Centreville Ends Spring with 'Incredible' Finish
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 16, 2018
EAST LANSING – It was a big day for the Centreville softball team. After a long wait, the Bulldogs were finally able to see the sequel to "Incredibles."
Oh, and they also won the first MHSAA Division 4 softball championship in school history.
A day of relaxation, which included a trip to the movies, paid off for Centreville as it defeated Coleman 5-2 on Saturday at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium in the final game of the 2018 season.
“It’s really good, I recommend it – it’s funny,” said Centreville sophomore pitcher Hannah Duchene with a laugh as she took her turn as movie reviewer. “It kind of just gave us a little bit of relief just to relax and not be super tense. It helped a lot.”
Centreville (36-6) looked composed despite the fact it was a young team playing in the title game for the first time. That led to a very clean game in which the Bulldogs didn’t commit a single error.
“These girls work so hard. They’ve fought so hard,” Centreville coach Scott Logan said. “They’re young; we’ve only got two seniors, but it hasn’t hit me yet, the importance of this. We’ve been playing good ball, and again today, we played good ball against a very good team.”
Centreville had been to the Semifinals just twice prior to this season, the last time in 2011. The town’s population is about 1,400, and it felt as if half of the residents were on hand to watch history.
“It’s crazy,” Duchene said. “It’s amazing to have so much support, and we couldn’t thank them enough for everything that they’ve done. Everyone is on cloud nine right now. It’s crazy. It’s just the best feeling ever. All the work finally paid off, and I knew we were just going to come through and get it.”
Centreville scored the bulk of its runs on one play in the bottom of the third inning, as Kenleigh West-Wing, Addy Ward and Jaeden Blades all crossed the plate following an errant throw at first base. That followed an RBI single from Duchene, and gave the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
“We always look for that – aggressive and smart,” Logan said. “We’re always looking for that next base and to take advantage of that when they throw the ball around.”
On the other side of the field, the disappointment was visible, as Coleman had looked to win its first MHSAA softball title since 2005 – the last time the Comets had advanced to this point.
“The steps have been ‘get to the next one,’” Coleman coach Chad Klopf said. “We got to the next one, and we were hoping to get two in one weekend, but we didn’t get there. One bad inning, some things we don’t usually do happened all in one inning. Four runs in one inning is tough to get over.
“Things happen. A little bit of pressure here and there, and things happen. Everybody’s down here for a reason, and they’re a good ball team, too.”
Coleman (30-10) took a 1-0 lead as Brianna Townsend doubled to score Abigail Tubbs in the top of the second inning. The Comets added another run in the fifth inning, as Makailyn Monson, who had tripled, scored on a groundout by MacKenzie Miller.
Centreville added its fifth run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Emma Russell’s RBI single drove in West-Wing, stretching the lead to three runs heading into the final frame.
Duchene and the Centreville defense handled the rest, forcing a pop up, then a double play started by Kaylee Trattles and turned by MaKenzie Troyer to end the game. Trattles was filling in for star second baseman McKenzie Sheteron, who was attending her sister’s wedding.
“Of course it’s a little downfall that we don’t have McKenzie because she’s a huge aspect of our team,” Duchene said. “But I knew that Kaylee would come through and play the role that she’s supposed to and do the job for her team. I’m super proud of her for doing that.
“I always know that I have (the defense) to back me up, so that helps.”
Duchene finished the game with three strikeouts, scattered five hits and walked two in seven innings. Coleman senior Faith Barden was also strong, striking out six and walking three while allowing six hits and two earned runs.
West-Wing had a pair of hits for Centreville, while Townsend had two hits for Coleman.
VIDEO: Centreville caps its 5-2 win with a game-ending double play.
PHOTOS: (Top) Centreville players raise their Division 4 championship trophy after claiming their first title in the sport. (Middle) A Centreville runner follows coach Scott Logan’s direction and heads for home.
Schoolcraft Will Debut, Millington to Return
June 14, 2019
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Of course, Schoolcraft’s Allie Goldschmeding knew what was on the line as she sped toward first base during the eighth inning of Friday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Dundee.
And she gave everything it took to beat out her grounder and send her team to its first MHSAA softball championship game.
Goldschmeding beat out the throw to first base, allowing teammate Kayla Onken to score the winning run in the Eagles’ 4-3 win at Secchia Stadium.
“I was like, ‘I’ve gotta run as hard as I can and try to get to the base because I’ve got to put my full effort in,’” Goldschmeding said. “It feels amazing. It feels great because I felt like, with the bases loaded and there being two outs, I could deliver for my team and get us to go to the state championship (game).”
Onken got things started by drawing a walk off Dundee pitcher McKenna Schmidt. She advanced to third base thanks to walks to senior Mikayla Meade and freshman Sophie Ridge. That set the stage for Goldschmeding, whose slow dribbler rolled to Schmidt’s left. She was able to get to it and pitch it to first baseman Ashley Fietz. But it wasn’t in time. Onken crossed home plate and sent the Eagles into celebration mode.
“I was more watching the runner going home, but it was close,” Schoolcraft head coach Shane Barry said. “We’ll take it for sure, with it being our first time making it to the state (finals). We’ve been working toward this all year. It’s just amazing.”
Allie Goldschmeding wasn’t the only hero for the Eagles. Her twin sister, Kelby Goldschmeding, hit a game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give her team a second life. Onken started that rally off with a base on balls as well.
“She’s just coming off an injury, so all she can do is really bat right now, and run,” Barry said of Kelby Goldschmeding. “It’s a little surprising she pushed the ball. She normally pulls everything. It was perfect timing for us. We needed it. It finally fired the girls up. We were a little down there for a while. We started to finally pick it up. The home run definitely helped us out a lot.”
Allie Goldschmeding, sophomore Jordan Watts and Ridge all finished with two hits for Schoolcraft (32-4), which will face Millington in Saturday’s championship game.
Junior Adrienne Rosey relieved Meade in the circle to begin the third inning and threw the final six, getting the pitching win while giving up two runs on four hits, with nine strikeouts.
Dundee coach Mickey Moody felt his team let too many good scoring opportunities slip through its hands. The Vikings had four straight hits to begin the second inning, but could not push a run across the plate.
“We had chances to score in the first two innings, and we did not do that,” said Moody, whose team finished 33-10. “We probably should have been up seven runs in the first two innings. We had plenty of opportunities to score, and we just didn’t do it.”
Schmidt took the loss in the circle, despite pitching 7? solid innings. She allowed just three earned runs and struck out 10 batters. Schmidt and McKenna Salley each had two hits to lead Dundee’s offense.
“The girls had a great year. That’s just a great group of kids to coach,” Moody said. “I’m really pleased with how they did this year. That loss doesn’t change what kind of team they are. We played really good teams all year, and we’ve done well.”
Millington 7, Standish-Sterling 1
A plan was developed before the season, one which would keep Millington senior Gabbie Sherman fresh for a deep run in the playoffs. Thanks to another stellar performance by Sherman and the entire Cardinals’ offense in Friday’s Semifinal win over Standish-Sterling, coach Greg Hudie might just get to see that plan play out to perfection.
Hudie’s team collected 14 hits, scoring all seven of its runs over the final four innings, and Sherman pitched another gem to help lead her team back into the Division 3 championship game on Saturday.
“We talked before the season even started about her pitch count, where we wanted her,” said Hudie, who saw Sherman allow just one earned run while striking out nine, running her record to 22-2 with the victory. “Our overall goal was to win this (tournament). Sometimes when you have an ace pitcher, she wants to throw every inning of every game. We devised a plan because we wanted her fresh this week. She’s been pitching every game of the tournament, and she’s getting stronger and stronger, so I can’t wait to see how she does in her second championship game. I think she’s got some unfinished business to do in that, so I think she’s going to be fantastic tomorrow.”
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals – last season’s Division 3 runners-up – will face Schoolcraft in the title game.
Millington broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, thanks to an RBI double by junior Madi Hahn, scoring senior Leah Denome. The Cardinals would add two more in the fifth and one in the sixth before breaking it wide open in the seventh. A double by Sherman scored two, while senior Hannah Rabideau’s single drove in freshman Leah Coleman to cap off the scoring.
Denome and Hahn each finished 3-for-4 to lead the Cardinals. Denome scored three and drove in two with a two-run home run. Sherman, senior Sydney Bishop and junior Darrien Roberts each added two hits.
Five players collected a hit for the Panthers, including juniors Lakin Fryzel, Mattie Fegan, Emily Jenkins, Karleigh McBride and sophomore Taylor Stodolak. Fryzel took the loss in the circle.
“What got us to this point is our defense and the strength in our pitching, and we showed that to start this game,” Standish-Sterling head coach Rich Sullivan said. “The first three innings, we were shutting down a very potent offense. But a good team will catch up with pitching, and that’s what they are. They started adjusting to what we were doing, and they capitalized on a couple of mistakes we made.
“Gabbie Sherman, she’s tough on the mound and we weren’t able to get those big hits when we needed them. We’d get a hit here with two outs, or a hit and then the next two would strike out. We couldn’t do a lot of things we like to do on offense, bunt and steal and put pressure on the defense. They took that part of our game away.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Schoolcraft catcher Jordan Watts places a tag on Dundee’s Ashley Salenbien to keep her from scoring Friday. (Middle) Millington’s Leah Denome rounds third base on the way to scoring in the Cardinals’ win.