D2 Semis: Confident Contenders Roll On
June 12, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Rozlyn Price’s gutsy performance Thursday afternoon at Secchia Stadium had less to do with how far she’s come in the last year as it was about how far she’s come over the last month.
A year ago, the then-freshman Price pitched the Blazers back to the MHSAA Division 2 Semifinals. But this spring hardly began the way she and Ladywood expected – the Blazers started 8-8, and as recently as May 17, Price walked 17 batters over just more than five innings in the Detroit Catholic League championship game.
Coach Scott Combs said there was a stretch when he didn’t feel he could put his ace in the pitching circle. But he never gave up on her.
“I was struggling a lot in the beginning of the season. My confidence was not there,” Price said. “I’m so thankful having my team behind me, cheering me up after every pitch. Whenever I get down, they always try to pick me up.
“Coach Scott worked with me a lot. He said, ‘Just calm down; just stay focused on the batter, and you’ll be fine.’”
Confident again, Price made a number of gutsy pitches Thursday to lead Ladywood back to the Division 2 Final with a 4-3, 10-inning win over top-ranked Wayland at Secchia Stadium. The No. 7 Blazers (29-13) will face No. 4 Stevensville Lakeshore in Saturday’s championship game at 9 a.m.
Price walked only two batters in the Semifinal and struck out six, including Wayland’s leadoff hitter with bases loaded and her team up 2-1 in the sixth inning. She also stranded a Wildcats runner on third base in the bottom of the ninth.
It was a far cry from her early-season struggles and 12 losses that became more forgettable with Thursday’s win.
“She could not throw a strike, and we worked and worked psychologically to get her to relax,” Combs said. “She was trying to muscle everything, trying to blow it by everybody. … She’s got all the ability in the world, and she’s a great hitter too, but she just needed to learn to focus and relax, and she did.”
Price did hit as well, doubling in her team’s first two runs. Sophomore rightfielder Rachel Hendrickson, batting ninth, tripled in junior Morgan Larkin in the seventh inning and then scored the game-winner in the 10th on senior shortstop Haley Lawrence’s single.
All three were in the lineup last season when Ladywood fell 8-0 to Tecumseh in a Semifinal. Tecumseh went on to win the championship.
This was Ladywood’s fourth straight trip to the Semifinals, and Saturday’s championship game will give the Blazers the opportunity to win their second title in three seasons – although the lineup is almost completely different than the one that won two years ago.
“It’s just crazy, the difference in the team last year to the team this year,” Price said. “I myself, I feel like I had a lot more confidence in this game than I did last year, or even in the games at the beginning of this season.”
Junior centerfielder Christina Meyer and Lawrence joined Hendrickson with a pair of hits. Every one of Wayland’s starters hit safely, led by senior catcher Britt McLain, senior rightfielder Elyssa Oostdyk, junior pitcher Mallory Teunissen and junior first baseman Morgan Teunissen with two hits apiece.
The Wildcats finished 42-2. Click for the full box score.
Stevensville Lakeshore 7, Croswell-Lexington 4
A couple things annually are expected from the Stevensville Lakeshore softball team: The Lancers will win at least 30 games and contend for the Division 2 title.
They won their 30th game this season in the District Final. And they’re back in an MHSAA championship game – even if they didn’t feel the same outside expectations this spring after a rough start.
“Our first game we lost to Edwardsburg, and we’re like, ‘Oh man.’ Portage Central beat us five out of six times,” Lakeshore senior pitcher Haley Thibeault said. “We didn’t start at the top like we have been. We started at the bottom and literally just shot up. We peaked exactly at the right time.”
The Lancers (35-9) kept the tournament momentum rolling with five runs in the first inning against Croswell-Lexington. They pushed the score to 6-0 in the fifth inning.
Croswell-Lexington (30-2) showed plenty of sparks scoring a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings – but was a hit or two short in both of turning the tide completely.
Junior pitcher Megan Guitar had two hits and scored a run for the Pioneers. Senior shortstop Kylee Barrett drilled a home run in the seventh inning.
Sophomore leftfielder Rachel Riedel had three hits including two triples and drove in three runs. Freshman second baseman Hunter Thibeault and sophomore rightfielder Sidney Weaver both had two hits.
Lakeshore’s return to the championship game is its first since winning back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.
“Everyone has been saying we’re not as good as last year’s team, or our team is young. (You don’t like) to hear that because we want to go as far as we can,” Haley Thibeault said. “I’m so proud because we’re defying all the odds to come this far. Maybe it doesn’t seem like that to other people, but it’s internal victories to us, moral victories.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Livonia Ladywood’s Rozlyn Price fires a pitch during her team’s 10-inning Division 2 Semifinal win over Wayland. (Middle) Lakeshore shortstop Alex Forsythe throws to first during her team’s Semifinal win.
Performance: All Saints' Hannah Ducolon
May 19, 2017
Hannah Ducolon
Bay City All Saints senior – Softball
Ducolon will finish her high school career this spring among the most successful hitters in MHSAA history; her career batting average of .638 if she ended her final season today would rank third all-time. And it certainly got a boost May 11 during a sweep of Tawas when Ducolon was 10 for 10 from the plate in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Her team’s shortstop and a four-year varsity player, Ducolon is hitting .720 this spring – which would rank fourth in MHSAA history for one season – with 24 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .758. She’s a slap-hitter – she takes a shortened swing to place the ball away from fielders so she can use her speed to outrun their throws to first base, often with a bunt down the third-base line or a “slap” past an infielder playing in close. Ducolon also plays an important role off the field; All Saints was a softball power only a decade ago, winning the Division 4 championship in 2008, but the Cougars have struggled to find players of late and are 5-20-1 this spring with 11 on the team. Ducolon is one of two seniors and has worked to stoke interest in the program, teaming as well with her mother Beth, who took over the program before the 2016 season and was a standout on All Saints teams that made the MHSAA Semifinals in 1986 and 1987 (the latter team finished Class D runner-up).
Hannah Ducolon also was a key contributor on the basketball team that went 17-5 this past winter, but her main stage is in the theater – she’s been active in All Saints’ drama program, her favorite role being Miss Hannigan in “Annie,” and hopes to continue in theater at Saginaw Valley State University. She’ll graduate 10th in her class and carries a 3.82 grade-point average, and she’ll study secondary education at SVSU. It wouldn't be a surprise if she ended up leading from a sideline someday as well; Ducolon has been coaching 4th-5th grade soccer the last three falls after playing volleyball as a freshman.
Coach (and mom) Beth Ducolon said: “Hannah has been the lead-off hitter at All Saints since her freshman year. Through her high school years and subsequent travel team games, Hannah has worked hard to perfect the art of slapping. She has really become good at reading the defense and putting the ball where they aren't. Hannah is an excellent bunter, but is very capable of slapping the ball through the hole or hitting a ball to the outfield. Her ability to place the ball, coupled with her speed has been the key to her successes. Hannah is an excellent leader and is a great example for the underclassmen on the team to learn what 100-percent effort means.”
Performance Point: “That was the day when our baseball team also was on the bus with us to Tawas," Hannah Ducolon said of her perfect hitting performance. "There’s a player on the baseball team with really long hair, and I made a deal that if I went 100 percent with getting on base, with no errors on the other team, I could braid his hair – and that’s what I did. I always try to go 100 percent, and it worked out that day. ... I don’t think that much ahead of a game. I show up when they tell me to and get the job done whatever we need. He didn’t believe me (that I went 10 for 10); I had to show him the book.”
Like mother, like daughter: “I was born into a softball family. It always was on TV, we were always going to games and such, and it just became second nature. I kinda adopted her game, and I have the same number (17) as her. She brought me up as a mini her, and I kinda joke that I’m a mini her but better. I’m blessed just to have a close relationship with my mom and softball."
Leader … and recruiter: “We try to explain (to interested players) how much fun it is, how much time we spend together as a team and how close we get. We always have cookouts between games, and there are so many family-oriented things we do as a team. Our school is so small, so sometimes they are scared of that because they think they know everything about everyone already, but softball is a chance to get closer. … We try to have as much fun as possible. It’s hard to see the younger girls struggling, who are new to it; they get flustered. But my role is to remind them it’s all about the journey: just have fun, try your hardest, and you can’t ask for anything more. Let the word spread, get a culture going. I think that has the ability to work; we’ve got some girls coming up who are passionate about the sport, but it can only go so far (unless) other people are passionate too.”
Lessons in coaching: “It’s a lot of patience; patience is probably the biggest virtue you could ever have. It’s really hard to begin as a coach. You’re so invested in it, and you know some people are not as invested, and that’s frustrating. You also have to learn to be a leader, appeal to other people’s personalities, talk to other people differently, motivate them differently. I find that to be really interesting and fun. I love finding out how people work and how you can persuade them so we’re on the same team, working together for a common goal.”
Theater takes center stage: “What’s not to like about it? There’s so much history, so many layers to it. I’m very family-oriented; I like team sports, I enjoy close-knit groups. And theater is another one of those. On top of that, you get to express yourself and interact with the crowd in a way that isn’t you. You portray someone who isn’t you, but you get to put your own spin on it.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Bay City All Saints' Hannah Ducolon charges toward first base during a game May 8 against AuGres-Sims. (Middle) Ducolon makes a throw from her spot in the infield. (Photos by Brady Kenniston Photography.)