Performance: St Mary's Meghan Beaubien
June 22, 2017
Meghan Beaubien
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central senior – Softball
One of the most successful careers in MHSAA softball history came to a close Saturday with one last major feat extending an incredible list. Beaubien pitched St. Mary to a third straight Division 3 championship, striking out 16 and allowing two hits and just one walk in a 13-1 win over Napoleon to earn the final Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for the 2016-17 school year.
Beaubien, also the team's lead-off hitter, was 3 for 3 from the plate as well, scoring three runs and driving in two. To get the Kestrels back to the title game, she shut out Shepherd 1-0 in Friday's Semifinal, striking out 15 without a walk while giving up two hits. Over 40 innings and three Finals weekends at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium – home of the championships the last three seasons – Beaubien gave up just one run and six hits, and that run was unearned. She also continued to surge in the championship game last weekend despite losing her all-state catcher, senior Kenna Garst, to an injury during the third inning against the Pirates.
Beaubien finished this season 23-1 with a 0.34 ERA and 341 strikeouts with only 11 walks, plus a .458 batting average. While her career numbers are being confirmed for record book purposes, unofficially she went 100-14 and struck out 1,445 batters over four seasons – those career strikeouts would rank eighth in MHSAA history. Beaubien also finished high school with a 4.7 grade-point average and will study and play softball at University of Michigan. She plans to major in biochemical engineering on the way to eventually becoming a doctor.
Coach John Morningstar said: “She’s the most durable, dominating, resilient, tough, strong – all the attributes that you look for in an athlete, she has them. And she doesn’t falter. Even in adversity she stands in there, and I think she actually kinda likes it.”
Performance Point: “Obviously, you don’t want to go down early,” Beaubien said of working out of a first-inning jam against Napoleon, when she stranded two runners with two strikeouts to end a potential rally. “We definitely wanted to prevent them from scoring. Being able to get those strikeouts and keep them from scoring kept us mentally in the game. … (The three championships) have all been different. This one was by the largest margin. It’s just as exciting as the others.’’
Switching up: “When (Garst) first got hurt and she stayed in, I was a little concerned. I kept throwing all my pitches. When she went out, our second catcher Brooke (Angerer) did a great job calling pitches and catching the ball. It didn’t affect me greatly because she did a great job.’’
Setting the standard: “Honestly, as a freshman I wasn’t even thinking state championship. I was just thinking league and Districts. I did not have my goals set that high. Sophomore year we thought ‘OK, we’re good enough. We could maybe do it.’ And we did it. Since then we have this standard, and this is our goal every year.’’
Leaving a legacy: “To come into the program and leave it with three straight championships … to know that we (she and senior Grace Mikesell) made a mark. … We’re leaving the program better than we found it. I think that means a lot to both of us.’’
Next level: “Four years of high school were great. The three state championships were great. But every good thing comes to an end. I’m ready for the next level and to go after some championships up there.’’
- Perry A. Farrell, Second Half correspondent;
Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognized a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
June 15: Isabelle Scane, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood lacrosse – Read
June 8: Hunter Eichhorn, Carney-Nadeau golf – Read
June 1: Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland track & field – Read
May 25: Brendon Gouin, Gaylord golf – Read
May 18: Hannah Ducolon, Bay City All Saints softball – Read
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Monroe St. Mary's Meghan Beaubien prepares to unload a pitch during Saturday's Division 3 Final. (Middle) Beaubien swings at a pitch against Napoleon; she was 3 for 3 from the plate.
Vicksburg Sends Finals Rematch to Extra Inning, but Gaylord Locks Down Repeat
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – Gaylord junior pitcher Aubrey Jones was given a second opportunity to close out Saturday’s Division 2 championship game and help her team repeat.
She had her older sister Jayden Jones to thank for it.
Jayden helped bring home the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning to give Gaylord a dramatic 3-2 win over Vicksburg at Secchia Stadium.
Vicksburg had evened the score in the bottom of the seventh inning, extending the game. But after Gaylord retook the lead, Aubrey Jones retook the pitching circle and shut the door with a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.
“It was definitely stressful because the whole postseason we hadn't been this close with a team,” Aubrey Jones said. “I was a little upset with myself because I let a pitch hang (in the seventh), but I’m super proud of my sister because we wouldn’t have scored that run without her, and I’m proud of her for being in that pressure situation and coming through for our team.
“This is super special for us because we’ve been playing together since we were 5 years old and the goal was to go out on top one more time, and we accomplished our goal.”
It was a rematch of last year’s Division 2 Final, but this ending was much different as Vicksburg rallied to tie it in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“The heart rate was up a little bit, but we couldn't show too much emotion because we didn't want the girls to feel that,” Gaylord coach Ron Moeggenberg said. “We talked to them before the playoff run started that at some point in this tournament we are going to have a close game and that was today, and they came through when they needed to.”
Down to their last strike in the seventh inning, Vicksburg delivered a stunning comeback.
Back-to-back singles with two outs by Maddison Diekman and Emily Zemitans and a Gaylord error evened the score at 2-2 and sent the game to extra innings.
“It hurts,” Bulldogs coach Paul Gephart said. “Very proud of the girls because they never give up and they fought to the end. Two strikes, two outs, and they still put it into that extra inning.
“They will get past the hurt and have a special memory. First class at our school to do that back-to-back, so I’m very proud of them.
In the top of the eighth inning, Alexis Shepherd singled with one out and then Jayden Jones knocked a single to right field. Shepherd raced home on a throwing error at third base, and the Blue Devils retook the lead.
Aubrey Jones then got a pair of flyouts with a strikeout in between to end the game. She finished with five strikeouts and allowed just one walk over eight innings.
“This team has overcome a lot, and I’ve had to overcome a lot,” Jayden Jones said. “I was out last year (with a broken wrist), so being in this moment one more time with my team meant a lot to me. I had an opportunity to come through for my team and get the job done, and I was able to do that.”
The sisters combined for five of Gaylord’s 10 hits.
“They’ve come up big for us for the last four years, and we are going to miss Jayden,” Moeggenberg said. “It was special for us to do this again, and we knew that Vicksburg was going to be ready for us. Their pitcher was great today.”
Gaylord (38-4) took an early 2-0 lead with runs in each of the first two innings before Vicksburg trimmed the deficit in the bottom of the second with an RBI double from Ella Luegge.
Vicksburg senior pitcher Delaney Monroe was stellar again as she struck out six and didn’t allow a walk.
“She was keeping them off balance with her change-up, and she’s been so strong physically and mentally,” Gephart said. “She’s done a great job, and we couldn’t ask for anything more. That’s the No. 1 team in the state all year, and we were right there with them.”
Brooklynn Ringler and Audrie Dugan had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs (37-8).
PHOTOS (Top) Gaylord’s Alexis Shepherd sprints toward second base; she scored the game-winning run in Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Blue Devils begin their celebration. (Below) Vicksburg’s Peyton Smith and Maddison Diekman (10) enjoy a moment in the field.