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.

Click for the full box score.

VIDEO: Gabi Salo struck out the first eight batters she faced and gets her 13th strikeout here to finish Escanaba's 5-0 win.

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.

Aces Shine for Monroe St. Mary, Bronson

June 12, 2015

By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING – It may not have been a perfect game.

But the no-hitter tossed by Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central sophomore Meghan Beaubien on Friday was impressive enough.

She entered the Division 3 Semifinal against Pinconning with nine no-hitters this season, including five perfect games, and reaching double digits by silencing the Spartans’ bats to lead St. Mary to a 6-0 win and berth in Saturday’s championship game.

Beaubien, who also averages 16 strikeouts per game, hit her average as she fanned 16 batters without allowing a walk.

Only a pair of third-inning errors prevented Beaubien from notching a perfect game. Those errors came at the start of the inning and gave Pinconning (30-14) a shot of momentum by putting runners on the corners with no outs. Beaubien, however, took the air out of that momentum by striking out the next two batters and inducing the third out on a fly ball to center field.

“That was a big situation to get out of,” said Beaubien, when asked about the jam she was in during the third inning. “They had runners on first and third with no out. They had their number nine hitter coming up, then it was back to the top of the order. So it was a big deal to get out of.”

Beaubien had a little wiggle room to work with thanks to a four-run first inning that staked St. Mary to a 4-0 lead.

With two outs and one runner on base, St. Mary (36-5) strung together four straight hits. Julianne Venier doubled in the first run, and Keeley Taft followed with an RBI single to give the Kestrels a 2-0 lead. Danielle Michael followed with a run-scoring double, and Michaela Rogers laced an RBI single to close out the scoring.

“The early runs help a lot,” said Monroe St. Mary coach John Morningstar. “We feel that if we get three or four runs, Meghan is pretty much automatic. Obviously it made it a lot easier with the early runs. It gave everyone some breathing room.”

Having Beaubien in the circle firing strikes also made it easier for the St. Mary players and coaches to take a breath. Beaubien entered the game with a Monroe County record 430 strikeouts to her credit. 

“This is what she does,” Morningstar said. “She averages 16 strikeouts a game. This was her 10th no-hitter, and she has five perfect games. At the level of which she is pitching, what she does out there does not surprise me. Obviously you don’t expect a no hitter or a perfect game, and it’s unfair to her to expect one.”

For Beaubien, who has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan, no-hitter number 10 was more than special – even if it wasn’t a perfect game. 

“This is definitely up there,” Beaubien said. “To get a no-hitter in the state semifinals and get us into the state championship game is a pretty big deal. I never try to go out and throw a no-hitter and don’t expect it, but I do expect a lot out of myself when I go out there.”   

The shutout also gave the Kestrels plenty of momentum heading into Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. title game against Bronson. 

“To have a no-hitter in the state semifinals, it gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow,” Beaubien said.

Click for the box score.

Bronson 5, Montague 0

With more than half its roster freshmen, including four starters, the future looked promising for the Vikings (37-7) at the start of the season. 

That future arrived early, as halfway through the season Bronson coach Becky Gray knew she had a team capable of accomplishing special things.

Bronson accomplished something very special during Friday’s Semifinal – earn its first MHSAA softball championship game berth. 

“At the beginning of the year, I honestly didn’t know how good we would be,” Gray said. “We graduated five seniors from last year, and I did not know how the freshmen would do. As the season went on, I knew it was a possibility.”

It also was during midseason that senior pitcher Skyler Sobeski took her game to the next level. Already an accomplished pitcher, Sobeski began a run in mid-May that saw her allow only one earned run through the end of the regular season and up through Friday’s win. 

Sobeski scattered two hits and struck out 12 Montague batters en route to the shutout.

“It was definitely exciting pitching in front of all these people here,” Sobeski said. “I never pitched in front of a crowd this big before.” 

Sobeski relied on her normal pitches to get the job done.

“I was throwing my curves and rises,” Sobeski said. “That is what I usually throw.” 

Sobeski also pitched with the lead after the first inning. Bronson took a 1-0 advantage as Kelsey Robinson led off with a walk and then came in to score on an error after a sacrifice bunt by Hannah Hoover.

Bronson added four insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman Payton Robinson started the rally with a single. Fellow freshmen Kiana Mayer then reached on an error, and freshman Kaitlyn Czajkowski added another single. Robinson then delivered a two-run single, breaking the game open, and Sobeski later helped her own cause with a two-run single to close out the scoring. 

The win was the 18th in a row for Bronson, and the Vikings have outscored their six playoff foes by a 49-1 margin. Montague, making its first Semifinal appearance, finished 22-13.

Click for the box score.       

PHOTOS: (Top) Monroe St. Mary’s Meghan Beaubien prepares to unleash a pitch during Friday’s Semifinal win. (Middle) A Bronson runner crosses the plate safely as the Vikings also earned a shutout in their Semifinal.