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.)
Veteran Holton Looks to Take Next Steps
April 12, 2017
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Holton ace Mikaela Baker couldn’t wait to pitch in last year’s MHSAA Division 4 Softball Quarterfinals against top-ranked Coleman.
So when her coach informed her a couple of hours before the showdown that he was going with 14-year-old freshman Haylee Brant instead, Baker thought he was kidding.
“I was pretty mad and couldn’t understand why he would do that,” said Baker, now a senior, thinking back to Holton’s 6-3 upset of Coleman, which was repeatedly frustrated by Brant’s off-speed pitches. “It worked out perfect. I’m really glad that we have both of us; it makes us a better team and that game proved it.”
Baker is now a senior and Brant a sophomore, and the duo has Holton hoping to get back to the Division 4 Semifinals for the third straight year – and then take the final two steps.
Holton, a rural school with 265 students in northeastern Muskegon County, was a volleyball powerhouse in the early 1990s, finishing Class C runner-up in 1993 and winning the title in 1994. The Red Devils also fielded outstanding football and baseball teams about a decade ago, including a memorable run to the 2006 Division 4 baseball championship game, where powerhouse Homer rallied for a 3-2 victory.
These days, Holton is making its biggest impact on the statewide sports scene on the softball diamond.
Holton made it to the Class C Semifinals in 2013, then posted a 37-0 record in 2015 with a senior-laden roster, before falling to powerhouse Unionville-Sebewaing in the Semifinals at Michigan State University. The Red Devils made a real statement about the strength of their program last spring, overcoming the loss of six key seniors and double-digit losses in the regular season to get back to the Semifinals before losing 2-0 to Indian River Inland Lakes. Holton finished 29-13 last year.
“Last year, we weren’t expected to be very good, and for a while we weren’t real good,” said third-year Holton coach Kirk Younts, himself a 1990 Holton graduate. “But we kept getting better and made another great run. It’s different now. We know we have a big bullseye on us, but we’re excited to get going.”
This spring, enthusiasm remains high with the return of all but three seniors off of last year’s final four team – including the “two Bs” on the mound, Baker and Brant.
Baker, the harder thrower of the two, finished last season with a 13-5 record and 2.93 ERA. She has worked tirelessly during the offseason with her pitching coach, Kelsey Bandstra, and comes into this season with five pitches and more pinpoint control.
Brant was 12-6 with a 2.36 ERA in her freshman year on the varsity and continues to improve both her speed and presence on the mound. Her signature win remains her complete-game gem over Coleman in last year’s Quarterfinals, and starting her in that crucial game drew coaching praise for Younts from his Coleman counterpart.
“It took a couple innings to get back down to her speed,” said Coleman coach Chad Klopf after getting ousted by Holton in the Quarterfinals for the second straight year. “We’ve seen some pretty good pitching the last few weeks. Good move.”
Younts will continue to use both pitchers this spring, but he believes his team’s biggest improvement will come at the plate.
Among the big bats returning to Holton’s lineup are senior centerfielder Emily Larabee (.520 batting average, 44 stolen bases), sophomore catcher Morgan Murat (.400 average, 44 RBI) and senior outfielder Shelbey Younts (.373 average). Younts is the coach’s daughter and the younger sister of Rachel Younts, an all-state player on Holton’s 2015 team who now plays softball at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.
“We have nine tough hitters this year, so we feel like we can be putting pressure on the other team all the time,” said Coach Younts, whose brother, Jeff, is Holton’s junior varsity coach. “I credit that to all the work these girls have done in the weight room.”
Among the other bats to watch in the Red Devils’ lineup are sophomore shortstop Kaylie Piper and seniors Courtney Slater, Micheylah Ross and Alicia Dykman.
The excitement surrounding Holton softball is evident all over town, starting with a successful golf outing in September and a breakfast fundraiser in March. Recently Holton, despite being one of the smallest schools in the Muskegon area, ran away with MLive’s first area “Team of the Week” poll with 5,381 votes – more than 61 percent of the total votes cast.
The team bonded further on a spring break trip to Gulf Shores, Ala., where, among other things, the Red Devils watched South Alabama’s college team play – an experience that made the Red Devils even more excited to get started.
Baker, who plans to attend Grand Valley State this fall, is determined to enjoy every minute of her final sports season at Holton, which she hopes will end one game later than the past two springs – in the Division 4 championship game on June 17.
She is one of many three-sport athletes (volleyball, basketball, softball) on Holton’s roster who have formed a special bond over the past four years of wins and losses and ups and downs.
“We have spent a lot of time together, and we are really close,” Baker said. “A lot of little girls in Holton really look up to us, which is pretty cool. We just want to finish strong.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Holton players cheer on a teammate during last season’s Division 4 Semifinal while Mikaela Baker preps in the on-deck circle. (Middle) Catcher Morgan Murat takes a swing against Indian River Inland Lakes.