Performance of the Week: Farmington Hills Mercy's Kaitlyn Pallozzi

April 14, 2022

Kaitlyn PallozziKaitlyn Pallozzi ♦ Farmington Hills Mercy
Softball ♦ Freshman

It would be nearly impossible to improve on the first week of high school softball that Pallozzi enjoyed last week. She made her varsity debut in the circle April 5 with no-hitter against Dearborn Divine Child – striking out 14 and allowing one walk in the 9-0 victory – and then struck out all 21 batters three days later in a 1-0 perfect-game win over Ann Arbor Greenhills. Pallozzi was the 12th in state high school history to strike out at least 21 hitters in a seven-inning game, and she became the third to strike out at least 21 consecutive hitters.

An accomplished travel player heading into high school, she last summer helped her team to a USA Elite national championship in Iowa. The 6-foot Pallozzi also played on Mercy’s Division 1 top-five ranked varsity volleyball team in the fall. She has three years of high school to go after this spring, of course, but Pallozzi is setting her sights as well on studying to become a pediatric nurse – inspired by the care she received when her appendix was removed when she was 10.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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2021-22 Honorees

April 7: Mason Docks, Williamston basketball - Report
March 24:
Mya Petticord, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep basketball - Report
March 16:
Charley Bayer, East Grand Rapids diving - Report
March 9:
Ja'Marcus Smith, Detroit Mumford wrestling - Report
March 2:
David Schaberg, Holt bowling - Report
Feb. 24:
Adelaide McRoberts, Kingsford swimming - Report
Feb. 17:
Christopher Kavanaugh, Petoskey hockey - Report
Feb. 10:
Ira Jenkins, Whitehall wrestling - Report

Feb. 3: Emma Stewart, Salem gymnastics - Report
Jan. 28:
Tyler Ray, Pinckney swimming - Report
Jan. 21:
Elle Craven, Traverse City Central skiing - Report
Jan. 14:
Nevaeh Williams, Mount Clemens basketball - Report
Dec. 2:
Lucas Dunn, Chelsea football - Report
Nov. 25:
Riley Nugent, Plainwell swimming - Report
Nov. 18:
Harper Murray, Ann Arbor Skyline volleyball - Report
Nov. 11:
Abby VanderKooi, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian cross country - Report
Nov. 4:
Arianne Olson, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Oct. 28:
Jack Guggemos, Okemos soccer - Report
Oct. 21:
Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14:
Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7:
Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30:
Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23:
Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16:
Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report

(Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Evart Overcomes Early Deficit, Millington Comes Back Late to Set Up D3 Finale

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

June 17, 2022

EAST LANSING – Its hopes of playing for another state championship were dwindling as the Millington softball team was down to its last strike in Friday morning’s first Division 3 Semifinal.

However, two big swings changed the Cardinals’ fate and paved the way to an improbable finish.

Top-ranked Millington rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a dramatic 4-3 win over Algonac at Secchia Stadium. 

Senior Leah Coleman’s two-out double scored Ashley Ziel for the game-winning run to stun the Muskrats.

“I knew we could come through,” Coleman said. “We’re a family, we play for each other and I knew when Ashley got on base that I could score her in that position.”

Ziel, a senior pitcher who struck out eight, tied the game with two outs and with her team trailing 3-1. She drilled a 0-2 pitch to the wall to score Shannon Ziel and Emma Dickie.

“We always train to be in these situations, and you never know when you are going to be in it,” Ziel said. “I just thought that I had to get on base, I have to win this for my team.

“I saw that pitch coming and I just took a swing at it, and I saw it go to the fence and I thought, we’re tied. I knew Leah was going to pull through, and I knew right when we scored that we were going to win that game.” 

Millington (35-3) will face Evart in Saturday’s 3 p.m. Division 3 Final.

The Wildcats defeated Grandville Calvin Christian 6-1 in the other Semifinal and will seek their first Finals title.

Millington won Division 3 in 2019 and was runner-up in 2018. 

Algonac (33-4) took the early lead when junior slugger Ella Stephenson homered to left center in the top of the first inning. It was her 17th of the season.

The Muskrats increased their lead in the top of the sixth. Sierra Vosler opened the inning with a triple and then scored on Brianna Thomason’s infield single to make it 2-0.

Millington’s Trinity Fessler delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning to trim the Algonac lead in half. 

Stephenson, who went 3-for-4, singled in the seventh inning, went to second base on a passed ball and then scored when Jaycee Reams ripped a two-out single up the middle to make it 3-1.

Millington coach Greg Hudie said the tight-knit bond of his team was a factor in the come-from-behind win.

“I think it has a lot to do with how close they are as a family,” he said. “They train hard together all year long, and I think that’s what really put it together. Not giving up on each other even though we were down and our backs were against the wall.

“Most teams would probably be starting the bus, but I thought they did a great job and you couldn’t ask for a better finish.”

Algonac pitcher Kenna Bommarito, a sophomore, struck out 10 and held down a potent offense until the final inning.

The fourth-ranked Muskrats outhit Millington 9-8, but left several runners on base and were unable to get the final out to secure their first trip to the Finals.

“We can’t seem to get the big one,” Algonac coach Len Perkins said. “We had them right where we wanted them, but they hit the ball and made the difference.

“They found holes at the right time, and that’s softball. You have to come up with the big play, and they got the big hits. We had our chances, but didn’t get hits in those situations. They did, and you have to give them credit.”

Click for the full box score.

Evart 6, Grandville Calvin Christian 1

One big inning helped propel Evart to its first Finals appearance.

The unranked Wildcats (32-8-1) overcame an early deficit to score five runs in the second inning.

Evart softballEvart banged out eight hits, including six in a row, in the inning and took advantage of two Calvin Christian errors to gain control.

“It was probably the best inning we’ve had the whole season,” sophomore catcher Ally Theunick said. “It was awesome. We were all energized, and we were getting hits all over. It didn’t stop.”

Evart coach Amanda Brown said her team has had previous stints of timely hitting. Four of the five runs came with two outs.

“We found the fire, and it worked out beautifully,” she said. “We’ve had two other games like that where we had two outs and we scored six or seven runs like that, and it's just fun. No one wants to be the last out.

“The hitting is definitely contagious with any of these girls, and once something gets going they just run with it and they feed off it. Our dugout was amazing, and they did a great job.”

Evart tacked on another run in the fourth inning. Kylynn Thompson smacked a double to score Theunick.

The Wildcats’ defense shined once again and allowed only one run for the seventh straight postseason game.

“Our defense has been phenomenal,” Brown said. “They work their tails off, and we do so many fundamentals. We tell them all the time that fundamentals will win or lose games. Make the play when it’s presented, and make the best of it.” 

Calvin Christian went ahead 1-0 in the first inning when Emili Goodheart singled home Anna Voet. It was the only run the Squires would muster against junior pitcher Addysen Gray, who struck out eight and walked one.

“It feels great to know we are playing for a state championship, and to have our whole school here feels so good,” said Gray, who also went 3-for-4 at the plate.

The Wildcats finished with 12 hits as Skyler Baumgardner, Brooklyn Decker and Thompson had two hits each. The Squires, who finished 34-4, had only four hits and were plagued by five errors.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Millington players and fans celebrate during Friday’s first Division 3 Semifinal at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Evart’s Katelyn Gostlin enjoys the moment on the way to first base during her team’s Semifinal win.