Softball Finals: Champs are Here
June 13, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three of last season's MHSAA softball champions will return to Battle Creek's Bailey Park on Friday looking to make it two -- or in Petersburg-Summerfield's case, three -- in a row.
Mattawan, Clinton and the Bulldogs won the titles last season in Divisions 1, 3 and 4, respectively. And it's fair to call them all favorites to repeat -- although Division 1 in particular also includes the champions from 2008-2010.
Division 2 surely will have a new champion -- but Saginaw Swan Valley and Livonia Ladywood also made the Semifinals last season and plenty familiar with all that goes into succeeding over the season's final two days.
Below is this weekend's schedule, followed by a look at each of the 16 teams that will be playing.
Semifinals - Friday
Division 1
White Lake Lakeland vs. Mattawan - 3:30 p.m. Diamond 1
Hudsonville vs. Garden City - 4 p.m. Diamond 3
Division 2
Coloma vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 1 p.m. Diamond 1
Livonia Ladywood vs. Wayland Union - 1:30 p.m. Diamond 3
Division 3
Unionville-Sebewaing vs. Clinton - 10:30 a.m. Diamond 1
Gladstone vs. Springport - 11 a.m. Diamond 3
Division 4
Dansville vs. Rapid River - 6 p.m. Diamond 1
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart vs. Petersburg-Summerfield - 6:30 p.m. Diamond 3
Finals - Saturday
Division 3 - 10 a.m.
Division 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Division 1 - 3:00 p.m.
Division 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Tickets cost $7 per round or $15 for an all-tournament ticket that includes admission to baseball games. All Finals also will be streamed live online at MHSAA.tv and FoxSportsDetroit.com.
Statistics below are through teams' Regional tournaments, except for Dansville's, which are through the Aggies' District games. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
GARDEN CITY
Record/rank: 29-4, honorable mention
Coach: Barry Patterson, 26th season (614-237)
League finish: First in Western Wayne Athletic Conference Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2008, Class A runner-up 1991.
Players to watch: P sr. Kelsey Susalla (.617, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 15-3, 0.90 ERA, 109 K in 101 IP), CF sr. Sam Bellovary (.558, 40 RBI), 3B sr. Hillarie Werda (.507, 10 2B, 34 RBI, 8-1, 0.70 ERA).
Outlook: This will be Garden City’s third trip to Battle Creek over the last seven seasons, following the team’s fifth Regional title over that same span of time. The Cougars are led by 11 seniors, including seven who start. Susalla was an all-state selection last season and has signed with the University of Michigan, and senior shortstop Ashley Lynn (.441) has signed with Northwood University.
HUDSONVILLE
Record/rank: 37-3, No. 4
Coach: Tom Vruggink, 31st season (843-226)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2010 and 2009.
Players to watch: C sr. Bethaney Murphey (.500, 4 HR, 44 RBI); SS jr. Danielle Freeman (.538, 11 HR, 64 RBI), P fr. Lexi Agers (16-1, 0.67 ERA).
Outlook: Hudsonville won its fourth straight Regional title and sixth in seven seasons, and returning all-stater Murphey also started on the MHSAA championship team in 2010. She’s signed to play next season at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and serves as the target for a dynamic duo of underclassmen pitchers – Agers and sophomore Alli Kortman (13-2, 1.22 ERA).
MATTAWAN
Record/rank: 32-10, No. 3
Coach: Alicia Smith, 12th season (316-144-1)
League finish: Third in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011.
Players to watch: DP sr. Loren Nagy (.439); P sr. Stacy Thompson (.402, 31 RBI, 16-4, 1.94 ERA); 1B jr. Abby Stoner (.426, 10 HR, 36 RBI).
Outlook: Mattawan is back in Battle Creek despite graduating three all-staters from last season’s championship team and after losing a combined six games to top-ranked powers Portage Central (Division 1) and Stevensville Lakeshore (Division 2). Nagy and junior third baseman Sarah Johnson (.370) are returning all-staters, while sophomore second baseman Kyla Nickrent (.455, 9 SB) and junior shortstop Allie Havers (.436, 28 RBI) provide punch up the middle.
WHITE LAKE LAKELAND
Record/rank: 36-6, No. 6
Coach: Joe Alsup, 11th season (342-55)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association North
Championship history: Division 1/Class A runner-up five times (most recently 2010).
Players to watch: 3B jr. Kelly Merkle (.524); DP soph. Karissa Gawronski (.489); CF soph. Madison Burgess (.459).
Outlook: Lakeland is hoping to finally get over the top after coming close a number of times of late – three of those runner-up finishes came over the last six seasons, and the Eagles have won their Regional seven of the last eight. And the team is built to continue making a run. There are only three seniors, but five sophomores, in the starting lineup. Juniors Selena Hicks and Annika Wiesinger handle the pitching duties. Alsup is 956-203 overall during a coaching career spanning nearly four decades.
Division 2
COLOMA
Record/rank: 40-2-1, honorable mention
Coach: Wendy Goodline, 13th season (327-166-1)
League finish: First in Lakeland Conference
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: SS fr. Jenna Faultersack (.424, 14 2B, 5 3B, 41 RBI); P soph. Emily Najacht (37-2, 0.77 ERA, 270 K in 233 IP, 368, 36 RBI).
Outlook: After being shut out 5-0 by Stevensville Lakeshore earlier this season, Coloma stunned the top-ranked team in Division 2 by beating the Lancers 1-0 in the Regional final. This is the Comets’ first trip to the Semifinals and caps a run that’s included two straight league titles. It could also be the start, as only one player – left fielder Amanda Swihart – is a senior.
LIVONIA LADYWOOD
Record/rank: 37-3, No. 2
Coach: Scott Combs, fifth season (168-31)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2009.
Players to watch: P sr. Briana Combs, 1B jr. Andria Gietl, 3B jr. Celeste Fidge, 2B sr. Carli SanMillan. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Ladywood has won at least 35 games each of the last four seasons, Combs, Gietl, Fidge and SanMillan all made the all-state team last season and are among eight total who also started during the 2011 Semifinal run. Combs has signed with Cleveland State University and SanMillan with Davenport University.
SAGINAW SWAN VALLEY
Record/rank: 36-3, No. 3
Coach: Tom Kennelly, 33rd season (961-245)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central
Championship history: Class B champion 1996, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: 3B sr. Mary Berden (.415, 59 SB); P sr. Mackenzie Boehler (21-1, 0.33 ERA, 276 K in 145 IP, .386, 38 RBI); OF sr. Heather Pollick (.411, 6 HR, 35 RBI).
Outlook: Kennelly is one of four coaches in MHSAA softball history with at least 900 wins, and a strong group of seniors will try to get him back into a championship game for the first time since 2002. The Vikings emerged from a league that also included No. 9 Bullock Creek and outscored District opponents Alma and honorable mention Mount Pleasant by a combined 18-0. Berden, Boehler and Pollick are all returning all-staters.
WAYLAND UNION
Record/rank: 38-2-1, No. 5
Coach: Cheri Ritz, 18th season (709-197-1)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Gold
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2006
Players to watch: C sr. Kayla Merice (.523, 10 3B, 39 RBI); SS soph. Sierra Mutschler (.512, 6 HR, 60 RBI), RF soph. Brittany McLain (.496, 50 RBI), P fr. Mallory Teunissen (29-2, 0.78 ERA, 215 K in 179 IP).
Outlook: Wayland has its most wins this season since going to the Semifinals in 2007 and won its league for the eighth straight season despite a relatively young squad. The team has only three seniors, and two start – centerfielder Autumn Anderson and Merice batting in the top two spots. But the Wildcats have five batters hitting at least .450, and Anderson, with 26 stolen bases, leads a team that has stolen 105 total in 122 attempts.
Division 3
CLINTON
Record/rank: 41-1, No. 1
Coach: Al Roberts, 19th season (583-125)
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2011, Class C runner-up 1997.
Players to watch: P sr. Tierney Nelson (29-1, 1.01 ERA, 318 K in 200.3 IP), C sr. Abi Clark (.461, 15 2B, 48 RBI, 15 SB), SS sr. Haley Mercy (.492, 47 SB).
Outlook: Although the team has only three seniors, six starters are back from last season’s title-winner. And those seniors all are returning all-staters who play positions of particular importance. All three seniors also started on the Clinton teams that made the Division 3 Semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
GLADSTONE
Record/rank: 29-5-1, No. 7
Coach: Gerald A. Smith, ninth season (257-65-1)
League finish: Gladstone does not play in a league.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2009 and 2004.
Players to watch: OF sr. Katie Becker (.521, 28 RBI), C jr. Jordan Kowalski (.357, 21 RBI), P soph. Christine Sharon (22-4, 1.94 ERA).
Outlook: Gladstone capped its 10th-straight District championship with its fifth-straight trip to Battle Creek for the Semifinals. Becker and Kowalski were all-state honorable mentions last season, and Becker is one of seven senior starters making a run at a second championship for the team in four seasons.
SPRINGPORT
Record/rank: 39-2-1, honorable mention
Coach: Jo Dee Johnston, 14th season (336-131-1)
League finish: First in Big 8 Conference
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2002
Player to watch: P soph. Sam Bates. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Springport hasn’t lost since April 26, and has given up only two runs during the postseason. Bates emerged as an all-stater last year in her first as a high schooler, and she threw a no-hitter Tuesday against Buchanan to advance the Spartans to Battle Creek.
UNIONVILLE-SEBEWAING
Record/rank: 40-4, No. 5
Coach: Steve Bohn, first season (40-4)
League finish: Second in Greater Thumb Conference West
Championship history: Three championships (most recently 2009 in Division 4), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: 1B Jessica Gremel (.451, 16 2B, 41 RBI), C jr. Ashlyn VanHoost (.408, 16 2B, 45 RBI), 2B soph. Stephanie Neuman (.518, 15 2B, 45 RBI).
Outlook: USA has championships in three of the last six seasons (including two in Division 3) and lost in extra innings of last season’s Division 4 Final. Gremel, VanHoost and senior leftfielder Taylor Anker (.398) all were all-state last season, and the team has two more starters – catcher Calie Valentine and designated player Tessa Dinsmoore – hitting at least .460.
Division 4
DANSVILLE
Record/rank: 30-5, No. 9
Coach: Mick Ream, 31st season (record N/A)
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: 1B jr. Evy Lobdell (.500, 16 2B, 47 RBI); C/P sr. Rebekah Guy (.424, 15 SB, 27 RBI, 8-1, 1.38 ERA); P soph. Meagan Kelly (18-4, 1.54 ERA, 183 K in 145 IP).
Outlook: The Aggies are back in the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons and led by a four-year starter in Guy, who despite not being an all-stater last season was a first-team pick as a catcher in 2010. Lobdell is the team’s top run producer and also has spent time as Dansville’s top pitcher during her high school career. Seniors Addie Price and Alison Schlicker and junior Paige Galbreath also started on the 2010 team.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 31-7, honorable mention
Coach: Amy Gaudard, second season (55-20)
League finish: Second in Mid-State Activities Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: SS soph. Sara Hansen (.640, 33 SB, 39 RBI), 3B soph. Lauren Sabuda (.407, 31 RBI), C jr. Elizabeth Albaugh (.450, 21 2B, 9 HR, 55 RBI).
Outlook: The Irish are back in the Semifinals for the second time and first since 1994. Sacred Heart got here in part by surviving a 14-inning District semifinal against No. 4 Breckenridge and by beating No. 10 Mason County Eastern in the Regional final. The starting lineup includes just two seniors, although one, Kelsey Poag (19-4, 1.56 ERA) splits pitching duties with another senior, Courtney Fracassi (11-3, 1.68).
PETERSBURG-SUMMERFIELD
Record/rank: 33-3, No. 1
Coach: Robert Taylor, 20th season (495-148)
League finish: Second in Tri-County Conference
Championship history: Three MHSAA championships (most recently 2011), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: P sr. Emily Puterbaugh (32-3, 0.81 ERA, 312 K in 207 IP), C sr. Taylor Goodin (.513, 16 2B, 45 RBI), SS jr. Olivia Ostrosky (.413, 25 RBI, 11 SB).
Outlook: Petersburg-Summerfield has won the last two Division 4 championships, and is a favorite to help give the Tri-County Conference two again this season with two of those losses to reigning Division 3 champ and league mate Clinton. Puterbaugh and Goodin are returning all-staters, and Ostrosky earned honorable mention last season. And Clinton isn’t the only strong team the Bulldogs have faced; they also saw and beat a number of larger schools including Canton and Detroit Renaissance.
RAPID RIVER
Record/rank: 35-5, No. 3
Coach: George Kanyuh, second season (64-13)
League finish: Rapid River does not play in a league.
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: P sr. Heather Sanderson (.509, 18-3), SS sr. Ashleigh Monticello (.440), 1B soph. Savannah Stenlund (.453).
Outlook: Despite playing for its first championship game berth, this is Rapid River’s third appearance in the Semifinals in four seasons. Three of its losses this spring were to Division 3 Semifinalist Gladstone, and Rapid River beat No. 8 Rogers City on the way to Battle Creek. Seven starters from last season’s team are back.
PHOTO: Swan Valley Heather Pollick charges to catch a line drive during her team's 2011 Semifinal against Milan at Battle Creek's Bailey Park. Pollick and the Vikings are back at Bailey this weekend.
Record-Setting Offense Helps Lift Vicksburg to 2023 Runner-Up Finish
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 26, 2024
Vicksburg finished Division 2 runner-up last spring led by one of the most accomplished offenses in MHSAA history.
The Bulldogs made the single-season wins list finishing 41-6, setting a record with 441 RBI, ranking second 538 runs and 541 hits and tying for third with 46 home runs.
Maddison Diekman tied for fifth individually both with 84 runs scored and 89 hits, while Peyton Smith made lists with 73 hits, 19 doubles and 12 home runs. Brooklynn Ringler earned listings with 75 runs and 74 hits, and Delaney Monroe did as well with 16 home runs and 76 RBI. All four are seniors this season.
Diekman will continue her career at Central Michigan, Smith will continue at Concordia-Ann Arbor and Monroe will continue at Lawrence Tech, and Ringler will golf at Davenport. See below for more recent MHSAA softball record book updates, and click the heading to see the record book in full.
Softball
A pair of Fowler standouts earned individual record book entries last spring, and the team also earned a pair of entries. Avery Koenigsknect had back-to-back home runs and six RBI in one game May 18 against Bath, making lists for both, and teammate Brianne Halfmann had three home runs, including two back-to-back, and seven RBI in a single game against Mendon on June 13 to make lists for all three categories. As a team, the Eagles were added for 391 hits and 297 RBI over 37 games. Koenigsknecht graduated last spring, and Halfmann is a senior this school year.
Now-senior Marissa Warren led another strong Big Rapids effort in 2023, reaching the record book with 71 hits, 70 runs, 17 doubles, 15 home runs, 84 RBI and with three listings for multiple homers in a game or inning. She was joined by teammate Pharis Carroll, who made the runs scored list with 68 and is also a senior this school year. Hanna Smith (46), Rylie Haist (41) and Josie Cornell (34) finished three-season varsity careers all on the career doubles list. As a team., Big Rapids made lists with 445 hits, 428 runs, 90 doubles, 353 RBI and a .416 batting average. Warren has signed with Toledo, Haist and Smith are continuing at Ferris State, and Cornell signed with Husson University in Maine.
Payton Manninen’s junior season last spring saw her reach the MHSAA record book with a .645 average over 27 games – and also climb the list of longest hitting streaks in state history. The Ishpeming standout’s run came to an end last May 10, almost two years to the day it started and after 61 straight games with at least one hit – good for second on the list.
Hamilton’s best season in several years saw the Hawkeyes rank eighth all-time with 503 hits, fifth with 40 triples and ninth with a .438 team batting average over 41 games in 2023 – those listings among six total to make the team record book. Individually, senior Madie Jamrog made the records with 66 runs scored and 15 triples last season and 27 triples and 22 home runs for her three-year varsity career. Ella Davison, just a freshman last spring, made the lists with 81 hits, 18 doubles, a .643 average and a 23-game hitting streak. Then-sophomore Taylor Oosterink was added for six RBI in a game, and then-sophomore Kianna Vork for being hit by pitches three times in one contest. Jamrog is continuing her career at Akron.
Another pair of Richland Gull Lake standouts has been added to the records, one a recent graduate and another a senior this season. Mandy Esman was added seven times including for 35 doubles, 29 home runs and a .530 batting average over her three-season career – and despite her sophomore year being canceled due to the pandemic. Now-senior Ava Coffinger was added five times; her 86 runs scored last spring are tied for third-most for one season, and she had stolen 79 bases consecutively without getting caught entering this year and stole 73 total in 2023. Esman played a season at Michigan State and now plays at Houston, and Coffinger has signed with MSU.
Grandville Calvin Christian’s Karsen Balmer twice last season hit home runs in back-to-back at bats – against Beaverton on May 6, 2023, and then against Sparta on May 23. She’s a senior this spring.
A trio of Leslie seniors this spring are all over the record book for single-season and career accomplishments after their first three years of varsity. Ada Bradford ranked on the career strikeout list with 937 and at the plate with 49 doubles, 26 home runs and 166 RBI heading into this spring. Jalen Fossitt joins her with 58 doubles and 152 RBI for her career so far, and Gabby Waldofsky ranks with 171 runs scored and 209 hits over her first three seasons. Leslie also was added for 387 hits, 79 doubles and 254 RBI over 39 games last spring. Bradford will continue her career at Aquinas College, and Fossitt will continue at Hope College.
Cecelia Thorington’s junior season last spring at Pinckney saw her reach the record book four times, including for season totals of 73 hits, 68 runs scored and 60 stolen bases over 36 games. Senior teammate Kylee Douglas was added as well for six RBI in a game. Douglas is continuing her career at Henry Ford College, and Thorington will continue hers at University of Michigan.
Olivia Turner entered her senior season this spring at Grass Lake with 16 record book entries and two MHSAA records. She tied the record for single-season hits with 100 over 40 games in 2023, and along the way broke the career record for doubles with 80 and a season to play. She’s also climbing career record lists for home runs (15th) and RBI (third), and last season added single-season listings for 30 doubles (tied for third), 17 home runs, 102 RBI (second) and a .714 batting average (seventh). She has signed with Bradley.
A pair of Okemos hitters reached the record book last season for RBI in one game – now-junior Violet Greborunis twice driving in six, and now-junior Keirlyn Bane also bringing home six runners in one game.
Parma Western’s Abby Nieswender smashed 30 doubles last spring as a junior, which landed third on the single-season list. She’s signed with Aquinas.
Grayling earned its first record book achievements in this sport over the last two seasons. The Vikings as a team are listed for 82 doubles and 284 RBI over 37 games in 2023, and 68 doubles over 35 games in 2022. Anna Wood made the single-season individual doubles list with 17 last spring, and Mandy Andrews made the hit-by-pitch list with 16. Wood, Cali D’Amour and Jessica Campbell all made the single-game RBI list for six or more either last season or during 2022. Andrews is a senior this spring, and the other three are juniors.
Otisville LakeVille Memorial made the record book several times after finishing 33-8 in 2023, with now-senior Jayla Thompson leading the way. The Falcons were added for 437 runs, 420 hits, 88 doubles, 32 home runs and 350 RBI as a team. Thompson scored 70 runs, hit 16 doubles and 10 home runs and also reached the career home runs list with 27 and a season to play. She and now-senior Brooke Newberry, now-sophomore Anabell Newberry and now-junior Mallorie Nevadomski also made lists with single-game accomplishments.
PHOTO Vicksburg’s Peyton Smith stands in for a pitch during last season’s Division 2 Semifinal win over Richmond.