D4 Semis: 2013 Foes Set to Meet Again
June 13, 2014
By Kelsey Pence
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Rebekah VanDam knows opponents are aiming for Kalamazoo Christian.
The senior pitcher let everyone know that wasn’t going to scare her team Friday afternoon as the Comets booked their second straight trip to the MHSAA Division 4 Final with a 6-1 win over Vestaburg (27-9) at Secchia Stadium at Michigan State University.
“Everyone is out to get us, but we are here,” VanDam said after Kalamazoo Christian's Semifinal win. “We are ready to play and beat whoever we got.”
VanDam gave up just four hits, striking out 12, walking one and giving up just one run, the first run of the postseason for the defending champs.
The Comets (28-16) – who will face Rogers City in Saturday’s championship game – scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on two Vestaburg errors, but added to that significantly in the third inning.
Morgan Locker singled to start the rally, and Tori Sides helped the cause with a hit to left-center. The Wolverines got the first out on a fielder’s choice by Kara Gjeltema. But VanDam followed up with a fielder’s choice that moved the runners ahead; Locker was able to avoid the tag at home plate to make the score 3-0.
Two batters later McKena Razenberg ran out an infield single, bringing up freshman Aliyah Lemmer with the bases full. She just missed a grand slam, smacking a three-run double to left field that put Kalamazoo Christian up 6-0.
“It never happens for me. I was so excited,” Lemmer said. “I just wanted to help my team and make a difference.
“It was really important for us to get some momentum,” she added. “Everyone was nervous we would get down, but we all really knew we could do it, and everyone was just pumping each other up. Our team gets pumped up easily, and that’s what I love about them.”
Karigan Gates was about a quarter inch from a home run for Vestaburg, smacking one to left -enter field in the top of the fourth that bounced off the fence and back in to fair territory. Akisha Benavidez brought Gates home with a single to center field that made the score 6-1.
Both teams were blanked the rest of the way.
“It was timely hitting, but they did give us some errors out there that gave us some base runners,” Kalamazoo coach Terry Reynolds said. “We got a couple nice hits. That’s what we do. It seems if we get a key hit, it seems we get them in clusters. I thought today it would be one at a time and we were prepared for a small game, but it was good we were able to capitalize.”
The Comets have seven MHSAA softball titles and two runner-up finishes. Reynolds is hoping to add another in his first year as coach.
“Taking over there is a little bit of pressure,” Reynolds said with a laugh. “Everyone expects me to win. The girls have come back and worked hard. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Reynolds also talked about his senior pitcher.
“Rebekah has really worked hard this year,” he said. “She has changed physically and mentally. Her and I seem to be on the same page quite a bit. She has four pitches that work, and we used every one of them today. She pitched a heck of a game.”
Gates had two hits for the Wolverines (27-9) and scored their lone run.
“Everybody really wanted this,” Vestaburg coach Dan Rons said. “I love this because it really brings the community together. Mostly I am proud of how they didn’t turn on each other when someone made a mistake.
“I got a little rough on them in the fourth inning because I didn’t feel like we were playing good ball. But my team, after I had chewed everybody out, they went around and said don’t worry about it. I liked the way they came together and took care of each other.”
Rogers City 11, Fowler 1
Regular-season redemption isn’t enough for Morgan Hall.
Kalamazoo Christian beat Rogers City 2-0 in the Division 4 Semifinals last year, and the Hurons avenged that loss earlier this spring with an 8-4 win over the Comets in a tournament.
But there’s still a bittersweet taste in Hall’s mouth.
Rogers City (33-6) is one game away from an MHSAA title after beating Fowler 11-1 in five quick innings Friday.
“Everybody kind of wants redemption,” Hall said of Kalamazoo Christian. “It was nice beating them the first time, but this is the spot that we want to beat them, in Finals again. As long as we keep our heads on and make the plays, I think we can do it.”
The Eagles (26-7) and Hurons were tied 1-1 after two and a half innings, but Rogers opened the lead in the bottom of the third and fourth innings scoring five runs in each.
Cassie Brege singled to get things started in the third and Logan Fleming was hit by pitch. Courtney Streich loaded the bases with a bunt, and Sarah Meredith smacked a two-run single to left field to make it 3-1.
Morgan Hall was up next and brought another teammate home with a single. Rachel Chojancki walked to score another, and Brege’s fielder’s choice made it 6-1.
“We actually didn’t know anything about Fowler,” Hall said. “They were the underdogs coming in unranked, we didn’t know any of their stats or anything. Nobody knew what to expect. When we got here our coach did a little bit of digging around, but we just came out and played our game and thankfully did as well as we did.”
The Hurons put up five more runs in the fourth inning and held the Eagles scoreless in the top of the fifth to make it a short day.
Hall finished 3 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Brege and Meredith also added two hits each. Brege added three RBI and a run scored and Meredith scored two runs and tallied two RBI.
Kayla Schafer and Brianna Schmitt each had two hits for Fowler.
“This is surreal right now,” Hall said. “Since freshman year this has always been the dream. We’ve been so close especially these last three years. Last year we just fell short in our first game. The worst that we can be is second place, and that is just surreal. Everyone is thrilled with that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Christian catcher Kara Gjeltema fires a throw during her team’s Semifinal win Friday. (Middle) Rogers City’s Kayla Fleury (3) and Courtney Streich (9) celebrate Saturday during their win over Fowler.
Otsego's Bolhuis Earns Record Book Fame with Elite Ability to Get On Base
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 2, 2022
Jada Bolhuis finished up her Otsego softball career this spring all over the MHSAA record book – and despite playing only three seasons because 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19.
Bolhuis owns 12 entries in the MHSAA record book including for 228 career runs (16th all-time), 230 career hits and a .622 career batting (sixth all-time) over 112 games and three varsity seasons.
She also made the hitting streak list twice, with a run of 44 straight games with a hit from April of her freshman year until the end of April of her junior season, and for a 33-game hitting streak during her junior and senior springs. The 44-game streak is the second-longest in MHSAA history.
Bolhuis also is a track sprinter and is slated to run at University of Tampa.
We’re continuing to catch up on adding record book listings. See below for more of the most recent added for softball.
Softball
Richland Gull Lake’s Savanna Disbrow had a par of significant run-producing games over the course of two weeks in May 2021. She drove in seven runs against Mattawan that May 5, then eight in a win over Delton Kellogg on May 20. She played this past season at Bemidji State in Minnesota.
Gabby Schloop put up a senior season to remember for Midland in 2021, posting the fifth-most runs scored (83) and tying for the fifth-most doubles (27) in MHSAA history, while also making the single-season hits list with 70 and career doubles list with 49 over three seasons. Taylor Sanborn also made the single-season hits list in 2021 as a senior, and also with 70. Sanborn continued her career at Calvin University, and Schloop at Northwood.
Maddisyn Miller also was added for RBI in a single game, driving in seven May 12, 2021, for Ovid-Elsie against Laingsburg. She is a junior this fall.
Rochester Adams earned its first softball record book entries in 2021. Then-junior Sabrina Lee was added for getting hit by 17 pitches over 34 games. Teammate Elizabeth Blaine, a senior that season, hit home runs in consecutive at bats, both in the second inning, of a game against Auburn Hills Avondale.
Potent offense helped drive Grandville to a 31-5 finish in 2019, with a number of top hitters in the record book. As a team, the Bulldogs are listed for 399 hits, 76 doubles, 34 home runs and 292 RBI that season. Then-senior Taylor Buiter was added for 10 home runs, including a pair in consecutive at bats, and then-junior Maddi Ungrey was added for three home runs in the same game all in consecutive at bats as well. Then-senior Lexi Dukesherer became the first player listed for being hit by a pitch twice in the same inning, and she also made the single-game list in that category for three. Additionally, former Grandville standout Carrie Mesman was added for her 17 doubles in 2015. Mesman went on to play at Aquinas College, and Buiter played at Ferris State.
Bath’s Bailee Buck has become the first entry for career times hit by pitches, as she totaled 30 over 99 games from 2017-19 (with her senior season of 2020 canceled due to COVID-19). She also made the single-game list with three HBPs as a junior. Teammate Ally Estrada was added twice for hitting consecutive home runs, five days apart during the 2019 season, and also for driving in seven runs in the first of those games May 18, 2019, against Algonac. Estrada graduated this spring.
Grosse Pointe South’s Shannon Dame became the second player added to the single-season hit-by-pitch list. She was hit by 20 pitches during the 2021 season, when she was a junior.
A trio of New Lothrop hitters were added for hitting during the 2021 spring, led by then-junior Jersey Hemgesberg who was added for 73 hits, 25 doubles and 12 home runs over 38 games – with the 25 doubles tying for seventh-most in MHSAA history. Additionally, Brynne Birchmeier was added for 20 doubles and Marissa Rombach for 17. Both are juniors this fall.
Bloomfield Hills sophomore Hannah Grant made the single-game lists for home runs and RBI during a win over Berkley on April 7. She had three homers and six RBI in the 9-7 win; the three homers tied for second-most in one contest.
Buchanan sophomore Hailee Kara also joined the single-game RBI list with nine during a 19-7 win over Vicksburg on April 21. The nine RBI tied for seventh-most in one contest.
PHOTO Jada Bolhuis makes a throw to first base during Otsego’s District Final win over South Haven this spring. (Photo by Gary Shook.)