seaholm (24-10), as Caroline King and Grace Main both drove in three runs, while Main provided her own run support with a homer and a double, striking out six in the circle and allowing one earned run on four hits.
An eight-run fourth provided the separation for Bloomfield Hills against Troy. Hannah Grant was 3-for-4 with two RBI, Libby Harst drove in two and scored two, and Main was 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, striking out six more for the win in the circle.
Troy (10-18-1) beat Avondale, 12-11, in the other semifinal, winning it on Emily Bultynk’s tie-breaking RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Lizzie Berta drove in four for Avondale, while Cate Pastori knocked in three. Jordan Mercer drove in three runs for the Colts.
D1, District 29 (at Oxford)
The host Wildcats (17-19-1) took the long route to the district title, beating Davison, 6-0, in Tuesday’s pre-district, knocking off Lapeer, 10-3, in the semifinals on Saturday, then blanking Port Huron, 11-0, in the district title game.
Lilly Strauss threw a five-hit shutout against Davison, striking out five, while Karsyn Malinich was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI.
Oxford used a seven-run fifth inning to blow open the game against Lapeer, and Ashlynn Witt — who was 2-for-4 with two RBI — threw 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. Witt went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, Kaylee Misialek was 3-for-3 with four RBI and Grace Butzu homered against Port Huron, while Strauss threw a five-hit shutout.
D1, District 31 (at Romeo)
OAA Red champion Stoney Creek (33-5-1) snuck past cross-town rival Rochester, 3-1, in the district semifinal, then blanked Romeo, 6-0, in the title game.
Mia Buckley’s RBI double broke a 1-1 tie for Stoney in the win over Rochester, putting the Cougars ahead in what had been a pitcher’s duel between Kylie Smith and Maddie Laviolette (11K). Kate Stephens’ RBI single in the third tied it at 1-1, after a Smith RBI triple in the first put Rochester up 1-0.
Erin Flynn threw a four-hit shutout against Romeo, striking out 18, while Buckley, Morgan Greenwald and Flynn had RBI, and Sydney Rottermond was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Romeo beat Utica Eisenhower, 15-7, in the other district semifinal.
The 2023 MHSAA district pairings involving Oakland County’s softball teams
D1, District 18 (at Hartland)
Both remaining Oakland County teams were eliminated in the semifinals, with Fenton beating Milford, 3-2, and Hartland knocking off Holly, 4-0.
Kylie Swierkos struck out 12 in a complete-game three-hit shutout of Holly, then struck out 13 more in a six-hitter, as Hartland beat Fenton, 5-1, in the title game.
Taryn Craven’s two-run single in the sixth provided the game-winning runs for Fenton against Milford, which got fourth-inning RBI from Camryn Keough and Hana Scripture to build a 2-0 lead.
D1, District 23 (at Ferndale)
Host Ferndale beat Oak Park, 22-0 in three innings in the semifinal, but couldn’t find enough offense to outlast Detroit Renaissance in the title game, falling, 19-18.
Emma Chiotti and Brooklynn Rowe (double, triple) both drove in three runs against Oak Park, while Jade Blair struck out four in two hitless innings for the win in the circle.
An 11-run fourth inning propelled Renaissance to the win in the title game, capitalizing on nine Ferndale errors in the game. Makayla Williams drove in six runs for the Eagles in the loss, while Ellie Lemelin had five RBI.
Renaissance beat Detroit Mumford, 14-4, in the other district semifinal.
D1, District 26 (at Utica)
Utica knocked off Troy Athens, 6-5, in the semifinal, then fell to Utica Ford, 7-6 in eight innings, in the title game. Utica used a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth to take a lead, then — after Athens tied it at 5-5 with a run in the top of the sixth on Emma Leonard’s RBI single — regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Elyssa Frezza. Paige Antosh drove in two runs for the RedHawks.
Addison Hill’s RBI single in the eighth provided the game-winning run for Ford, which beat Sterling Heights Stevenson, 6-0, in the other district semifinal.
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D2, District 57 (at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep)
The host Fighting Irish (23-11) beat Ortonville Brandon, 11-1 in five innings, to advance to the district title game, but needed a rally to get past Armada, 4-3, for the district title.
ND Prep tied it at 2-2 in the fourth on Ana Wachowiak’s double off the left-field fence and a two-run single by Emily Hartmann, then got the go-ahead run on Amanda Roth’s first homer of the season in the fifth. Armada tied it at 3-3, then Wachowiak’s RBI single in the seventh broke the tie, giving the Irish their 17 district title in 28 seasons.
Against Brandon, Ryann Simmonds struck out nine and allowed four hits, while Wachowiak had two hits, two runs and two RBI, Amanda Roth doubled, scored two and drove in two, and Regina Roose drove in two more.
Armada beat Macomb Lutheran North, 13-3 in five innings, in the other district semifinal.
D2, District 58 (at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s)
Detroit Country Day beat Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 6-1, in the district semifinals, then blanked Birmingham Marian, 15-0, in the title contest to claim the trophy.
Storm Kentros was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Catherine Hiemstra was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored, while Lola Bagby allowed just one unearned run on two hits, striking out 14 in the win over OLSM, outdueling the Eaglets’ Maddy Anson, who struck out eight.
Bagby threw a no-hitter against Marian, striking out 16, as the Yellowjackets broke open an 8-0 game with a seven-run seventh inning. Megan Kenney doubled and drove in three, Kentros tripled and Catherine Hiemstra was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Marian (5-26) beat Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 15-0 in three innings, in the other semifinal, with Georgia Zika allowing just one hit and striking out seven. Gracie Griffis was 2-for-2 and drove in four runs.
D2, District 59 (at Hazel Park)
Madison Heights Lamphere (10-23) beat Warren Fitzgerald, 17-3 in three innings, in the semifinals, then needed extra innings in the title game, beating Center Line, 7-5 in eight, to claim the district trophy.
Four different Rams drove in two runs each against Fitzgerald, with F. Donegan tripling and scoring three runs.
A. Martin was 2-for-5 with two RBI, while Aliana Martinez’s RBI groundout broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth. Brooke Harrison went the distance in the circle for the win for Lamphere.
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D3, District 85 (at Wixom St. Catherine)
The Stars had a pair of lopsided wins to claim the district title, beating Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 15-0 in three innings, in the semifinal, then downing Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 9-1, in the title game.
Gabriel Richard beat Canton Prep, 18-0 in four innings, in the other semifinal.
D3, District 87 (at Clawson City Park)
Bishop Foley beat Detroit Pershing, 7-0, in one of Tuesday’s two pre-district games, then knocked off Clawson, 7-1, in the semifinal on Friday, before beating Detroit Communication Media Arts, 15-0 in four innings in the title contest.
McLeod was 2-for-2 for Clawson against Foley.
CMA beat Warren Lincoln, 14-10 in five innings in the other pre-district, then outlasted Madison Heights Madison, 19-9 in four innings in the other semifinal.
Regional pairings for Oakland County’s 15 softball district winners
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D4, District 123 (at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian)
Southfield Christian (17-3) needed just four innings to beat Parkway Christian, 16-0, on Saturday, claiming the program’s first district title since 2016.
Sophia Paryaski threw a one-hit shutout for the Eagles, striking out nine, while Rachel Cairo was 3-for-4 with two doubles, one of four Eagles to drive in two runs each, while Taniya Hall was 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Parkway beat Royal Oak Shrine, 16-6, in the district’s lone semifinal contest.
D4, District 124 (at Dryden)
Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (18-10) beat Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 7-0, in the district semis, then doubled up Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 10-5, in the district title game.
Bella Asai was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, and went the distance in the circle for the win against Lutheran Northwest, while K. Mullins was 3-for-5 with a triple and four RBI for Lakes. Grace Schroeder drove in two runs for Lutheran Northwest.
Lutheran Northwest beat Dryden, 18-2 in three innings, in the other semifinal.