Bay City Western Finishes 1st Title Run

June 14, 2014

By Kelsey Pence
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING – Hannah Leppek tried not to think about last year.

Easier said than done.

After leading and then losing last year’s Division 1 championship game to Mattawan, Leppek was determined not to let this one slip away.

The senior pitcher struck out six, walked two and gave up just three hits through seven innings as Bay City Western held off Portage Central 4-2 in the Division I Final on Saturday at Secchia Stadium at Michigan State University.

“I tried not to think about it, but obviously it was in my mind,” Leppek said of last year’s loss. “I had that extra motivation, like, I need to finish it out this year. I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s just awesome. I have no words for how good I feel right now. I’ll probably be up all night just smiling.”

The MHSAA title is the first in softball for Western (41-3), after last season’s championship game appearance also was a first.

Meredith Rousse was hit by pitch in the bottom of the first inning to get things started for the Warriors, and Kaylynn Carpenter brought her home with a double to centerfield.

“That hit boosted (my confidence) up a lot, and I think it boosted up the girls' a lot,” Carpenter said. “Once our first, second and third girls get hits, it just riles everyone up. That’s how we win the game.”

Leppek then hit a foul ball to the first baseman that was caught, but Portage Central’s Meredith Adams fell into the dugout on the catch, and Carpenter came home for the second run.

The Mustangs (42-4) got on the board in the top of the third with a home run to right field by Lea Foerster.

Bay City Western built some cushion in the sixth inning when Leppek singled to left field and Kelsie Popp doubled to center. Blair Miller brought home a run with a single to short right field and Melissa Wegener singled to increase the lead to 4-1.

Portage Central found some fire in the top of the seventh inning. Brooke Wyman walked and Adams doubled to center to put runners in scoring position.  With one out on the board, and the memory of last year’s loss lingering, Western coach Rick Garlinghouse rallied his team around the pitcher’s circle.

“We had a 4-1 lead, so we could allow those runs to score, but we wanted the batter to stay at first base,” Garlinghouse said. “Our throw from the outfield was going to second base. The infielders were going to first base. We weren’t worried about any tag plays at the plate. We wanted to get outs.”

Cole grounded out, scoring Wyman, but Leppek then got a strikeout to end the game.

“Honestly at the beginning I felt a little off, and then I found my groove in the middle of the game,” Leppek said of her performance. “That last game tripped me up a little bit, but I got it back.”

Foerster, Adams and Cole picked up Portage Central’s three hits. Gina Verduczo pitched six innings, striking out two, while allowing seven hits and no walks.

“This has been a fun year win or lose at the end,” Mustangs coach Tom Hamilton said. “You get someone crying or someone going home smiling, and we’re going home crying today. I’m going to go home crying too because these kids are wonderful kids, and that is what it’s all about. They’ve made it special. The kids will come back.  I hope they look back on this and realize how special it is.”

Carpenter finished 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI for Portage Central, while Miller and Wegener each had a hit and an RBI.

“She has had two great years,” Garlinghouse said of Carpenter. “She drove in the first run and scored the second one. She’s a gritty player.

“It’s a very surreal feeling. I am real happy for the kids. They did all we asked them to do all year, play 21 outs. They wanted to get here after losing last year’s game.”

Added Carpenter: “It feels good going in my senior year and actually coming here and winning it. (Last season) wasn’t on my mind at all. I knew that was behind me. I had support, and I knew we could get it.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: Bay City Western’s Meredith Rousse crosses the play during the Warriors’ Division 1 Final win. (Middle) Western’s Hannah Leppek finished 1 for 3 at the plate and threw a complete game.

Among State's Best in Both, Johnston Has Almont Climbing in Softball, Track

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

May 26, 2022

It’s been quite a spring for Almont girls athletics.

The softball team finished the Blue Water Area Conference season 10-4, its best-ever mark in the league, which features three top-10 teams and 2021 Division 3 champion Richmond.

Almont’s girls track & field team also had its best finish in the BWAC, placing third at Tuesday’s league meet.

A major reason for both? Devin Johnston.

The Almont junior is a record-setting third baseman for the softball team and a record-setting sprinter for the track team.

“Devin is such a great kid,” Almont softball coach Erik Johnson said. “She’s a hard-working athlete, and she puts so much time into both. You can see it in the way she plays the game and the way she runs her events. She doesn’t miss much practice, she juggles both and she’s a great student.”

Johnston was a first-team all-state selection in softball as a sophomore, and has followed that up with a masterful junior campaign. She was hitting .550 with a .589 on-base percentage, four home runs, 10 doubles and a school-record eight triples heading into Wednesday’s doubleheader against Yale. She’s approaching the single-season hits record (63), which she set as a sophomore. Her .930 slugging percentage is also on pace to set a school record.

On the track, she has qualified for the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals in three events: 100 meters, 200 meters and the 400-meter relay. Her 200 time of 25.49 broke an 18-year-old Almont school record and is the second-fastest time in LPD3 this season. She’s ranked fifth in the 100 with her personal best of 12.63.

Being that good at two things during the same season can make for a lot of long days. But Johnston doesn’t mind.

“I enjoy doing both,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like a burden. I don’t see it as a struggle. I chose to do that. At the end of the week, yes, I’m exhausted every single week. But both of my coaches are very supportive. If I need to sit out of a certain thing on a certain day, or if I need to skip out on running in softball for that day, they understand.”

This level of individual and team success does, unfortunately, leaves Johnston with a difficult choice, as Almont’s Division 3 Softball District at Richmond is June 4, the same day as the Division 3 Track & Field Finals in Kent City.

She knows what she will be doing, and while she has told those who need to know, she is not ready to divulge that publicly.

“I want to help both teams, but I have to choose one or the other,” she said. “It’s really difficult, but it’s something that, going in, I knew I would have to do eventually.”

A year ago, Johnston chose the softball District. Although, at that time, she was Almont’s lone Finals qualifier in track and did not rank as highly as she does this year. The realization it was a choice she was going to have to make also hit her later, as she wasn’t expecting to see a ton of track success in her first year as a serious competitor in the sport.

“I didn’t even expect to qualify for states; especially that year in our region, there were some pretty good girls,” she said. “When I found out, I cried over it, actually. I didn’t know if I would have the chance to go to states again. When it did hit me, it was not good. I realized how big of a decision it was.”

Almont trackThis year, she was more aware of the chance. A campaign to move the District softball tournament to Friday, which is allowed, didn’t come to fruition. (All schools in the bracket must approve a switch.)

Moving things around is something Johnson has become used to as Almont’s softball coach, as getting one team to agree to a change in schedule is easier than having multiple track teams adjust a quad meet.

“I worked really hard to look at schedules ahead of time and anything in my power to make adjustments that would fit and allow her to do both,” he said. “I learned a lot from last year, when we did what we could last minute. This season, I got well ahead of it. My perspective is that I want to do anything I can for my girls. When you have someone like Devin who puts an immense amount of time into both track and softball, I’m going to do what I can for her. When I share that with other coaches, they’re like, ‘Yeah, OK.’”

Johnson and track coach James Wade have worked together for a decade with Almont’s girls basketball program, as Johnson is the varsity coach and Wade has been a JV coach and varsity assistant. That, combined with Johnston’s commitment to both, makes things a bit easier.

“I think she wants to succeed in both,” Wade said. “I don’t think she wants to let either of us down. That puts us in a position where we want to do what we can to help her. She’s committed to both, and she lets us know when she can’t be there for a practice. She does what she needs to do to make it work.”

Johnston appreciates that level of support.

“Them allowing me to do this and being lenient allows me to succeed so much more because I don’t have to worry about making a coach mad,” she said. “Their support contributes to my success, and I can just play freely. It means a lot.”

All of this could lead to another decision down the road – and not just this with same possible scenario a year from now. Johnston has spent the majority of her life playing softball, and continuing that collegiately always seemed to be her most likely path. That changes a bit, though, each time she steps on the track.

“I’ve played softball my whole life, and we’ve spent so much time and money on that,” she said. “My parents (who are assistant coaches on the Almont softball team) love track now. They don’t care which one I choose. In my mind, if I put a ton of time into track, and just worked and worked at it, I feel like my times will get even better. That is an opportunity that is really intriguing. That’s a decision that I’ll have to make next year.”

The support of her softball coach parents, who have become massive track fans, takes some pressure off of Johnston.

That’s becoming a trend, as the people closest to her continue to back her as she chases all of her dreams.

“This year, I think she’s probably going to run track,” Johnson said. “And rightly so, because she has a chance to be a state champion. I’ll support her 100 percent, and the kids will, too. Hopefully we can make it through to the Regional, and she can join us the next weekend.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Almont’s Devin Johnston focuses on receiving a pitch during a rare appearance behind the plate this season. (Middle) Johnston, right, emerges from the blocks during a race. (Photos courtesy of the Johnston family.)