Craig Wallis The Rudyard Bulldogs baseball team captured its fourth regional championship since 2003 with a 13-2 victory over host Johannesburg Lewiston Cardinals in the Division 4 regional title game Saturday, June 7.

Rudyard battled Frankfort (27- 3) in the Division 4 quarterfinals Tuesday, June 10, at Gaylord High School. The winner will advance to the final four in Battle Creek for the semifinals Friday, June 13, at 9:30 a.m. The state championship game has been scheduled for Saturday, June 14, at noon.

In the regional final against the Cardinals, Rudyard scored six runs in the third inning en route to the championship win over Johannesburg Lewiston.

The Bulldogs led 2-0 and held a 3-1 lead after the second inning, before the six-run third inning increased Rudyard's lead to 9-1. The Bulldogs added four runs and the host Cardinals scored one run in the fourth inning.

Bulldogs Coach Ron Van- Sloten, in his 15th season, has built a strong program.

"The senior classes in the past have helped with a strong foundation," he said, "and this year, four-year seniors Craig Wallis, Pete Lawlor, John Mc- Collum, and James Perry have continued the tradition. The kids want to play and our younger programs have helped our high school teams."

Ben Harter The Bulldogs advanced to the Saturday's title game with a 16-11 win against Harbor Light Christian (HLC) Swordsmen.

In the regional semifinal game against HLC, the Bulldogs led 3- 1 after the second inning on a three-run home run by Craig Wallis before HLC took a 5-3 lead in the top of the third. Rudyard scored six runs in the bottom of the third to regain control of the game with a 9-5 scoring advantage. Rudyard, 25-7- 1 on the season, scored four runs in the fourth to increase its lead to 13-5 before the Swordsmen scored twice in the fifth to make it 13-7.

The Bulldogs answered with a single run in the fifth and added two more runs in the sixth to build a 16-7 lead, but HLC didn't quit and scored four runs in the seventh, however, the Bulldogs' defense finally clamped down on the Swordsmen's offense to clinch the win.

Bulldogs statistics vs. Johannesburg-Lewiston: Josh LaCoursiere, winning pitcher; Pete Lawlor, three hits, four runs; Paul DeWeese, two hits, two runs, four RBIs; Brett VanSloten, two hits, two runs, three RBIs; Craig Wallis, one hit, three runs.

Pete Lawlor Bulldogs statistic vs. HLC: Craig Wallis, winning pitcher (11- 1 record) two hits, scored four runs, three RBIs; Brett VanSloten, three hits, three RBIs; Josh McCollum, two hits, two runs; Ben Harter, two runs; George Kensella, courtesy runner for catcher Ben Harter, scored two runs; Keifer McCollum, two runs; Tom Hendrickson, two runs.

Statistics for Johannesburg- Lewiston and Harbor Light Christian were unavailable.

The home plate umpire calls out the Saints' James Peterson after catcher Luke Murray of Pickford- Cedarville shows the umpire the ball in the mitt during the Division 4 district semifinals Monday, June 2.