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The Hornets knocked the cover off the ball all day long while pounding a pair of Detroit-area teams into submission, winning their first regional championship since 1997 in the process.

"We've lived on our hitting all year, and today wasn't any different," commented Hornet mentor Jim Lahmann.

In all, New Lothrop racked up 30 hits en route to a 12-4 win over Royal Oak Shrine in the semis and an 11-6 triumph against Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in the title game. The most anxious moments for the Hornets came early in the day when Lahmann's crew trailed 4-1 midway through its opener against Shrine. But NL rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fourth, capping the comeback with a two-out, two-run inside-the-park homer by Nicole Birchmeier to finish the inning, up 6-4. Nicole Ebenhoeh added an inside-the-park home run of her own in the fifth and Kayla Knieper tripled in the same frame as the Hornets steadily pulled away to victory.

Amanda Wendling picked up the win against Shrine, yielding six hits and a walk while striking out four. Ebenhoeh led the offensive assault with three hits and four RBI's while Kayla Gross counted a double among her two hits and two ribbies. Courtney Praski also collected a pair of hits as part of the 12-hit Hornet attack.

The Hornets wasted little time taking control in the championship contest, scoring five times in the top of the first and never looking back. Northwest shrunk the final margin by scoring four times in the last inning, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Ashley Root was the hitting star in the finale, going 4-for-4 with a triple and a double, supported by Justine Vincke, who finished with three hits and a pair of RBI's. Ebenhoeh, Kayla Krupp and Praski each chipped in with a pair of safeties as the Hornets banged out 18 hits. Kayla Knieper added a pair of hits and scored four times while picking up the win on the slab. Knieper scattered eight hits while striking out five.

The wins improved New Lothrop's overall record to an impressive 32-7 heading into its quarterfinal showdown last Tuesday against unbeaten Allen Park Cabrini.