![Hudsonville’s Lauren Luchies yells to her teammates after reaching third base during Thursday’s Division 1 Semifinal win.](/sites/default/files/2024-06/240613_D1s_2H.png)
Hudsonville, Lake Orion Bats Heat Up to Set Up Saturday Title Decider
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2024
EAST LANSING – Thursday’s second Division 1 Semifinal started as a classic pitching duel between the top-two ranked teams.
That was until Hudsonville showcased its potent offense.
The No. 2 Eagles erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning en route to a 10-0 win in six over top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy at Secchia Stadium.
Hudsonville (41-0) remained unbeaten and will meet Lake Orion in Saturday’s 10 a.m. Division 1 Final. The Eagles are seeking their first Finals championship since 2012.
Lake Orion rallied to defeat South Lyon, 5-4, in the first Semifinal.
“We knew going in that she was a very good pitcher and we would need to have someone run into (it) and win 1-0,” Eagles coach Tom Vruggink said of Mercy ace Kaitlyn Pallozzi, who entered this week with a 0.44 ERA this season and has been nearly unbeatable over her first three seasons. “That’s what we were playing for, but once the floodgates opened, it just opened up. We’ll take it; it was awesome.”
Pallozzi held the Eagles hitless and recorded eight strikeouts before running into trouble in the fifth inning. Hudsonville snapped the scoreless game, thanks in part to a couple Mercy miscues and a string of clutch hits.
Lauren Luchies reached on an infield pop fly that Mercy lost in the sun. She advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a Mercy throwing error.
Later in the inning, sophomore Tessa Heffelbower walloped a long shot off the wall that resulted in a bases-clearing triple and 4-0 lead.
“I haven’t had a big hit like that before,” Heffelbower said. “I knew it was deep enough to score one run, but didn’t realize how far it actually went. I think we realized after we scored those four runs that she was hittable, and we kept it rolling.”
Ava Gardner followed with a RBI double off the wall, and then Autumn Dennis slapped an RBI single to left field. Luchies’ RBI double completed the inning.
Heffelbower added a two-out RBI double, and senior Elly Koopman slugged a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
“We were at the top of the order, which is where we love to live, and that's where we eat,” Vruggink said. “Megan Beemer walked, Heffelbower hit the triple, and all of a sudden we’re up 4-0.
“We have three or four kids that totally love fast pitching, and they just thrive on fast pitching.”
Koopman had a no-hitter going until giving up a two-out single in the final inning.
She was thrilled to see the bats break out and give her a cushion.
“That was so amazing because then there’s not as much pressure on me and my defense,” Koopman said. “We can just play freely and do our thing.
“For us, this is really special because we tried to make this run two years ago and got this close and lost. This year it’s just meant to be, and we’re taking it one game at a time.”
The Marlins (38-2) couldn’t recover from the fifth-inning barrage by the Eagles and lost for only the second time all season. They had reached the Semifinals with three consecutive shutouts.
“We didn’t move on the ball, we got a little rattled and weren’t able to come out of that,” Mercy coach Corey Burras said. “It was compounded errors, and that affected our confidence. It’s unfortunate, but part of the game.
“It was one or two bad innings out of maybe 250 (innings). Keep it in perspective. We have a very powerful team, but we didn't click today. We made good contact, but their pitcher pitched great and it just didn't happen. Kudos to them.”
Lake Orion 5, South Lyon 4
Lake Orion is headed to its first Final after upsetting third-ranked South Lyon. The Dragons (38-5) took advantage of a key injury to South Lyon ace Ava Bradshaw to rally from an early 4-0 deficit.
Bradshaw, who’s headed to Duke, reaggravated a prior knee injury in the top of the second inning after smacking a three-run homer.
She returned to the mound in the bottom of the frame, but faced only two batters before departing.
“Obviously we knew we were going to be facing slower pitching,” Lake Orion senior Grace Luby said. “All of us were like, ‘We just have to capitalize on this moment. We have to do the best of our abilities to score these runs.’ We did it, we scored five runs, and it was a great feeling.
“This team is amazing, and the girls work hard in the offseason and during the season. Our coaches do everything for us, and our hard work paid off.”
Lake Orion loaded the bases in the second inning and scored a pair of runs on RBI singles by Madison Eckert and Addy Dukas to trim the South Lyon lead to 4-2. Sydney Bell’s sacrifice fly made it 4-3.
Lake Orion grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third inning. A leadoff double from Luby, and then a pair of sacrifice flies from Anna Gardner and Alexis Hazen gave the Dragons a 5-4 edge.
Junior pitcher Rylee Limberger settled down after the second inning and limited the Lions to no runs and two hits the rest of the way.
“We played really good defense, that’s our signature, and our pitching was solid,” Lake Orion coach Joe Woityra said. “I think we would've gotten to her (Bradshaw) a little, but being down four runs is tough.
“I knew we would have chipped away and played 21 outs and would not have quit, but we took advantage of the situation right away.”
Bradshaw helped South Lyon (33-7-1) win the 2021 Final as a freshman, and was hoping to close her career with a chance to win another.
The Lions had recorded four shutouts over their last five games.
“I was really happy that it was a 4-0 game, and I knew that our pitcher could come in and pitch to contact and get a lot of outs,” South Lyon coach Dave Langlois said. “It was a matter of how we responded and how Lake Orion responded, and to their credit, they came in, saw that opportunity, and pounced on it.
“On the flip side, I’m very proud that this wasn't a 12-4 situation. We had a chance to stay in the game all seven innings.”
Lake Orion played in the Semifinals for the second straight year after losing to eventual champion Hartland a year ago.
Dukus, Eckert and Ellie Britt each had two hits for the Dragons.
“We preach win the little battles, and that’s what we’re doing and have been doing all year,” Woityra said. “One more battle.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hudsonville’s Lauren Luchies yells to her teammates after reaching third base during Thursday’s Division 1 Semifinal win. (Middle) Lake Orion’s Anna Gardner makes a throw to first base during her team’s victory.
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Talented Escanaba Pursuing Title Repeat
May 14, 2019
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA – Ever since softball became part of the Escanaba High School athletic program in 1997, it has been among the best and most consistent offerings in the state.
Last year the Eskymos confirmed their elite prep status by winning the MHSAA Division 2 title, and they again are in the thick of this year's championship picture. Escanaba belted South Haven 5-0 in last season’s Final, after clipping Eaton Rapids 2-0 in the Semifinal two days before.
The Eskymos won their final 13 games last year to finish 31-3. Gabi Salo, then a sophomore, fanned 11 of the title game's opening 13 batters and allowed three hits while punching out 13 batters total. Salo and Escanaba yielded just two runs over seven postseason games. The six EHS seniors on that team compiled a 131-18 record during their four seasons.
Escanaba previously was Division 1 runner-up in 2003 and lost in Division 2 Semifinals in 2016 and 2017.
Salo has helped the Eskymos to a 15-1 record in this weather-marred spring, and Escanaba was ranked No. 1 in the state before losing to Kent State recruit Gabbie Sherman and Division 3 top-rated Millington 3-0 on Friday in Escanaba. Sherman, another of the state's prime pitchers, also throttled Escanaba 2-1 last year.
The Eskymos rebounded from Friday's loss in grand style on a frigid Saturday, whipping Marshfield, Wis., 9-5 and then clipping arch-rival Gladstone 7-0 behind a perfect game by Salo, who whiffed 14 batters.
Gladstone manager John Nevala said "if her control is good and she can get the corner called, she can be called unhittable. We had been hitting the ball pretty good until we faced Gabi."
Salo demonstrated better location and control against Gladstone than the previous night's rare loss. "She is in a class of her own," said Nevala. "She has to be one of the top pitchers in the state. She had very good movement.
"She has excellent speed (around 64-65 mph) and an excellent changeup. She changes speeds so well. She probably has three different speeds. You can't really dig in on one location at the plate."
This season Salo is 10-1 with two saves and sports a dominating 0.02 ERA. She has struck out 136 batters in 69 2/3 innings, but has also issued eight walks and hit four batters during wicked spring conditions the opening month. (NOTE: After a pair of no-hitters Monday and Tuesday against Marquette and Gladstone, respectively, Salo is 12-1 with 161 strikeouts in just under 84 innings pitched.)
A University of Wisconsin recruit since last spring, Salo felt she threw well against Millington and Gladstone, but indicated she was "pretty tight" in the freezing opener. She said her curveball and changeup worked better against Gladstone.
She didn't pay attention to keeping Gladstone off the bases. "I try not to think about those things. I feel like it is a jinx," she said.
Salo worked hard last year to develop her back-breaking change-up and now terms it her favorite pitch. "It is spot-on," she said. "It throws the hitters off their game. I go out, focus and attack the hitter. I like getting swinging strikes." She is not afraid to use her change on a 3-2 count.
She fires her fastball down-and-in or inside-and-high and loves to get her pitches inside on the batter's fists.
The Escanaba first-year manager is her father, Gary, who was the pitching coach for the Eskymos last year under Jamie Segorski, who resigned as coach just as practice began this spring. Gary and Gabi have been together for several years on different summer travel teams.
He signals the pitches from his dugout perch, using input from his daughter and junior catcher and Ferris State commit Dakota Cloutier, who also handled that spot last season.
Senior right fielder Lexi Chaillier, a three-sport, four-year standout, leads the Eskymos with a .481 batting average and five home runs. Gabi Salo leads with 18 RBI and hits .378, while sophomore first baseman-pitcher Nicole Kamin is hitting .477 with 14 runs driven in. Cloutier is hitting .356 with 12 RBI.
Expect that quartet to lead the way this weekend when the Eskymos play in a highly-competitive 20-team invitational tournament in Ann Arbor. The strong field is what the Eskymos search for in compiling a schedule, with trips into Wisconsin and lower Michigan to find high-quality opponents.
Referring to other top hurlers, along with Millington's circle ace, Gary Salo said "we want to go up against elite pitching if we want to go to the next level." And now, with a state title, he said the Eskymos know "we are going to get everybody's best game."
After Friday's loss and the twin wins Saturday, the Escanaba skipper said "our kids are very resilient. We licked our wounds."
Much of the high school program's success is credit to a tremendous Little League program. Gabi Salo began pitching at age 10 when her youth coach asked if anyone wanted to throw. For many years she has received extensive coaching from Pat Brower in Ann Arbor. "He has developed Gabi into the pitcher she is," said her dad. "It is well worth driving six-and-a-half hours each way."
Gabi Salo began her travel ball experience with the Escanaba Heartbreakers at age 10, then joined downstate teams, playing with Wixom Finesse the past three summers. The opportunity to play against quality travel teams in addition to high school has been crucial to her development.
Travel ball has taken the Salos to Atlanta, Huntington Beach, Calif. and Boulder, Colo. in addition to such destinations as the Grand Canyon. Gary Salo drives the family RV everywhere, with just father-daughter on most jaunts.
"Softball has given us a summer-long vacation," said Gary Salo.
"Definitely travel ball has helped me see parts of the country I would never get to see," said Gabi, who plans to enter the nursing field at UW and works at Christian Park Nursing in Escanaba. She also bowled for EHS and participates in dance, saying she would skip a softball game but would not skip a dance recital.
"The travel ball and high school competition is pretty equal," she said. "We play the best competition there is in the country."
Escanaba, which also excels in the classroom (a state-best 3.83 GPA), knows a title repeat will be difficult to achieve because teams like Richmond, Muskegon Oakridge, Eaton Rapids, Spring Lake, Detroit Country Day, Freeland and Stevensville Lakeshore are very dangerous.
"It is not a seven-game series. They are seven-inning games," Gary Salo said of the postseason dynamics.
"A lot of teams are playing really, really well," he said. "Any team has the opportunity to get lucky like we did."
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012 and currently is in a second stint as the interim in that position. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gabi Salo makes her move toward the plate during last weekend’s Escanaba Invitational. (Middle) A championship banner at the Eskymos’ home field celebrates last season’s Division 2 championship. (Below) Gary Salo has taken over the varsity this spring. (Photos by Dennis Grall.)