TRAVERSE CITY — Marquette’s high school softball season ended on Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 loss to Alpena during an MHSAA Division 1 district tournament semifinal hosted by Traverse City West High School.

The Sentinels spotted Alpena a 6-0 lead before breaking through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning. That’s when Charlye Swajanen hit a two-run home run to center field, with one more run coming home in the seventh.

Swajanen took the pitching loss, going all seven innings as she surrendered six runs — just three of them earned — on 10 hits and four walks as she struck out three.

Winning hurler Paige Samp started and went 4 2/3 innings, not allowing a run nor hit while walking three and fanning 12. Emma Darga relieved for 2 1/3 innings, and that’s when MSHS scored its three runs on two hits, one earned, as Darga had no walks nor strikeouts.

Teagan Fossitt had the Sentinels’ only hit other than Swajanen’s homer, while the MSHS defense committed four errors but did turn a double play.

Alpena got on the board in the second with a Darga RBI single, adding three in the third after RBI singles by Lexie Souva and Lilly Rospierski to make it 4-0. The Wildcats added single runs in the fifth and top of the sixth, the first of those runs coming on a solo homer by Laura Poli.

Poli and Georgia Roberts finished with two hits apiece for Alpena, which advanced to the district championship game at TC West later that afternoon and lost 9-2 to TC Central, which had posted an 8-0 win over host TC West in the opening semifinal.

TC Central advances to a D-1 regional to be held at Mount Pleasant on Saturday afternoon, facing Saginaw Heritage in a semifinal. Midland Dow and Grand Blanc square off in the other semi, with the title tilt later that afternoon.

Story contents based on an email received from Marquette softball representative Bill Finkbeiner with an assist from GameChanger Media. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.