ALLEN PARK - By now, the Saline High School regional baseball championship has become so routine the team can handle the post-game celebration all by itself. Literally. After closing out their third straight title with a 12-0, five-inning shutout of Westland John Glenn, the Hornets hosted their own medal and trophy presentation, emceed by one of their assistant coaches. When it came to taking claim of the hardware, though, Saline's players left the trophy in athletic director Rob White's hands, unwilling to touch it for superstition sake. "Guys said it's a hockey thing," said senior pitcher Al Zeiher, whose complete-game, two-hit shutout of Southgate Anderson in a 6-0 win landed the Hornets (29-5) in the title game. "So I guess that's what we're doing now."

The bizarre trophy ritual came only after Saline finished regional championship Saturday by pounding out 18 runs while its pitching staff didn't allow a run and only three hits en route to advancing to the Division 1 state quarterfinals against University of Detroit-Jesuit Tuesday at the University of Michigan's Ray Fisher Stadium.

More Coverage on MLive.com: Saline-Anderson Box | Saline-John Glenn Box | Division 1 Bracket As convincing of a showing as the Hornets made Saturday, they are not convinced they had put their best performance on display. Saline, which has finished as the Division 1 state runner-up each of the past two years, won't get complacent with another regional title, determined instead to finish the job. "I think we're pretty sharp all around," senior Cam Keller said. "But we just have to keep working hard and keep playing our game. I think we're hungrier than ever and this is the year we have to do it. I think we really want to do it this year." Saline was convincing in its push for a third straight trip to Battle Creek. Zeiher was dominant against Anderson, not allowing a hit until the seventh inning after the Hornets had built a 6-0 lead. Zeiher found himself in a pitcher's battle with Anderson's Devon Bronson, who kept the Hornets scoreless over the first four innings of the regional semifinal. Cory Davis finally broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run to open the fifth before Saline added five more runs by the time they finished batting in the sixth. It was more than enough for Zeiher, who struck out four and didn't allow a base runner until an error put Bronson on in the Anderson fifth inning. "I know when I have run support that just gives me that little extra of, 'they got me a lead and I've got to keep it,'" Zeiher said. "I just had to keep throwing strikes, keep pumping them in there and keep doing my job." Zeiher only proved to be the lead example of how solid Saline's pitching is. In the championship game, Keller, Tyler Owings and Brandon Krebs combined for a one-hit shutout. John Glenn didn't manage a hit after the first inning while Saline's offense twice produced five-run innings en route to the 12-0 win. The Hornets broke the game open in the fifth with five runs as five consecutive hitters reached base, capped by an RBI doubles by Mark Weist and Garrett Gordon. "It's comforting when you get three, four, five (runs) and you keep adding to it knowing with every run - especially with someone like Al on the mound - your chances increase quite a bit," Saline coach Scott Theisen said. "It's nice to see." With another regional title out of the way, Saline focuses on the last step separating it from the Division 1 final four in Battle Creek next weekend. And although the Hornets have enough upperclassmen who know what's required to move on, Theisen won't allow his team to get too comfortable with Saturday's championship. "We know there's bigger and better games out there yet to come," Zeiher said. "But we're still hungry and so we just have to keep working." Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.