The Saline softball team made short work of the D1 district in Dexter Saturday after rolling to a pair of big wins on its way to the D1 district title.

The Hornets will host the D1 Regional Saturday and Saline will have a tough opponent in the semifinals when they take on third-ranked South Lyon at 10:00 AM.

Northville and Ypsilanti Lincoln will face off in the other semifinal at noon with the winners meeting in the finals at 2:00 PM.

The Hornets opened the district by taking care of Ann Arbor Pioneer 13-3.

Saline got things going in the first when Karli Dorr smacked a home run to the left and Reese Rupert followed with a triple and scored on a wild throw to make it 2-0. After a Pioneer error, Lily Evans ripped a run scoring single to make it 3-0.

Pioneer got one back in the bottom of the first, but the Hornets scored three more in the third for a 6-1 lead.

It stayed that way until the fourth when Pioneer scored twice to make a game of it at 6-3.

Clara Cherry pushed the lead to 8-3 with a two-run bomb to center and the Hornets added one more run for a 9-3 lead after five.

Saline would put the game away in the sixth with three straight doubles and another two-run shot that clanged off the centerfield scoreboard by Cherry to make it 13-3.

Abby Curtis struck out the side in the sixth to end the game.

Cherry led the Hornets offense with two home runs and five RBI.

Rupert had three hits and three RBI, while Dorr had three hits, with the home run and two RBI. Evans finished with two hits and two RBI, Ashley Malinczak two hits and three RBI, and Sydney Hastings a hit and two runs scored.

Izzy Deveau struck out six for the win in the circle for the Hornets.

Many expected the championship game to be a battle when the Hornets took on Dexter.

The teams had split their SEC Red doubleheader during the season and the Dreadnaughts had high hopes, but the Hornets bats were booming from the opening pitch and Saline rolled to a shocking 20-0 win over Dexter.

Hastings started things with a hard double to center and Dorr followed with a single to put a pair of runners on. A wild pitch and error plated two runs and the Hornets were on top 2-0 after one.

Saline would blow the game open in the second.

Delaney Lee singled and Deveau walked to put two runners on with one out. Hastings, Dorr, and Rupert followed with three straight doubles and Cherry hit a towering triple to right to make it 7-0. Evans then singled to plate Cherry for an 8-0 lead after two.

Dorr was dominant on the mound and kept the Dreadnaughts bats silent, allowing just two hits and striking out eight for the win.

Hastings ripped a home run to make it 9-0 in the third and the Hornets would explode for 11 runs in the fifth to make it 20-0 to end the game.

Hastings had a huge game, going 4-4 with a home run, three RBI’s and five runs scored to lead the Hornets offense.

Cherry had another big game with three hits and four RBI, while Dorr had three hits and three RBI.

Evans finished with two hits and two RBI, Rupert two hits and one RBI, Amelia DeCook two hits and two RBI, Lee one hit and a run scored, and Ava Stripp one hit.

The Hornets improved to 32-6-1 overall on the season.

Photos by Mike Williamson