Cros-Lex Climbing with Coach's Return
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 15, 2019
Devyn Gordon grew up watching dominant Croswell-Lexington softball teams.
She looked on in awe as players like Kylee Barrett and Megan Guitar – who both went on to star at Wayne State University – led the Pioneers to the Division 2 Semifinals in 2014.
So when Bob Young, the coach who was at the helm during that stretch, announced he was coming back to take over the Cros-Lex program for Gordon’s senior year, she was delighted.
“I was actually very excited, because I always grew up kind of idolizing him and his players – they had always been so successful,” said Gordon, who plays third base for the Pioneers. “For him coming back for our senior year, it kind of brightened us up. We were all very excited.”
Young is back in charge at Cros-Lex after a brief three-year retirement. He originally left, in large part, to spend more time watching his grandchildren play their baseball and softball games. When the job was set to be filled for the third time since he retired, however, he decided to come back.
“I thought I could help the program, help the system, that’s why I came back,” Young said. “(Retirement) was good. I have three grandkids in their 20s now, but the little ones, I have eight grandkids that are 11 years old or younger, and six of them live here in the Croswell area and are all playing ball. I wanted to be able to attend functions and not be strapped in with practices and games. It made sense to me to leave at that time.”
Young coached the Pioneers for nine seasons during his first stint, leading the program from 2007-2015. Over his final six seasons, Cros-Lex won five District championships, advanced to three Regional finals, and qualified for one MHSAA Semifinal. He also helped his sons, Andy and Scott Young, as they coached Cros-Lex to the 2011 Junior League World Series title.
“I definitely think (Cros-Lex) was a staple for softball in Michigan for high schools,” Cros-Lex senior first basemen Lena Stillson said. “They worked so hard, and they definitely benefitted from it. You would think of Cros-Lex, and softball came to mind immediately.”
Stillson and her teammates want to get back to that, and this season has been a good start. The Pioneers are 19-6 and confident as they close in on the postseason.
“We’ve had a pretty good season so far, and we’ve improved so much,” Cros-Lex senior catcher Haley Matthews said. “With every game, we’re learning more and improving more.”
The players agreed it was Young’s knowledge that played a big part in that, but his message has been a simple one.
“I definitely think he’s brought more confidence, and taught us that it’s all about fundamentals,” Stillson said. “If you don’t have fundamentals, you’re not going to grow. He definitely forces us to get better and think about the game itself.”
A staple of Young’s previous teams – outside of an all-state pitcher in Guitar – was great defense, and their ability to get players on base and put pressure on defenses. He’s working toward that now.
“We’ve won a lot of close games,” Young said. “We hit the ball OK, and our pitching is pretty accurate, but we don’t have a lot of speed. I’d like to bunt a lot more, so we work on bunting quite a bit.
“We’ve been learning, and we keep learning in every practice. They’ve surprised me, I think. We’re doing better than I thought we would. We’re, by no means, an elite team. But we’re doing OK.”
Young said the team bought into his coaching immediately, even though he had never coached any of them at anything other than a clinic.
“I knew a lot of these girls, I just didn’t have them in high school,” he said. “I think they all pretty much know that I know what I’m talking about. I think that’s a credit to them. Every one of them has been so open-minded and ready to learn and do as I asked them to do. They’ve been terrific. We haven’t had any issues at all, and that makes a difference. I ask them to do something, and they put their best foot forward and do the best they can.”
It’s Young’s past success that created that instant credibility, the players said, and he’s done a lot to prove their confidence in him was warranted. Now they’re confident they can compete for something they haven’t won since he left – a district title.
“Having a winning record coming off the past couple years, it’s definitely been a confidence boost for us,” Gordon said. “We know that our record shows that we’re pretty good. I think we’re using that confidence every time we go to the plate, step into the pitcher’s circle or onto the field.”
Paul 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 paulcostanzo3@gmail.com with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Croswell-Lexington softball coach Bob Young talks things over with two of his hitters during an early-spring game. (Middle) Young works with a possible future player at a community clinic. (Photos courtesy of the Croswell-Lexington softball program.)
Where There's a Willea, There Are Several Ways for Oakridge to Win
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
April 9, 2025
Every so often at practice, Muskegon Oakridge softball coach Joe Coletta will hear fighting behind him and worry he has a problem on his team.
“Then I turn around and I see that it is just the Willea sisters getting after each other,” explained Coletta, who is in his 17th year as softball coach and 43rd year overall of coaching at Oakridge.
“And I know that we’re all good.”
The Willeas – specifically fraternal senior twins Kylee and Gracie and sophomore Avery – definitely push each other and certainly cause problems for opposing teams as one-third of the Oakridge lineup, all playing critical positions in the field and occupying key spots in the batting order.
Kylee is an honorable mention all-state pitcher for the Eagles, who compiled a 16-5 record last spring with 141 strikeouts and a 2.36 ERA. She also will be expected to knock in runs from the No. 4 spot in the batting order.
Gracie returns as an honorable mention all-state centerfielder, using her instincts and speed to cover tremendous ground. At the plate, she bats second and hit .402 last year.
Avery made a huge impact last year as a freshman and now will move to the crucial shortstop position as a sophomore. She hit .382 last year with 28 RBIs.
The Willeas have continued the strong softball tradition at Oakridge, helping the team to three consecutive West Michigan Conference titles, two straight Districts and a breakthrough Division 2 Regional championship last year – the first that all three Willeas were on the varsity together.
Now the trio gets one last season to play on the same team, and they are determined to savor every second.
“I don’t want it to be done,” said Kylee, who has added a curveball to her repertoire for this season. “I love high school ball, and it’s so much fun to play with my sisters and have our parents and family in the stands.
“I love that we come from a small school and have made something big out of it.”
Sisterly bond
Kylee came into this world two minutes before her sister Gracie, and the two have been together for most of the past 17 years.
But while the twins have many things in common (such as top-10 graduating academic status in their class and exceptional leadership skills), there are certainly differences that are evident in their roles on the team.
Kylee, who shares the pitching load for the Eagles along with sophomore ace Kelcey Osborne, is a steady and calm leader with the perfect temperament for a pitcher, according to Coletta.
Gracie is über-competitive and vocal in centerfield, and says she keeps herself entertained by making sure all of her teammates are lined up correctly and focused on every pitch.
“I guess you could say it is a blessing and a curse at the same time to have three sisters on the same team,” Gracie said with a smile. “We butt heads at times, but overall it’s a great thing. We definitely have a bond that can pull us through the hard times.”
Avery, who everyone describes as a blend of her older sisters, could be the key to the Eagles success this spring. Not only is she moving from second base to the pressure-packed shortstop position, but she is also being asked to provide more power and drive in runs at the plate.
Oakridge has become known for its home-run power, with past bashers Jasmine Pastor and Andrea Romero-Serrano and last year’s 1-2 punch of Kaelinn Jozsa (14 home runs) and Maddie Clark (12 home runs), who were both first-team all-state and have graduated.
In fact, Osborne is the only returning player who had more than one home run or more than 30 RBIs last season.
“Our team is a little different this year, but we have a lot of athletic girls,” said Avery. “I feel like I will have more power at the plate this year. That’s what I’m working on.”
Daddy’s girls
The Willea softball era for the Oakridge varsity started three years ago, when Gracie made the varsity right away as a freshman, while Kylee started that season on the junior varsity.
But injuries forced Coletta to move up Kylee, then a 14-year-old freshman as well, to pitch in a critical early May rivalry game against Ravenna.
“I remember being so nervous that I was shaking,” said Kylee, who is known for her rise ball and changeup. “I literally thought I was going to throw up.”
After a shaky first inning, Kylee settled down and led the Eagles to a huge doubleheader sweep. She has been a fixture in the circle ever since.
It’s no surprise that the Willeas were ready for varsity softball as freshmen, as they have played summer travel ball for years with the Michigan Sabercats – with their dad, Dan, as their coach. All three have a tight bond with their father, both as coach and dad.
“When we’re driving home after a tournament, one of them will ask me a question and I’ll say: ‘Do you want Coach to answer that, or do you want dad to answer that?’” said Dan, a handyman who also has worked tirelessly to improve the Oakridge softball facilities.
Gracie was the only one of the three who wasn’t “all-in” on softball from the start. All three girls grew up following in the footsteps of their mother, Shanda, in gymnastics, but Gracie took it the farthest – becoming the first gymnast at her mother’s family gym (Gonyon’s Gymnastics) to make the all-region team a few years ago.
“When I was little, I did gymnastics and I thought that softball was stupid,” Gracie said with a laugh. “But then I fell in love with it.”
The athleticism she developed in gymnastics is evident in the way she plays centerfield, making diving, acrobatic catches look somewhat routine.
“Gracie covers so much ground out there and is absolutely fearless,” said Coletta, who is assisted this year by former Oakridge players Alyssa (Wahr) Fessenden and Morgan (Giddings) Wahr.
Avery Willea might actually be the most like her father, even though he hasn’t coached her nearly as much as the twins. Avery and Dan share a passion for the outdoors, and when they take a rare break from softball, can often be found hunting and fishing together.
One final run
The singular focus of the Willea family this spring is to make the most of their final season together.
Specifically, the Willeas would love to put together a repeat of last spring, when the Eagles not only repeated as West Michigan Conference and Division 2 District champs, but then played some of their best softball in wins over Grand Rapids Catholic Central (13-4) and Allendale (14-8) to capture the second Regional title in school history.
That led to a police escort out of town, as residents and classmates lined the streets to send the team off to Ferris State for the Quarterfinals, where the Eagles lost to eventual Division 2 champion Gaylord.
Oakridge, 2-0 this season, has managed to get in only one doubleheader, a sweep of Division 1 Muskegon Mona Shores, before this week’s spring break, but faces a challenging, whirlwind schedule for the next two months.
“Softball is a pitcher’s game, and we’ve got that this year,” said Coletta, who also has talented sophomore Chloe Smith backing up Kylee Willea and Osborne on the mound. “And it’s sure nice having girls like the Willeas as one-third of the lineup. They all know how to play the game, and they make things happen.”
The other seniors on the 13-player Oakridge roster are Maddy Bowen, Brenna Cabrera, Rylee Vanderputte and Lily Coppedge.
Kylee and Gracie Willea will play together for at least the next two years at Muskegon Community College, but the whole family knows that their 12-year-plus softball odyssey - with countless restaurants, hotels, hilarious stories and treasured memories along the way – is nearing its end.
And all they can do is make the most of every minute this final spring.
“I’m going to miss them so much the next two years – it’s going to hit me pretty hard,” said Avery, with a sigh. “So, yes, all we can do is make this the best season ever and not take anything for granted.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at kendra.tom@gmail.com with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from left: Kylee Willea delivers a pitch, Avery Willea gets ready at her shortstop position and Gracie Willea makes a diving catch in centerfield. (Middle) From left: Avery, Gracie and Kylee pose with the trophy after winning a tournament title in 2022. (Below) Dan Willea, who has coached his daughters for several years, takes a photo with Kylie and Gracie (standing) and Avery five years ago. (Photos courtesy of Shonda Willea.)