Dakota, Mercy Set Up Top-Ranked Match-up
June 16, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING — Kendahl Dunford started summer softball last year with a team that wasn't operating at full strength.
While Dunford was beginning her travel season, some of her teammates were still busy trying to win MHSAA championships with their high school teams.
Dunford's own postseason dreams with her Macomb Dakota team ended in the Pre-District round for the second straight year, despite a 30-6 regular-season record.
"It was not a good feeling," Dunford said. "We had some girls (from the summer team) who were still here. We were like, 'Wow, we could've really been here.' Now this year, being here, it's the best thing ever."
Dunford's high school season will extend to the last possible game after she pitched top-ranked Dakota to a 4-2 victory over Midland in the MHSAA Division 1 semifinals on Thursday at Michigan State University.
The Cougars (38-2), who hadn't won a District since 2000 and had never advanced beyond Regionals until this season, will face Farmington Hills Mercy at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Division 1 title at MSU's Secchia Stadium.
"It's surreal," senior second baseman Sarah Fringer said. "I never thought we were going to get here. We have such a great team. Not getting out of Districts the past couple years has been really tough. Finally being here is an amazing feeling."
It was Fringer who made the defensive play of the game to thwart Midland's final threat.
The Chemics (36-8) had runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, trailing 4-2. Nicole Miiller hit a grounder to the left of Fringer, who made a diving stop, got up and made the throw to first to end the inning.
"It was really huge," Fringer said. "They had runners on first and second with two outs. I was just trying to do anything I could to keep the ball in front of me and not let a run score. I just saw the ball coming and got it. It was a huge relief. We only had three more outs left after that. It was really a big confidence booster that we really had it. We really were going to get the win."
Fringer's play left Midland wondering what could have been.
"We squared it up quite a few times," Midland coach Robin Allen said. "Some of the times when we did, they made a nice play or it went right at them. If that second baseman doesn't make that diving play, that's a whole new ball game. It might have got in the gap. If that gets in the gap, we might have scored two there."
Against Dunford, teams don't get many opportunities to put runs on the board. She retired the Chemics in order in the seventh, ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts. Dunford had nine strikeouts total, allowing six hits and no walks.
Dunford, a junior who has verbally committed to Florida International, entered the game with five straight shutouts. She had allowed only one run over 37 innings in six tournament games, as Dakota outscored its opponents 53-1.
Dakota struck first when Kattie Popko doubled and scored on a single by Claire Hamlin in the second inning.
The Cougars built a cushion in the third, scoring three unearned runs. With one out and nobody on, Corbin Hison reached first base when third baseman Zoe Manary threw high to first base. With two outs, Kelcie LaTour singled home Hison to make it 2-0. After a single by Dunsford, Julia Salisbury stepped up and lined a double to the fence in left-center field to score two runs.
"I just imagine that I'm going to hit it out to left field," Salisbury said. "Before I bat, I look to left field and say, 'I'm driving it out there.' That's what I thought when I hit that."
Dunford's scoreless inning streak ended at 35 in the fourth inning, as Midland cut the Cougars' lead in half.
Pitcher Maya Kipfmiller singled with one out to begin the rally. Julia Gross then hit a ball that eluded the center fielder and rolled to the fence for a triple. Gross headed home when the throw to third was wild. It appeared she would be easily cut down at the plate, but the throw home sailed high.
"We had a little defensive hiccup there," Dakota coach Rick Fontaine said. "I don't think we've made that many errors in the entire postseason. We got them out of the way on one play, so I guess that was a good thing. Defensively, we've been great all year."
Midland went down 1-2-3 in the fifth and seventh innings, failing to score in the sixth because of Fringer's diving stop and throw on the grounder by Miiller.
Dunford had two of Dakota's six hits off of Kipfmiller, who walked four batters, none of whom factored into the scoring.
Kipfmiller and Gross had two hits each for Midland.
"We have one senior," Allen said. "We're a young team, but they don't play like they're young. They all play like seniors. They've been around the program for a long time. It's a special season. It's something these girls will remember the rest of their lives. I'm really excited for them. It's memorable."
Farmington Hills Mercy 9, Mattawan 6
Cari Padula came just a foot or so away from hitting a grand slam down the right field line in the second inning.
She had to settle for a three-run double to left after her long foul ball, but she isn't complaining. Padula's hit highlighted a five-run uprising that carried No. 2 Mercy (42-2) into the championship game for the second time in school history. The 2002 team lost in the Division 1 Final, 4-0 to Portage Northern.
"It would have been awesome if it went out," Padula said of the near-miss to right. "I just knew I needed to recoup. I took a deep breath. I have this little saying. I say, 'See ball, hit ball.' That's exactly what I did."
Padula had a run-scoring single as part of a three-run sixth inning, giving her four RBI.
"I was really happy for Cari," Mercy coach Alec Lesko said. "Cari walked away from our last game thinking she didn't contribute enough, but she had a couple sac flies. Today she missed a grand slam by about a foot and came down the other line for a bases-emptying double. We're excited for her. She's a senior, and she's been a great leader. I'm glad she had a chance to do something big today."
Fourth-ranked Mattawan (32-9) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning before Mercy responded with the five-run second. After Mercy extended its lead to 6-2 in the third following a 54-minute rain delay, Mattawan cut the deficit to 6-5 with two runs in the third and one in the fifth.
Anna Dixon's second double and third hit of the game ignited a three-run sixth inning that gave Mercy some breathing room. Mattawan scored a run in the sixth, but couldn't get closer.
"We gave up too many, but we fought hard and never gave up," Mattawan junior Joanna Bartz said. "We just tried to play our game and fell short."
Andrea Elmore allowed nine hits and struck out eight for Mercy. Shannon Gibbons was 3 for 4, nearly getting a fourth hit in the sixth, only to be denied by a diving catch by left fielder Sarah Hillsburg.
PHOTOS: (Top) Macomb Dakota celebrates its first MHSAA Finals berth in softball. (Middle) A Farmington Hills Mercy runner rounds third base during her team's Semifinal win.
Evart Overcomes Early Deficit, Millington Comes Back Late to Set Up D3 Finale
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2022
EAST LANSING – Its hopes of playing for another state championship were dwindling as the Millington softball team was down to its last strike in Friday morning’s first Division 3 Semifinal.
However, two big swings changed the Cardinals’ fate and paved the way to an improbable finish.
Top-ranked Millington rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a dramatic 4-3 win over Algonac at Secchia Stadium.
Senior Leah Coleman’s two-out double scored Ashley Ziel for the game-winning run to stun the Muskrats.
“I knew we could come through,” Coleman said. “We’re a family, we play for each other and I knew when Ashley got on base that I could score her in that position.”
Ziel, a senior pitcher who struck out eight, tied the game with two outs and with her team trailing 3-1. She drilled a 0-2 pitch to the wall to score Shannon Ziel and Emma Dickie.
“We always train to be in these situations, and you never know when you are going to be in it,” Ziel said. “I just thought that I had to get on base, I have to win this for my team.
“I saw that pitch coming and I just took a swing at it, and I saw it go to the fence and I thought, we’re tied. I knew Leah was going to pull through, and I knew right when we scored that we were going to win that game.”
Millington (35-3) will face Evart in Saturday’s 3 p.m. Division 3 Final.
The Wildcats defeated Grandville Calvin Christian 6-1 in the other Semifinal and will seek their first Finals title.
Millington won Division 3 in 2019 and was runner-up in 2018.
Algonac (33-4) took the early lead when junior slugger Ella Stephenson homered to left center in the top of the first inning. It was her 17th of the season.
The Muskrats increased their lead in the top of the sixth. Sierra Vosler opened the inning with a triple and then scored on Brianna Thomason’s infield single to make it 2-0.
Millington’s Trinity Fessler delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning to trim the Algonac lead in half.
Stephenson, who went 3-for-4, singled in the seventh inning, went to second base on a passed ball and then scored when Jaycee Reams ripped a two-out single up the middle to make it 3-1.
Millington coach Greg Hudie said the tight-knit bond of his team was a factor in the come-from-behind win.
“I think it has a lot to do with how close they are as a family,” he said. “They train hard together all year long, and I think that’s what really put it together. Not giving up on each other even though we were down and our backs were against the wall.
“Most teams would probably be starting the bus, but I thought they did a great job and you couldn’t ask for a better finish.”
Algonac pitcher Kenna Bommarito, a sophomore, struck out 10 and held down a potent offense until the final inning.
The fourth-ranked Muskrats outhit Millington 9-8, but left several runners on base and were unable to get the final out to secure their first trip to the Finals.
“We can’t seem to get the big one,” Algonac coach Len Perkins said. “We had them right where we wanted them, but they hit the ball and made the difference.
“They found holes at the right time, and that’s softball. You have to come up with the big play, and they got the big hits. We had our chances, but didn’t get hits in those situations. They did, and you have to give them credit.”
Evart 6, Grandville Calvin Christian 1
One big inning helped propel Evart to its first Finals appearance.
The unranked Wildcats (32-8-1) overcame an early deficit to score five runs in the second inning.
Evart banged out eight hits, including six in a row, in the inning and took advantage of two Calvin Christian errors to gain control.
“It was probably the best inning we’ve had the whole season,” sophomore catcher Ally Theunick said. “It was awesome. We were all energized, and we were getting hits all over. It didn’t stop.”
Evart coach Amanda Brown said her team has had previous stints of timely hitting. Four of the five runs came with two outs.
“We found the fire, and it worked out beautifully,” she said. “We’ve had two other games like that where we had two outs and we scored six or seven runs like that, and it's just fun. No one wants to be the last out.
“The hitting is definitely contagious with any of these girls, and once something gets going they just run with it and they feed off it. Our dugout was amazing, and they did a great job.”
Evart tacked on another run in the fourth inning. Kylynn Thompson smacked a double to score Theunick.
The Wildcats’ defense shined once again and allowed only one run for the seventh straight postseason game.
“Our defense has been phenomenal,” Brown said. “They work their tails off, and we do so many fundamentals. We tell them all the time that fundamentals will win or lose games. Make the play when it’s presented, and make the best of it.”
Calvin Christian went ahead 1-0 in the first inning when Emili Goodheart singled home Anna Voet. It was the only run the Squires would muster against junior pitcher Addysen Gray, who struck out eight and walked one.
“It feels great to know we are playing for a state championship, and to have our whole school here feels so good,” said Gray, who also went 3-for-4 at the plate.
The Wildcats finished with 12 hits as Skyler Baumgardner, Brooklyn Decker and Thompson had two hits each. The Squires, who finished 34-4, had only four hits and were plagued by five errors.
PHOTOS (Top) Millington players and fans celebrate during Friday’s first Division 3 Semifinal at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Evart’s Katelyn Gostlin enjoys the moment on the way to first base during her team’s Semifinal win.