Lakeshore Thrives Under Pressure Again in Title-Clinching Comeback Win

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

June 18, 2022

EAST LANSING – The Stevensville Lakeshore softball team has become accustomed to playing in close games.

Saturday’s Division 2 Final provided another tightly-contested matchup until the Lancers pulled away in the late innings.

The Lancers (40-4) rallied to defeat Trenton 6-2 at Secchia Stadium and won the program’s eighth Finals championship and first since 2014. 

Lakeshore’s previous three games all were decided by one run, and this one wasn’t decided until the Lancers scored six runs over the final three innings to erase a 2-0 deficit.

“We tried to instill in the team that pressure wasn't a hardship, it was an honor,” said Lancers senior Anna Chellman, who had two hits and two RBI.

“It was an awesome opportunity to be put in these high-pressure situations because that’s how you make it through to the state finals.”

Chellman and senior Gianna Kerschbaum were on the 2019 squad that lost to Escanaba, 7-3, in the Division 2 Final.

“I can’t fathom this,” Chellman said. “I was here as a freshman when we got second, and Gianna and I have been dreaming about this since that day we lost. Just the way we were able to work through COVID and our junior year. Everyone was on board, and we knew we could pull together and win this.”

Trenton (33-11) was in a Final for the first time since 2005 and seeking its first championship.

The Trojans grabbed the early lead with RBI singles from Annika Segedi and Aleah Tanguay in the third and fourth innings, respectively.

The Lancers, however, mounted a comeback in the top of the fifth.

A single from Gabby Solloway and an error scored two to knot the score at 2-2. Solloway advanced to third on the error and then scored the go-ahead run on a ground out.

Lakeshore/Trenton softball“We had one hit every inning early so we saw that we could hit her,” Chellman said. “If we kept attacking her then we knew it would happen, and it did. Gabby had a great hit, and it broke it open for all of us.”

Lakeshore extended its lead in the sixth inning thanks to a leadoff double by Pallas Dominion, who scored on a fielder’s choice. 

The Lancers added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh. A double by Chellman that glanced off the glove of the left fielder scored Kerschbaum, and a sacrifice fly from Eden Gray brought home Solloway. 

Lakeshore coach Denny Dock, the third-winningest in MHSAA softball history, pointed to his defense as the turning point after his team fell behind early.

“We’ve played some unbelievable teams and we’ve played unbelievable defense, especially the last half of the year,” Dock said. “From the third inning on I thought defense started to carry us again like it has been, and a huge play was Eva (Kerschbaum) throwing that girl out at second base, and then the last out Gianna makes a phenomenal running catch to get that third out.”

Junior Ava Mullen and sophomore Avery Atwood combined to allow six hits and one earned run. They struck out six and walked one.

“We pitched around the plate, and both girls did fine,” Dock said. “It’s been that way all year with them, and we just hung on and pitched a great seventh (inning).”

Trenton coach Rick Tanguay was pleased with where his team stood after four innings, but two errors proved pivotal in the Lancers’ comeback.

“We battled, and we had them, but we made a couple of mistakes and that’s what cost us,” Tanguay said. “We just made a couple bad decisions on a couple of balls, but the girls were trying their hardest.

“We came into the season with high hopes. We lost a very good player (Michigan recruit Lillian Vallimont, who missed the season with an injury) before the season started, but this team responded and went to the Finals without her. I'm proud of them.”

Segedi, a sophomore, was the only Trojan to collect multiple hits.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Stevensville Lakeshore raises its championship trophy after Saturday’s Division 2 Final win. (Middle) Lancers catcher Natalia Najera puts a tag on Trenton’s Jordyn Emery (3).

Multiple Aces Pay Off as Comets Reign

June 15, 2013

By Bill Khan

Special to Second Half

 

BATTLE CREEK — Most softball teams ride one dominant pitcher and hope for the best.

 

It never hurts to have an insurance policy, however, because even the best pitchers have an off day.

 

Splitting the pitching duties between two girls all season paid off for Kalamazoo Christian on Saturday in a 16-6 victory over Ubly in the MHSAA Division 4 championship game at Bailey Park.

 

When Ubly’s first seven batters reached base in a six-run third inning, senior Stephanie VanderLugt was pulled in favor of junior Bekah VanDam.

 

It was hardly a desperate move for the top-ranked Comets.

 

VanDam didn’t allow a run in four innings, giving up three hits and striking out three.

Coming into the game, VanDam (15-3) pitched 114 2/3 innings in 20 games.

 

VanderLugt (18-4) pitched 127 1/3 innings in 22 games, starting every game after Districts.

 

“I went with Stephanie because it was one game at a time, and we went with her strengths over Bekah’s,” Kalamazoo Christian coach Karla Reno said. “I had to make a decision between the two. Bekah knew her job was to be ready to go in on relief if needed, and go in and throw hard and throw low. That’s exactly what she did.”

 

While both players are accustomed to pitching regularly, one rarely has to relieve the other. VanDam was playing third base when she got the call to enter the pitching circle.

 

“It’s unexpected, for sure, but I came in ready to go,” VanDam said. “My adrenaline was going. Normally either one of us is on; she struggled.”

 

If VanderLugt was upset about her pitching performance, she didn’t let it show when she came to the plate. She finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, including a two-run single that broke a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the third. She finished with a team-high 46 RBI.

 

“I knew Bekah could do it,” VanderLugt said. “I knew she’s tough.

 

“I had to get that out of my mind, because if that stayed with me, I never would’ve performed well. I had to suck it up for the team.”

 

Kalamazoo Christian pounced on Ubly, scoring six runs in the first inning. The Comets’ first six batters reached base.

 

That’s usually an insurmountable lead in championship softball, but Ubly stormed back with six runs in the third, tying the game on a two-run single by Hailey Kubacki. VanDam entered after Kubacki’s hit, retiring three in a row to end the inning.

 

“Nerves took over right away, and you could tell that,” Ubly coach Courtney Dekoski said. “The girls never lie down. I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them.”

 

Kalamazoo Christian took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning. The Comets scored twice in the fifth and ended the game via the 10-run mercy rule with five in the sixth. A sacrifice fly by VanderLugt scored the final run.

 

Kalamazoo Christian’s run total is the second-most in an MHSAA Final and the 22 combined runs also rank second. Both marks were set in Byron’s 17-10 victory over Kalamazoo Christian in the 1976 Class C title game.

 

“It was crazy,” VanderLugt said. “They took advantage of what we did wrong, and we did the same for them. I give them a lot of credit for battling when we got up so early.”

 

Tori Sides was 3-for-5 and scored three runs for the Comets (33-7). Kara Gjeltema and McKena Razenberg were both 2-for-4 with two RBI.

 

Kubacki was 2-for-2 with two RBI for Ubly, which hadn’t won a Regional until this season.

 

Click for a full box score.

 

PHOTOS: (Top) A Kalamazoo Christian runner slides into third base during her team's 16-6 victory. (Middle) Comets hitter Bekah VanDam prepares to make contact with a pitch while teammate McKena Razenberg (4) warms up in the on-deck circle. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)