By DOUG DONNELLY

WIXOM – Whiteford won the Division 3 regional championship Saturday at St. Catherine of Wixom, beating Grosse Pointe University Woods 10-0 in the semifinal and Plymouth Christian 7-2 in the regional final.

Peyton Welch was the winning pitcher in both games, striking out 18 batters over the course of 11 innings.

Avy Wood had four hits and Bailey Spradling had three hits and three RBIs in the first game. Ava Stewens had two hits and two RBIs in the second and Raelynn Scott had two RBIs.

The Bobcats fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the finals against the Eagles before rallying for five runs in the fourth inning to pull away. Welch shut down the Eagles from then on, not allowing a run. She finished off the game by catching a pop fly, before leaping into the arms of third baseman Addeson Cousino.

“It feels amazing,” Welch said after the post-game celebration. “We are all are so excited for this.”

Cousino and Spradling are the only seniors on the team.

“This is the most excited I’ve ever been,” said Cousino. “After not winning the district last year and coming back to win districts and regional this year is just the best feeling.”

The Bobcats will play Grass Lake in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal at Novi.