Escanaba Follows Ace to Historic Finish
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 16, 2018
EAST LANSING – South Haven managed three hits Saturday, so it wouldn’t be accurate to say Escanaba sophomore Gabi Salo was unhittable in the MHSAA Division 2 softball championship game.
But the University of Wisconsin recruit was pretty close.
Salo threw a second straight shutout at Secchia Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University, striking out 13 and not allowing a walk in Escanaba’s 5-0 win.
“I definitely think she’s the best pitcher that we’ve faced this year,” South Haven coach Wilma Wilson said. “We’ve faced some really good pitchers, but she was just living on the edge with every little thing and painting the corners and working the zone that the umpire was giving her. So no, we have not faced anyone like her this year.”
The MHSAA title was the first in program history for the Eskymos (31-3), who were making their third straight appearance in the Final Four, and first title game appearance since 2003.
“It feels amazing,” Salo said. “The last time Escanaba brought home a state championship was 1981 (in Class A football), and to bring home another one is really cool.”
To clarify: The Eskymos frequently claim MHSAA Finals titles in sports where the peninsulas play in separate divisions. But Saturday’s victory clinched Escanaba’s first championship in a statewide tournament since that 1981 football win – although the softball team long has been considered among the state’s elite regardless of peninsula.
Salo set the tone early Saturday, striking out 11 of the first 13 batters she faced, including the first eight. She did this despite a 25-minute rain delay that began two strikes into the second at-bat of the game.
“We just kept ourselves up and went out there and played like we were playing,” Salo said. “It didn’t bother us.”
Salo, who also shut out Eaton Rapids in the Semifinal on Thursday, finished the season with an earned-run average below 0.40.
“She was absolutely incredible,” Escanaba coach Jamie Segorski said. “It’s hard, you know, because we’ve come to expect it. She does it continuously. The bigger the game the better she pitches, and it’s a credit to all the work she puts in. Nobody works harder; nobody works longer. As a matter of fact, when she leaves here today, she’s going to be playing this weekend in Ohio. She doesn’t take breaks; she just plays.”
Escanaba catcher Dakota Cloutier knew coming into the game that her pitcher was going to be tough to hit – although she comes into most games with that feeling.
“She was on another level today,” Cloutier said. “She was pitching harder and pulling through all her pitches more than she ever has before.”
The game ended with a Salo strikeout, this one on a called strike, and one the umpire took a second to signal.
“When you’re waiting for changeup to float in there like that on that last pitch, I think (the umpire) was even surprised,” Segorski said. “That was a great pitch. It just takes a second to get the call, and we were all waiting and watching, and it was awesome.”
Salo was given all the run support she needed in the first inning, as Madison Griffin drove in Lexi Chaillier with a double.
While South Haven pitcher Hayley Kreiger was strong after that, the Eskymos were able to push across two unearned runs in the fourth inning with two outs, as Nicole Kamin scored on an error and Cloutier drove in Savannah Barron with a double.
Escanaba added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Heather Bergstrom, Barron and Cloutier hit back-to-back-to-back doubles with two outs.
“It was awesome,” Segorski said. “It’s a relaxed feeling for the hitters when they go up there and we have a nice lead. All they have to do is go up there and square the ball, and they did it. For Heather Bergstrom to come in as a pinch hitter and drive that one to right center was fantastic, and for Savannah Barron to end her high school softball career with a double and drive in an insurance run for us is an amazing feeling for her. It goes all the way through. Just a bunch of amazing kids who did an amazing thing.”
Kreiger finished with nine strikeouts of her own, allowing seven hits, one walk and three earned runs.
“She’s been our workhorse, and she’s the one we’re going to match up against anybody,” Wilson said. “Give them kudos, though; they had some nice line-drive hits and put the ball in play better than we did. “Hayley’s been there for us all year, and even came up with a nice hit there in the last inning to end her high school career. She’s been on the varsity for four years and been just a key player for us for four years. That’s the kind of player you build around, and our senior group in general is just a great group of athletes that work hard and are super gritty.”
South Haven, making its first championship game appearance since 1979, finished 32-9.
PHOTOS: (Top) Escanaba players celebrate their first MHSAA softball championship Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Eskymos shortstop Taylor Gauthier applies a tag to a South Haven runner.
More Big Moments Ahead as Midland's Schloop Caps Career District Sweep
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2024
Grace Schloop has thrown the final pitch in four straight District Finals for the Midland softball team. But that doesn’t mean the lead-up to them got any easier.
“Absolutely not,” the Midland senior said. “I think, as I get older, I get more nervous for these games. As an upperclassman, there’s more expected of you. You have to do what people have seen you do, and you don’t want to fail.”
This past Saturday, Schloop did again what people have seen her do her entire career, striking out 14 batters in Midland’s 7-2 Division 1 District Final against arch-rival Midland Dow, adding to her school record total and keeping her senior season and tremendous Midland softball career alive.
Schloop has been a four-year star for the Chemics, re-writing the record books both as a pitcher and a hitter. Her 801 career strikeouts tops Midland’s list, as does the 294 she’s accumulated this season. She’s also set the school mark for home runs in a career (29) and season (11 as a sophomore) for the Chemics.
This spring, Schloop is hitting .426 with a .496 on-base percentage, 13 doubles, three home runs and 40 RBI for Midland. In the circle, she has a 1.01 earned-run average to go along with those 294 strikeouts in 145 1/3 innings pitched. She had a 19-strikeout game against Division 3 No. 4 Evart, which is also a school record.
“We knew there was a lot of talent there and that she had a high ceiling,” Midland softball coach Matt Starling said. “But I don’t know if we saw this coming. She worked her way to becoming the pitcher that she is. We knew she was going to be good, but this good – I’d love to tell you we knew this was going to be a thing. She’s put in the extra time to be this good. She’s really earned this.”
Schloop entered high school as someone the Chemics were almost immediately counting on to deliver, as – thanks to the pandemic wiping out the previous season – they didn’t have a pitcher on staff who had recorded an out in a varsity game.
Luckily for her, she had help when it came to transitioning to a higher level: her older sister Gabby, who was a senior on that 2021 team.
“I knew that it was very intense, and that I was going to have to take on a very different role than I had in middle school,” Grace Schloop said. “But I had my sister there with me, and I kept looking to her, and I had one of my best friends there, and they had so much faith in me. I honestly don’t think I would be where I am today had I not had (Gabby), or the other senior, Taylor Sanborn. They were both very intense and hard-working, great athletes. To be able to look up to that, we were able to push ourselves to be like them. I wanted to be like how they were.”
Gabby Schloop is playing shortstop at Northwood, while Grace has signed to play at Saginaw Valley State. The two are scheduled to meet next season.
“We have had many dinner talks – rivalry dinner talks – already,” Grace said. “The games are scheduled to be played at Northwood, and we have discussed it many times. Throughout the entire winter, I pitched to her, so she pretty much knows my weakness, and I know her weakness. She thinks I’m going to hit her. But I’m not going to.”
While her big sister has been away, Grace has taken on the task of being a role model for younger players, something she doesn’t take for granted.
“I help do pitching lessons with the little girls, and people around me say they look up to me,” she said. “It makes your heart so warm. That’s probably the coolest thing ever, that people look up to you.”
She’s providing an excellent example, not only with her in-game performances, but the work that goes into them. When Schloop entered high school, she was a power pitcher. Now, she has a full arsenal of pitches to get hitters out.
“She’s certainly a power pitcher, for sure, but she’s developed her secondary pitches now,” Starling said. “She has an element of changing her speed and has just become more refined with her pitches. Her movement has improved a lot since her ninth-grade year. As a ninth-grader, she could throw the ball hard, and you really can’t teach that. Her development of the other skills has been off the charts.”
The result has been plenty of wins for the Chemics, including the four-straight District titles, which was the goal; and the long list of records, which is a nice addition.
“Half of them, I didn’t even realize I was close to until it happened,” Schloop said. “Sometimes, I’d go home after a game and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, that was me. I did that.’ It feels very out of body. I’m just there to pitch and do what I need to do.”
Next on the to-do list is a matchup with Saginaw Valley League rival Grand Blanc in Saturday’s Regional Semifinal. The teams split their season series and shared the conference title along with Dow.
While Schloop is sure to be dealing with those same nerves heading into Saturday, history tells Starling that she’ll be more than ready for the moment.
“Her competitiveness, as with all kids when they get older and mature, she certainly has it,” Starling said. “She seems to relish those big moments.”
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 [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland pitcher Grace Schloop begins her windup during a game this season. (Middle) Schloop makes her move toward the plate. (Photos courtesy of the Midland athletic department.)