By DOUG DONNELLY

EAST LANSING – Whiteford rolled into the Division 3 state championship game Saturday with an 8-0 victory Friday in the semifinals over Laingsburg.

The Bobcats were scoreless through two innings but broke the game open with three runs in the third inning on back-to-back hits by Kaydence Sheldon and Patrina Marsh. They added three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth.

The eight runs were more than enough support for starting Whiteford pitcher Unity Nelson, who struck out 11 and allowed just two hits.

Laingsburg’s biggest threat came in the fourth inning when the Wolfpack put their first two runners on base, but Nelson struck out the next three batters to erase the threat.

Laingsburg stranded five runners on the day.

GAME STATS

Sheldon finished with three hits and three RBIs. Marsh had two hits, Karlei Conard had a two-run double and Shay Alexander reached base four times and scored three runs.

Whiteford, who had 10 hits in all, improved to 37-4 heading into Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. state final at Secchia Stadium on the Michigan State University campus. Whiteford will face Standish-Sterling (37-7), who beat Ravenna 10-1 earlier Friday.

The Bobcats are in the state championship game for the eighth time in school history, including 2022 when they lost in the championship. The Bobcats won state titles in 1984, 1985 and 1987 while finishing second in 1988, 1994, 2017 and 2022.