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EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Lansing Catholic and Mason will clash in the Diamond Classic Championship game after winning their respective semifinal games on Wednesday night.
In the first game of the night, Lansing Catholic defeated Haslett 4-3 in nine innings.
Sophomore centerfielder Anthony Branoff provided the walk-off heroics with an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I just want to thank my teammates and thank God for that opportunity,” said Branoff. “I’m just so grateful that happened and I’m really excited. Go Cougars!”
“We’ve been working on up the middle, up the middle, up the middle,” said head coach Dillon Reust. “He finally came through [with that] today, he was just missing the ball. A great opportunity, very young guy, he’s got a ton of talent and he deserved it. I’m very, very proud of him.”
The Cougars have won both of their Diamond Classic games via walk-off, as Watson Ferreri drew a walk-off walk in their 7-6 quarterfinal win over Williamston.
In the nightcap, Mason overcame a slow start to take down Grand Ledge 9-5.
The Comets raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings thanks to a three-run double by Carson Marlan and an RBI double by Easton Benaske.
Unphased, the Bulldogs went to work chipping away the lead. They scored three runs in the third, highlighted by a two-run single to right by Carson Chapin.
Then in the fourth, an RBI single to right by Gerrit Koot tied the game at four apiece, and the Bulldogs took command two innings later with a five-run sixth. Koot also pitched the complete game to help send the Bulldogs to the Diamond Classic Championship.
In the end, Mason outscored Grand Ledge 9-1 in the final five innings.
Mason has never won a Diamond Classic Championship and Lansing Catholic has won two titles in its history, most recently in 2013.
The Bulldogs and Cougars will play in the title game on Monday at 7 p.m. at McLane Stadium on Michigan State’s campus.
Both teams also host district tournaments this weekend. Lansing Catholic plays Springport in the district semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday. Should the Cougars advance, the district championship game is slated for 2:00 that afternoon. Mason plays Battle Creek Lakeview in the district semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday with the district championship game also slated for 2 p.m.
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