The Wildcats matched with Garden City and played a good team game for a 6-4 victory.

Paige Samp led the Wildcats through seven innings on the mound and crushed a home run at the plate to advance with a win going into the tournament.

While the defense behind her wasn’t always superb, Alpena would bounce back each time to work out of tough jams just enough to sneak past the Cougars.

“We played a really clean game today,” Alpena Coach Paul Marwede said. “We focused on timely hitting, we ran the bases well, and we really played very well as a team.”

News Photo by Owen Kinzey Alpena High School’s Sydney Hitzelberger hits the ball during the Wildcats’ 6-4 victory over Garden City on Friday at Alpena High.

Though many of the games this season have started slow, Alpena jumped on Garden City early to take a quick lead and immediate momentum.

Emilee Modrzejewski first got on base because of a walk, setting up Samp with a runner on base.

Samp then singled, driving Modrzejewski into scoring position, where a base knock from Sydney Hitzelberger drove her home.

Samp later came around to cross the plate, presenting the Wildcats a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning.

After a quiet second inning from both sides, Hitzelberger set up another runner on base by drawing a walk.

Ava Rospierski came up in the same inning and reached base because of an error.

That error resulted in Hitzelberger coming home to extend the lead to 3-0 in the third.

Through four innings of pitching, Samp finally found her first rough stretch on the mound during the fifth.

Garden City’s leadoff batter smoked a double. Then, the two-hole hitter followed that with another double to score a run.

Three runners had scored by the end of the inning, primarily because of Alpena’s fielding errors.

Now tied 3-3, the Wildcats sought to retake the lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Samp earned one of the runs she gave up right back.

Samp got the pitch she was looking for and drove it deep to centerfield, crashing into the scoreboard for a home run.

The Wildcats had regained the lead, and more would come in the following inning.

Going into the bottom of the sixth, Alpena prayed for some insurance runs for an easy closeout to the game.

The Cougars made an early error and gave up a single to Hitzelberger, which would later cost Garden City two more runs.

Those runs were costly, as Alpena now held a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh.

While Garden City responded with a late home run in the top of the inning, the Wildcats easily obtained the final two outs to close the game in a 6-4 win.

“We had a tie ball game in the fifth, where we capitalized to take the lead, and the next inning scored some insurance runs to make it easier on ourselves for the seventh,” Marwede said. “I’m pleased with how we hit today. We made solid contact and really put the ball in play, which is promising.”

Alpena travels to Petoskey on Tuesday.