![](/sites/default/files/imported/Photos/160602_Fennell_2H.jpg)
Gladwin Slugger Clears Fence at Record Rate
June 2, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
GLADWIN — The outfield fence looked so far away, so unreachable whenever Gladwin senior Dayna Fennell stepped to the plate as a youngster.
And it was — back then.
"It was in high school the first time I hit one over," Fennell said. "When I was in Little League, I thought, 'I don't understand how people have the strength to hit one over.' When I hit my first home run, I was very surprised."
Nobody is surprised when Fennell clears the fences these days. In fact, it's almost disappointing for Gladwin players and fans when a game goes by and she doesn't hit a round-tripper.
With her 19th home run of the season last Saturday against Linden in a tournament at Ogemaw Heights, Fennell broke the MHSAA single-season record shared by Pentwater's Melinda Van Gillis (1979), Williamston's Camri Grace (2014) and Romeo's Madison Jones (2015).
The home run hit the top of the fence in left-center field and rolled over.
"I didn't even think it went over," Fennell said. "I just thought it would be a solid double. I thought it bounced inside the fence. Then I heard everyone cheering. I looked at the umpire while he was doing the whole circle motion; it was a home run. I was so ecstatic."
It was also an opportunity to exhale a bit. By hitting one home run in each of the three games of the Ogemaw Heights tournament, Fennell put the record pursuit behind her as Gladwin prepares for the Division 2 District on Saturday at Cadillac.
"It was actually a relief," Fennell said. "Everywhere I went, everyone's asking me how I was doing. It was a little bit of pressure. I'm glad I finally broke it."
The possibility of breaking the record became a hot topic in Gladwin when Fennell hit eight home runs in her first eight games. Before spring actually felt like spring, she eclipsed the school record of six that she set last year.
"I think I had 11 or so and thought there was no way I could hit eight more," she said. "Everyone was like, 'You've only got eight more.' I'm like, 'Yeah, I probably won't get it.' I never thought I was going to come close to it."
Fennell has tied or broken the school record in all four of her seasons with the Flying G's, equaling the modest former standard of three as a freshman and bumping it to four as a sophomore. With 32 career homers, she is tied for 10th on that MHSAA all-time list.
"My parents live 30 minutes away," Gladwin coach Jill Keefer said. "People are asking my dad about her. I'll be at the gas station, and people will say, 'I want to see her hit one out.' She's putting Gladwin on the map, in a sense, in softball."
Fennell has done a good job of handling the attention she's received for chasing and breaking the record, her coach said.
"She's very humble about it," Keefer said. "She just wants to play softball and wants to win. She's very passionate about the game. If she broke it, she broke it. Yes, she wanted to do it once she got that close to it. There was a little more hype the closer she got. People put pressure on her as she got close, even her teammates — 'C'mon, hit one today!' There were a few teams that didn't pitch to her, too; you had that factor. Now she's focused on winning Districts."
Fennell is a three-sport athlete, also playing volleyball and basketball for Gladwin. But no matter what sport was in season, she found a way to put in the work necessary to more than double her previous career home run total.
"Softball is my number one sport, my favorite sport always," Fennell said. "I had time to fit it in. I make time for it. Even if it's an hour, I go in and hit and do whatever I have to do. During the winter time, I was in the gym every weekend with my dad (Gladwin assistant coach Steven Fennell). I practiced hard when I went. I did extra reps."
Fennell is averaging one home run every 6.5 at bats. With 19 homers, 11 doubles and a triple among her 57 hits in 123 at bats, she has a whopping 1.032 slugging percentage. She has driven in 65 runs and is hitting .463. She has struck out only nine times, walking 16.
The fences on Gladwin's home field are 200 feet from home plate, but it's not as if Fennell is benefitting from a short porch. Nine of her home runs are at home and 10 have been on the road. She has come within inches of tacking on a few more home runs to her record total.
"We were at (Midland) Dow last Tuesday," Keefer said. "She hit the fence twice, and it was a 225-foot fence. If she'd been on our field, they would've been out. (Tuesday at Standish-Sterling) she hit the fence again, and it was a 214-foot fence."
Fennell is more than just a slugger. Playing primarily shortstop, she has a .900 fielding percentage. The versatile Fennell has also pitched and played catcher.
"She's a smart player," Keefer said. "She sees the field very well. She sees runners very well. She can pitch, she can catch, she can play anywhere in the field. I'd put her in the outfield, too. She has such a strong arm."
Fennell will continue her playing career at Delta College.
"They have a good dental assistant program that I'm looking into," she said. "A couple of my teammates from travel ball are going there. The coach seemed really interested and said I'd have a starting spot on the team."
Before she puts on a Delta uniform, she will try to win a District championship. The Flying G's are 29-9 heading into a District Semifinal matchup with Ogemaw Heights at noon Saturday at Cadillac. In the other semifinal, a Cadillac team that received honorable mention in the last coaches' rankings will face Gaylord at 10 a.m.
"That would be amazing to win, especially with Regionals being at home," Fennell said. "That would be awesome to have our whole crowd cheering us on."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. 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) Gladwin's Dayna Fennell prepares to connect with a pitch during this season's Beaverton Invitational. (Middle) Fennell throws to first base against Ithaca. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
![](/sites/default/files/imported/Photos/170609_Lakeshore_2H.jpg)
Lakeshore Full Strength, in Hunt Again
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
June 9, 2017
Still competitive and well coached, the Stevensville Lakeshore 2016 varsity softball season had the air sucked out of it shortly after it began. In early April, the Lancers lost their ace and their best glove to injury.
Shortstop Lindsay Zavoral, now a senior, tore an anterior cruciate ligament and was lost for the year. Top pitcher Taylor Simon’s nagging back problems — the result of a slipped disc — finally forced her to tap out in search of remedy to end her sophomore campaign.
The Lancers failed to advance from Districts for a second straight season.
This season, however, is what Lancers fans have grown accustomed to under the longtime leadership of coach Denny Dock. Lakeshore (30-6-1) won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship and defeated St. Joseph 6-0 in the Division 2 District Semifinal last weekend before topping South Haven 3-0 in the championship game. It was Dock’s 19th District title in his 28 years in charge of the program.
Some of the highlights from the District tourney included Sierra Ciesielski’s home run and two RBI, Zavoral’s pair of doubles and Simon’s complete-game shutout against the Bears. She allowed only three hits and struck out four. Simon threw another seven innings in the victory over South Haven, collecting eight strikeouts and giving up just two hits. Zovoral connected for three singles, and Ciesielski singled and tripled and finished with one run driven in.
Stevensville Lakeshore, which ended last season in the District semis, faces No. 4 Vicksburg on Saturday in the Regional Semifinals at Edwardsburg. Vicksburg put together a 16-2 record in the Wolverine Conference for a league title. The Bulldogs fell to Richmond 2-0 in the 2016 Division 2 championship game.
“That has certainly solidified our ball club,” Dock said of Zavoral and Simon returning this spring. “That’s kind of where we’re at right now. It’s not surprising to me at all (we’re back in the Regional tournament). I knew the caliber of kids those two were when we lost them. Getting them back put us in pretty good shape. (Zavoral) is an inspiration to the whole team.”
“It’s amazing to be back on the field this year,” Zavoral said. “After going through surgery, I didn’t realize how emotionally hard it would be not being able to finish the season with my team last year. It just gave me more motivation to work through the summer and get back even stronger this year.”
Simon has put together a phenomenal junior season – especially considering the No. 6-ranked Lancers’ tough schedule – with a 17-5-1 record and a 1.90 ERA in the circle. She started in a 0-0 tie in nine innings against Division 1 honorable mention Caledonia, and faced Mattawan, which is ranked No. 5 in Division 1, three times. She started four games against honorable mention Portage Central and picked up a win against Crown Point, which is headed to the Indiana Class 4A state finals.
“I realized how much I missed it,” Simon said of returning healthy this spring. “You want to be out there so bad.”
Simon has struck out 191 batters over 147 innings. She’s been pretty effective with a bat in her hand, too, entering this weekend with a .426 batting average and 40 RBI (second on the team in both categories).
“She has taken on the big dogs,” Dock said. “She is really a bulldog out there; I’ll tell you that. She throws a nice rise ball. I think the main thing she has been able to do is spot her pitches.”
The Lancers’ defense has been outstanding this season as junior Cassidy Zavoral has moved back to her natural position at third base after filling in at shortstop for her sister last year. Senior Olivia Freehling was an all-state selection (designated player) in 2016 and has staffed first base this year. Freehling, who also played golf and hockey, leads the squad with a .432 average and 43 RBI.
“Our defense has been really good this year,” Freehling said. “We’re a lot stronger having Lindsay back at shortstop. It makes a huge difference. We’re going into (Saturday) 100 percent confident.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Stevensville Lakeshore shortstop Lindsay Zavoral receives the ball as a runner gets to second base during a game this season. (Middle) Taylor Simon prepares to unload a pitch against St. Joseph this spring. (Photos by Don Campbell/St. Joseph Herald-Palladium.)