D3 Powers Book Championship Matchup
June 16, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Everyone who follows high school softball in Michigan expected another dominating Meghan Beaubien performance in Friday’s first Division 3 Semifinal.
But few expected a pitchers dual – broken up only by Beaubien the hitter as Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central earned the opportunity to play for a third straight MHSAA championship.
Beaubien allowed just two hits and struck out 15 Shepherd hitters at Secchia Stadium, and also led off the sixth inning with a triple before scoring the game’s lone run as the top-ranked Kestrels escaped the Bluejays and their pitcher Haley Peska 1-0.
Peska, who no-hit No. 4 Millington in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, allowed only five hits and struck out six in just about matching the state’s most celebrated hurler of the last three seasons.
“We’ve played a lot of really good teams on our way here this year," Beaubien said. "This is a great example of it – Shepherd’s a team that nobody thought would be in the mix at this point, and they just played a great game and almost beat us.
“(But) the experience of being here has helped us mentally and with our confidence.”
Monroe St. Mary (26-3) will next face No. 3 Napoleon in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. Final.
Maybe not the best news for Michigan State’s softball program – Beaubien will continue her career at University of Michigan – but the St. Mary’s ace has given up four hits total in 33 innings pitched at Secchia over the last three seasons. In fact, Friday’s was the first Semifinal in three seasons that she didn’t throw a no-hitter.
Not that giving up two hits made her any less dominating. That was made plain both in the sound the ball made pounding catcher Kenna Garst’s glove on her many fastballs, but also when she ended the game with a strikeout on a floating change-up that no one in East Lansing was expecting.
She’ll finish her high school career with an ERA well south of a run per game and passed 1,300 career strikeouts a while ago.
“This whole run was like, ‘OK, any game could be your last game.’ I know that,” Beaubien said. “Now I know for sure. Tomorrow is my last game. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. It’s a little weird. I just want to go out there and make my last game of my career end with another state championship.”
The combination of two superb pitching performances made this one fly by in a mere 77 minutes. Freshman rightfielder Samantha Michael did have two hits in two at bats for St. Mary, with junior shortstop Kelsey Barron doubling in that lone run and junior third baseman Danielle Michael notching the team’s other hit.
Senior centerfielder Ryanne McKenna and junior shortstop Kianna Andrews had the hits for Shepherd (25-19), and of course Peska made the most memorable impact for a Bluejays team playing in its first Semifinal since 1997.
“They’ve got two coaches over there (Bobb Servoss and assistant Terry Lynch) that know a lot about the game … and in this game it’s all about keeping hitters off-balance,” St. Mary coach John Morningstar said. “You’re never letting anyone sit on something, and if all you’ve got is speed in this game it’s going to be a long season. Kids will catch up to that hard ball. Moving it around the way (Peska) does, she’s very effective. She had us chasing a lot of pitches that we wouldn’t normally swing at.”
Napoleon 16, Gladstone 0
Not that more proof was needed on top of a 36-4 record. But Napoleon’s seniors showed again Friday they’re ready for one last matchup with the St. Mary ace.
As freshman, they were part of a team that downed Beaubien and St. Mary in a Regional Final. But she and the Kestrels came back to eliminate the Pirates in a Quarterfinal in 2015, and Napoleon didn’t make it out of the District a year ago.
“We have been looking ahead, and saying we’re going to end up meeting Meghan, we're going to meet her,” Napoleon senior shortstop Paige Kortz said. “And just talking and scouting, hearing scouting reports. Of course they probably have with us (too), but just going ahead and figuring out what their weaknesses are, and we’re going to try to hit them tomorrow.”
They seemed to hit everything Friday, especially during the first inning. Napoleon jumped out to an 8-0 lead and finished the game with 19 hits over five innings.
Senior outfielder Kallie Pittman was 4 for 4 and scored two runs, while senior second baseman Ashton Jordan was 3 for 4 with two doubles, two runs and four RBI. Senior third baseman Haley Rose also was 3 for 4 and scored three runs, while Kortz, senior centerfielder Dylan Wiley, senior catcher Rachel Griffin and junior designated player Caitlin Pace all had two hits.
Senior Sydney Coe, in addition to driving in two runs, allowed only three hits in the circle and struck out six Gladstone batters. Senior centerfielder Alyssa Polley, sophomore third baseman Sydney Herioux and junior rightfielder Kaitlyn Hardwick hit safely for the Braves (34-10).
This was the fourth Napoleon team to make Quarterfinals and the first to make Semifinals, meaning of course that Saturday’s championship game also will be a first.
“Especially having eight seniors,” Kortz said, “we at the beginning of this season were determined to be Lansing bound. And determined to make school history.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Monroe St. Mary’s Samantha Michael rounds a base during Friday’s win over Shepherd. (Middle) Napoleon’s Sydney Coe takes a swing during the second Division 3 Semifinal.
Grosse Pointe South Shortstop Fearless, Tireless on Field, Brilliant in Classroom
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
May 13, 2022
That Shannon Dame won't go on to play scholarship softball at the college level won't have a bearing on the impact she's had on the program at Grosse Pointe South the last four seasons.
And besides, playing softball collegiately was Plan B. Plan A has always been deciding what university would offer Dame the best opportunity academically. While Dame is a darn good softball player, few can match her accolades as a student.
Dame never has earned less than an A in high school, sports a 4.44 GPA, scored a 35 (out of 36) on the ACT and a 1560 (out of 1600) on the SAT. Dame didn't miss a question in mathematics and science, which makes perfect sense. She has been accepted at the University of Michigan and will enter the school of engineering with plans to major in biomedical engineering. She earned a partial academic scholarship to U-M and also was awarded a National Merit Scholarship.
“I took a bunch of AP (advanced placement) science courses (at South),” she said. “I just love math and science. I always have.”
Athletically, Dame played three sports (softball, basketball, volleyball) before concentrating on softball and her academics beginning with her junior year.
From the first day as a member of coach Bill Fleming's varsity team, Dame has shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to be the best player and teammate she could possibly be. Whether that meant staying after practice to work on her fielding or mentoring younger players, like sophomore second baseman Lilly Stidham, Dame has given her all.
“I was aware of her before (her freshman season),” Fleming said. “She was the quietest kid I'd ever known. It was 'yes coach' or 'no coach,' and that was it. Even then she'd come to practice early, and she'd stay late. She's very focused. She's a person who if you tell her something once you wouldn't have to say it again.
“What sets her apart is that she works so hard. She's constantly asking me to stay after practice to hit her ground balls. She's made herself a better player. I've coached football, wrestling and softball since the mid-90s, and through all of those years and teams I've coached she's worked harder than any player I've had.”
Dame started at second base as a freshman before Fleming moved her to shortstop and the leadoff spot last season. COVID-19 led to the cancelation of the 2020 season, but Dame was able to play travel ball during that summer.
She batted .481 last season and was hit by pitches 20 times, placing her second on the MHSAA record book single-season list. She's currently batting .512 with an on-base percentage of .596, with 18 runs scored despite missing six of South's 22 games. On April 21 in a game against Port Huron, Dame suffered a knee injury that caused some consternation.
“There was a pop up and we had some miscommunication,” she said. “I reacted to the ball coming down, and when I went for it my knee kind of twisted.
“It was pretty nerve-racking. I waited five days for the (MRI) results and had to wait two or three more to get cleared (to play). It's a bone bruise. It's getting better, and I don't feel (the pain) much now.”
Dame credits hitting coach Molly Clexton with her improvement at the plate. Dame has the tendency to crowd the plate – thus all of hit-by-pitches – and Clexton encouraged her to back off a bit. This and other tips have made Dame one of the top leadoff hitters in the Macomb Area Conference.
“(Clexton) helped me with the bat angle,” Dame said. “I wasn't always quick with my hands, and she helped me with my bat speed. And she really helped me with my confidence. I was nervous as a freshman. Even my friends noticed a difference with me at the plate.”
Every player had to deal with the COVID season, and Dame just tried to make the best of it.
“I'd play catch with my brother (Brian), my dad or my mom,” she said. “My parents bought me a net so I could practice hitting in the backyard. Even though I missed that (sophomore) season, I did play travel during the summer. With that extra time I was able to work on my hitting. It was the part of my game that I was lacking in confidence.”
While many players might have taken a step back after missing out on 2020, Dame displayed tremendous improvement heading into her junior year.
“She's fearless,” Fleming said. “She doesn't give any of the plate away. She's not a slap hitter. She's disciplined. What she does is use what we call a quick bunt. As a right-hand hitter, she wants to get out of the box quickly. She's a singles and doubles hitter, and she told me this year she wants to hit a home run.”
Another goal is to win an MHSAA Division 1 District title. Dame has not been a part of a District-winning team, and to accomplish that South most likely would have to defeat its biggest rival, Grosse Pointe North. South has had an up-and-down season but sits 13-9 after losing to Warren Regina on Thursday.
“We're a good team,” Dame said. “As a team, we need to get our heads into the game. We've made too many mental mistakes.”
Dame does plan to continue playing the sport in Ann Arbor. She hopes to join U-M's club program.
Tom Markowski primarily covered high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. He also is a former correspondent and web content director for State Champs! Sports Network. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grosse Pointe South shortstop Shannon Dame prepares to defend her side of the infield. (Middle) Dame has started for the Blue Devils since her freshman year. (Below) Dame stands in ready for the next pitch. (Photos courtesy of the Grosse Pointe South softball program.)