Rogers City Makes Dream Come True
June 14, 2014
By Kelsey Pence
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Nikki Radke and Morgan Hall couldn’t have dreamed up a better senior season.
Rogers City has been out for revenge ever since Kalamazoo Christian eliminated the Hurons in last year’s Division 4 Semifinal.
Radke and Hall played a big part in making that dream come true Saturday as the Hurons beat the Comets 3-2 in to earn Rogers City its first MHSAA softball title.
“It’s my senior year, and I couldn’t have ended it any better way,” Hall said.
Kalamazoo Christian (28-17) scored first, in the first inning, but Rogers City responded in the third.
Logan Fleming and Courtney Streich both reached on Comets errors, and Sarah Meredith brought Fleming home with a single to left field. The Hurons (34-6) left three on base – but took the lead in the fifth inning.
Hall reached base and Alexa Quaine doubled down the third-base line to score her for the go-ahead run.
The Comets had a chance to put up another run in the sixth inning, but left two stranded.
“We have a fantastic infield, and the defense was there again today,” Hurons coach Karl Grambau said. “We knew they were going to put it in play and we were ready for it, and Nikki was just incredible.”
Radke pitched a complete game, striking out three, walking none and giving up five hits.
“Nikki is a great pitcher and a really underrated pitcher,” Grambau said. “She doesn’t strike out a lot of girls because the girls put a lot of balls in play.”
Meredith walked to start the seventh inning and Hall brought her home with a double to left field to give the Hurons a 2-run lead.
“It turned out the be a game-winning hit, and I could never have expected that and I am honored to have that opportunity now,” Hall said. “I am just glad Sarah ran her butt off to get in.”
Hall’s hit was indeed a big one as Kalamazoo Christian found some magic with two outs left in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After Radke struck out the first two batters, Cara Knasel double to deep right field. Erica Block then singled to left, which put up another run for the Comets and pulled them within one of the lead.
“I really wasn’t nervous at all,” Radke said. “I lived in the moment and realized it was my last softball game ever. It got a little nerve-racking once they scored that run.”
Madison Locker connected on the next pitch, but it was caught in left field to end the ballgame.
“Our motto was to believe and achieve, and we definitely went in believing and we ended up achieving,” Radke said.
Hall praised her senior classmate.
“Nikki has been four years in the making,” Hall said of Radke. “She has dedicated her summers and her winter to pitching. She got us here last year and took us farther this year. We can never thank her enough.”
Rebekah VanDam took the loss for the 2013 champs, striking out four, walking three and giving up eight hits in seven innings of work.
“We knocked them out of the tournament last year, so it was kind of a revenge factor for them,” Kalamazoo Christian coach Terry Reynolds said. “They played hard against us earlier this year, and they repeated that again today. They played great defense, just wonderful defense.
“The pitcher kept us off-paced. She really didn’t surprise us with anything; we just couldn’t touch her. We couldn’t get that key hit when we needed it.”
Grambau said the win is one for the community.
“It’s unbelievable for us and northern Michigan to get this victory,” he said. “Last year we got shut out and then we beat them earlier this year in a tournament. We knew it was anybody’s game, and we are just happy to get this win. It means so much for our program and for our girls.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Rogers City players are cheered on by their fans after winning the Division 4 championship at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Hurons centerfielder Cassie Brege throws the ball in during Saturday’s Final.
Swan Valley Focuses on Finish
June 14, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BATTLE CREEK — If Saginaw Swan Valley’s softball players were feeling good about themselves for reaching a second straight MHSAA championship game, the warm fuzzies quickly vanished once coach Tom Kennelly was done talking to them.
“You’re better than this!” he yelled during the team’s postgame huddle following a 5-2 Division 2 Semifinal victory over Linden on Friday at Bailey Park. “You’re not satisfied to be down here!”
Later, Kennelly spelled out “D-E-B-A-C-L-E” to describe his team’s temporary meltdown early in the game.
The message was driven home: Swan Valley shouldn’t be content just to be playing on the season’s final day, even with a young team that may get another crack next season.
The Vikings got this far last season, losing 4-0 to Livonia Ladywood in the championship game. They’ve done that on two other occasions since winning their only MHSAA crown in 1986.
“You don’t need great plays, for crying out loud, but you can’t let singles go for doubles and triples,” Kennelly said. “Mr. Sunshine, that’s what they call me.”
After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, Swan Valley had two outfield errors and a walk that led to two Linden runs in the second.
The damage was minimized when junior pitcher Courtney Reinhold stranded Linden’s Alyssa Logie on third base. Logie reached third with no outs, but Reinhold induced a ground out to drawn-in third baseman Aspin Stack and struck out the next two batters.
“She’s done that in crucial situations,” Kennelly said. “I don’t know how many times she’s stranded people at third with nobody out.”
After that shaky second inning, Reinhold shut down the Eagles over the final five innings. Linden had only three more base runners, none past second base.
“I knew what I did wrong,” Reinhold said. “Pitching a girl on 0-2 something down the middle was obviously not very smart. I just cleaned up my spots and focused on what Paige (Churchfield) called back there.”
Swan Valley was the beneficiary of sloppy play by Linden in a pivotal third inning.
Three walks, two wild pitches and a hit batter led to a three-run outburst by the seventh-ranked Vikings (31-9).
Kelli Halvin and Reegan Flattery scored on wild pitches before Morgan Stadler drove in the final run of the inning with a double.
While Swan Valley is a regular participant in Battle Creek, reaching the MHSAA Semifinals is a rare treat for Linden (31-5). This is only the fourth Linden team in any sport to play in a Semifinal game, and the first girls team since the 1981 volleyball squad. The softball team hadn’t won a Regional before this season.
“It was a goal,” Linden coach Gordon Jamison said. “You always want to have high goals and expectations. I didn’t know we were going to do it. I’ve only been here four years, so it came fairly quick. It was a good group of girls, and they played together a lot.”
Swan Valley will play in the Division 2 final against unranked Tecumseh, a surprising 8-0 winner over second-ranked Ladywood. The title game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Bailey Park.
Tecumseh 8, Livonia Ladywood 0
Senior Emily Maves shut down reigning champion Ladywood (32-10), allowing only four hits and no walks while striking out 10.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Maves said. “I never thought we’d make it this far. I don’t think a lot of people thought we’d make it. We’re the underdogs.”
The Indians (32-5-3) got the only runs they would need on a three-run triple by senior Kylie Hill in the third inning. After taking a 4-0 lead in the fifth, Tecumseh broke open the game when a three-run homer by Kelsey Rendell highlighted a four-run sixth.
“That three-run triple was extremely huge,” Tecumseh coach Jeff Nowak said. “It took a little pressure off of Emily, and the kids kind of cruised from there.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Swan Valley pitcher Courtney Reinhold warms up Friday on the way to beating Linden 5-2. (Middle) Tecumseh second baseman Claire Burnett tosses to first base during her team's Semifinal win over Ladywood. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)