Leaders Guide D3 Contenders Thru Semis
June 17, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — The last thing Marissa VanDenBerg wanted to talk about was her game-winning triple.
She wanted to give credit to Grandville Calvin Christian teammate Kennedy Stevens, the No. 9 hitter whose game-tying single made VanDenBerg’s heroics possible.
She also didn't mind talking about the two big defensive plays she made to snare foul balls from her shortstop position, one of which was responsible for the bandage wrapped around her left forearm.
"I'm just used to getting injured," VanDenBerg said. "It's OK. It's fine. It happens."
What hasn't happened for the Squires since 1994 is a trip to an MHSAA softball championship game, a drought that ended with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over Millington on Friday in the Division 3 Semifinals at Michigan State University. Calvin Christian (33-10) will face reigning champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central for the title at 3 p.m. Saturday at MSU's Secchia Stadium.
St. Mary (27-5) beat Gladstone, 13-0, in five innings in the other Semifinal.
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, unranked Calvin Christian scored three runs to hand fifth-ranked Millington (42-2) only its second loss of the season and end the Cardinals' 31-game winning streak. Stevens tied it with a two-out single to right, and VanDenBerg broke the deadlock with a two-run triple to center field.
Stevens, the No. 9 hitter, has the lowest average among the Squires' starters at .293. But with Millington pitcher Taylor Wright about to strand runners in scoring position for the third straight inning, Stevens lined a single to right field to bring home Kendall Bouma with the tying run.
"To be honest, I haven't had a hit that big in a long time," Stevens said. "It means a lot. I didn't really know where I hit it until after I came back to the dugout and people told me. With how powerful their crowd was, there was a lot of noise going on and distraction. You really have to focus. It's hard at times."
VanDenBerg, the only senior who played for the Squires on Friday, stepped up and crushed a pitch to center field. The Cardinals’ center fielder took one step in before running back to chase the fly ball, which just eluded her outstretched glove short of the warning track. Jaycie Bos, who walked, and Stevens scored to put Calvin Christian ahead, 4-2.
"I give all the credit to Kennedy Stevens, I really do," VanDenBerg said. "I love it when she hits the right side. She starts it off for us. Down in the order, they're awesome. They're the ones who get us going. Our top really didn't do well today. Kennedy's great. I'm so proud of her. I give all the credit to her."
A lot of credit also was directed back at VanDenBerg, not only for her game-winning triple, not only for her two great plays to catch foul balls, but for the leadership she provides an extremely young team. Calvin Christian had seven sophomores, two juniors and a senior in its 10-player lineup (including designated player) on Friday against a freshman-laden Millington team.
"She's so positive and energetic and always seems to know what to say at the right time," Calvin Christian coach Mike Gruppen said. "Then she comes up with big plays. She leads in all ways with her verbal leadership and her leadership on the field. It's unbelievable."
Stevens is one of the sophomores who have benefitted from VanDenBerg's guidance throughout an up-and-down season in which the Squires lost 10 games. Stevens said that VanDenBerg's poise was particularly important as the Squires went deep into the game, still trailing by a run.
"It was hard to pick us back up," Stevens said. "You always have those doubts going through your head. You have a whole team cheering you on and backing you up, especially our shortstop. Marissa VanDenBerg helped a lot, picking us up and bringing us together. She brought us up when we were down. That helped a lot, having a leader like that on our team. She's always talking to us, always cheering us on."
Scoring any runs against Millington was going to be a difficult chore, considering the Cardinals came into the game with eight straight shutouts, outscoring six postseason opponents by a combined 59-0 margin.
That shutout streak ended quickly, as Calvin Christian took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. VanDenBerg led off by reaching base on an error, scoring on a bases-loaded single by Kim Moelker. There could have been more damage in the inning, but Kaleigh Whitcomb was thrown out at the plate for the second out while trying to score on the play.
Millington responded in the top of the second inning, as Sydney Bishop led off with a single and scored when the ball was thrown around following an infield single by Kayli Leix.
A dropped infield popup opened the door for Millington to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Taylor Rueger reached on the error, was bunted to second by Taylor Wright and scored on a two-out single to center field by Leix.
Wright escaped a huge jam in the fifth inning. With runners on second and third and one out, she struck out the next two batters to keep Millington ahead by one.
The Cardinals couldn't continue to hold off the Squires, however.
Wright got a strikeout to begin the sixth before Bouma singled and Bos walked. Wright got another strikeout to move within one out of getting out of trouble again before Stevens and VanDenBerg came through with their big hits.
Calvin Christian's rally denied Millington its first appearance in an MHSAA championship game in any sport. The Cardinals made the 1993 Class B volleyball Semifinals, losing to Marysville. Their football team reached the Semifinals in 1994, 1999, 2009 and 2010. The softball team never won a Regional title before this season, getting to the Semifinals despite having five freshmen among nine starters and eight freshmen on a 12-player roster.
"We definitely have girls coming up through our program now," seventh-year Millington coach Greg Hudie said. "We built a love for softball in Millington in the last couple years. We have kids coming back and more kids coming up. The future is very bright."
One of the few losses for the Cardinals will be a key one. Wright, one of only two seniors on the team, had 12 strikeouts Friday. The loss was her first after 22 victories. Millington's only previous loss came against Division 1 10th-ranked 1 Canton in a game in which Wright didn't pitch.
"She's been a role model for a lot of great young pitchers coming up," Hudie said. "We've got some really great pitching coming up. We've got a great freshman pitcher who was our third baseman today (Gabbie Sherman). We've got some lower-level pitchers who absolutely adore Taylor. She made them want to work harder. The wins she's picked up, she means a lot to us. She'll be hard to replace, for sure, but she started all this."
Calvin Christian will play in its fifth MHSAA championship game. The Squires won Class C titles in 1988 and 1993.
Monroe St. Mary 13, Gladstone 0
Meghan Beaubien can admit it now.
"I wouldn't tell anybody, but last year I was pretty nervous," she said. "In both games, I guess. This year, I'm super comfortable. You always have butterflies in your stomach, but I wasn't as nervous as last year."
Beaubien did just fine at MSU last year, allowing only two hits and striking out 30 to lead Monroe St. Mary to victories in the Semifinals and championship game.
The University of Michigan commit, who is still only a junior, took it to another level against Gladstone in a matchup of the last two Division 3 champions.
Beaubien struck out 13 of the 15 batters she faced, pitching a five-inning perfect game. Gladstone didn't hit a ball out of the infield.
"She's the real deal," Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes said. "We were talking about her before this game. Obviously, we knew she was going to be tough. They have a really great team. They're hitters. They're fundamentally sound. The better team won today."
St. Mary pounded out 19 hits, with 12 players getting at least one. Kenna Garst was 3 for 4 with three RBI, while Brooke Angerer was 3 for 3 with two RBI and three runs.
The Kestrels scored four times in the first inning, then broke open a 7-0 game with six more in the fifth.
"This could be our best overall hitting performance," St. Mary coach John Morningstar said. "People know with (Beaubien), three runs is the kiss of death. If you give up three runs, there's no chance of coming back."
Beaubien has 381 strikeouts in 180 1/3 innings this spring. She has a 22-1 record and a 0.23 ERA.
PHOTOS: (Top) Calvin Christian players, including Sarah Elderkin (7) celebrate Friday’s Division 3 Semifinal win. (Middle) A Monroe St. Mary’s runner tries to beat out a Gladstone fielder pursuing with the ball.
2023 Runner-Up Whiteford, 2022 Runner-up Evart Set to Face Off for 2024 Title
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2024
EAST LANSING – Ottawa Lake Whiteford clung to a precarious 1-0 lead over upset-minded Clare entering the final inning Friday, but fifth-year coach Matt VanBrandt showed no signs of panic.
After all, his team has learned by experience how to handle the big stage – advancing to state championship games the past two years.
And the Bobcats are led by one of Michigan’s best pitchers in senior Unity Nelson.
“Unity lives for moments like that,” explained VanBrandt. “She is extremely intense and driven and determined to lead this team as far as she possibly can. We believe in her.”
Nelson made her coach look like a prophet, striking out three straight batters on just 11 pitches in the seventh inning to give her team the 1-0 victory over Clare in Friday’s first Division 3 Semifinal.
“Before that last inning, I took a deep breath and got myself centered and ready to go, one batter at a time,” Nelson said.
Whiteford (30-5-1) will take on Buchanan in Saturday’s 3 p.m. Division 3 Final at Secchia Stadium.
That title game is a classic matchup of the dominating arm of Nelson against the big bats of Evart, which totaled 14 hits – including three long home runs over the left-field fence – in an 8-3 win over Buchanan in Friday’s second Semifinal.
The Bobcats are seeking their first Finals title since 1987, when they capped a run of three Class D crowns over four years. Saturday’s will be their ninth overall appearance in a Final and fourth since 2017.
Whiteford lost last year’s Division 3 championship game to Standish-Sterling (1-0) and fell to Unionville-Sebewaing (4-1) in the 2022 Division 4 Final.
VanBrandt knows that in order to break through and take the final steps, his team’s offense needs to give their ace pitcher more help.
“I feel like our offense is close,” said VanBrandt, whose team has only allowed two runs over the past four games. “We put a lot of pressure on (Clare) today. We had baserunners almost every inning, and if we keep doing that, we will score some runs.”
The Bobcats left nine runners on base, but were able to make the one run they scored in the bottom of the first inning stand up.
Shaylin Alexander and Brooklyn Mills both had singles for Whiteford in the first inning, with Alexander scoring the game’s lone run on a bunt single from sophomore Koralynn Billau.
At that point, it looked like Whiteford was poised to score a bunch more, but Clare hung tough behind outstanding defense and a crafty pitching performance by junior Madison Jones.
Nelson, who entered this week with a 0.82 ERA and twice as many strikeouts as innings pitched, will play her final prep game Saturday before embarking on her college career at North Dakota.
“It’s amazing to get back here again in my senior year,” said Nelson. “This is the reason we have all worked so hard this season, to get one more chance.”
Mills and Billau both had two hits for Whiteford.
Clare, which closed its most successful softball season in 38 years at 36-6-1, was nearly flawless in the field, with just one error and diving catches by right fielder Macie Hensley in the fifth inning and second baseman Alissa Brandon in the sixth.
Jones kept the Bobcats off-balance all game, allowing six hits, two walks and striking out five.
“I never have to worry about effort from these girls, I’ll tell you that,” said third-year Clare coach Shane Kelly. “All year, we’ve always found a way to pull out close games. We had our chances today, but we couldn’t get that timely hit or bunt.”
Morgan Campbell, Breez Yarger and Jones all had hits for Clare.
Evart 8, Buchanan 3
First-year Evart coach Shaun Gray perfectly summed up Friday’s second Division 3 Semifinal with his opening postgame comment:
“We hit the crap out of the ball right from the start of the game,” said Gray, who had just guided the Wildcats to their second Division 3 title game in three years.
The first batter Friday, Evart sophomore pitcher Kyrah Gray, hit a pitch all the way to the warning track, foreshadowing things to come.
Buchanan led 2-1 after four innings, but Gray led off the fifth with a similar shot as her first, and this one cleared the Spartan head in left-center to tie the game. The next batter, Allyson Theunick, followed with another blast over the wall to give her team a lead it would never relinquish.
“That one felt so good,” said Theunick, a senior catcher who now has 11 home runs this season and was a member of the 2022 team that finished runner-up to Millington. “We pick each other up. One of my really good teammates struck out a little earlier, so I said that I was going to hit a home run for her.”
Katelyn Gostlin put the game away in the sixth inning with the biggest blast of all, clearing the Secchia Stadium scoreboard for a three-run homer.
Emily Miller led fourth-ranked Evart (36-4) with three hits, while Gray, Gostlin and Mattisen Tiedt all had two.
Gray picked up her 26th win of the season, going all seven innings, allowing five hits and one walk, while striking out seven.
Buchanan (35-6), which was ranked third, was led by senior shortstop Hannah Herman, who went 3-for-3. Camille Lozmack had two RBIs, and Hailee Kara had a hit and the final RBI.
“We got out-hit today. That’s really all there is to it,” said seventh-year Buchanan coach Rachel Carlson. “But these girls rallied an entire town. They have changed the face of Buchanan softball forever.”
PHOTOS (Top) An Ottawa Lake Whiteford hitter drives a pitch during Friday’s Semifinal win. (Middle) Evart’s Mattisen Tiedt stretches to make an out as Buchanan’s Aspen Berry races for the bag.