Swierkos Dominates, Hartland Celebrates Decisive Title Clincher
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Hartland senior pitcher Kylie Swierkos entered this weekend as one of the finalists for the state’s Miss Softball Award.
After the dominating, two-game performance she delivered at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium, she might have secured the prestigious honor – but that was the furthest thing from her mind Saturday afternoon.
“All I care about is that we won this for our school,” said Swierkos, who tossed her second consecutive four-hitter to lead Hartland to a 9-1 victory over Brownstown Woodhaven in the Division 1 Final.
“We have such a close group of girls; it’s not just me. Now I hope the younger girls take this and keep going with it.”
Swierkos, who improved to 23-1 on the season with a 0.81 ERA, shut out Lake Orion in Thursday’s Semifinal and came within two outs of another shutout Saturday before Woodhaven scored its only run in the top of the seventh inning.
Swierkos, who has committed to pitch at Grand Valley State University, struck out 13 batters on Saturday (20 for the weekend) and didn’t walk a single batter in either game.
“We know Kylie is going to do her job,” said fifth-year Hartland coach Taylor Wagner, who led the school to its first Softball Finals title since winning Class A in 1996. “Then we just have to bat a little bit behind her, and we did that all the way through the order, from one to nine.”
Hartland, 35-4-1, delivered nine hits, with two apiece from Abby Gardner, Kate McIntyre and Reese Dunny.
Senior Riley Phillips smacked a two-run triple for the second consecutive game, this one coming in the second inning. Sophomore catcher Sadie Malik also had two RBIs, including a run-scoring single as Hartland put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I could not have asked for a more perfect ending to my senior year,” said Gardner, one of four seniors on the Hartland roster, along with Faith DeLanoy, Phillips and Swierkos.
The nine runs were more than enough offense for Swierkos, who pitched eight consecutive innings of perfect ball – starting with the fourth inning Thursday through the fourth inning Saturday, when the Warriors managed the first of their four hits.
Woodhaven, 35-5 and playing in its first Final, scored its only run in the top of the seventh inning after a leadoff double by Grace Walker.
The Warriors struggled to figure out Swierkos, then hurt themselves with three costly errors.
“We definitely put Woodhaven softball on the map, and we will be back,” said second-year coach Ken Kroll. “It was atypical of us to make those errors. But we just didn’t put enough hits together. When we did start to get something going, we got shut down.”
Grace Usher, a junior, allowed nine hits and struck out six over six innings. She finished the season 18-4 with a 1.40 ERA. Alaina Craig had her team’s lone RBI.
Just before her team took the podium to accept the championship trophy, Wagner was asked for two words to describe her feelings after guiding her team to its first Finals title in 27 years. Hartland also had finished Division 1 runner-up in 2018.
She answered with just one:
“Blessed,” said Wagner, who was assisted by Lindsay Brandon. “I am blessed to go through this with these girls and to be a small part of it.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Kylie Swierkos (27) leaps into the arms of catcher Sadie Malik on Saturday. (Middle) The Eagles huddle in the pitching circle during the Division 1 Final. (Below) A Hartland hitter drives the ball. (Photos by Olivia Napier/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Team of the Month: Gaylord Softball
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 9, 2023
Gaylord has set a standard few have matched the last few seasons, landing that bar at an elite level since taking a freshman-filled team to the Division 2 Semifinals two years ago and coming within a run of toppling that weekend’s eventual champion.
Those freshmen are now eight juniors, book-ended by two seniors and two sophomores for a team that took over the No. 1 ranking in the state coaches poll at the start of May and is 34-2 heading into this weekend’s Regional at Cadillac.
The MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for May also won the Big North Conference for the third-straight season and swept league competition for the second in row, swept Division 3 top-ranked Evart among other high-caliber wins, and last weekend added to a regular-season shutout of Escanaba with a 13-1 win over the No. 2-ranked Eskymos on the way to a District title. Escanaba had eliminated Gaylord in last year’s Regional Final.
“I think the way they play to the standard, regardless of what the score is, that’s just kind of a mindset thing. They’re really just trying to be excellent in everything that they do,” Gaylord coach Tony Vaden said. “They’re always practicing the fundamentals of the game as much as possible, trying to be great at every aspect that they can. And I think that’s the difference between us and a lot of the other teams, is that there’s a real focus on playing to our standard at all times.”
Vaden said he could see the beginnings of establishing that high standard before this season, but it’s really taken hold this spring in part because his players are starting to be presented with college opportunities.
The first-year varsity coach – who previously led the JV – also said he must give leading credit to his assistant Greg Jones, whom he called the “architect” of the current success. A two-time Class D baseball champion at Hillman and then standout player at Central Michigan coached most of the Blue Devils in youth ball, leading them to a Little League state championship in 2015.
Vaden said seven of his 10 upperclassmen are at some stage in the college commitment process for softball – including senior Alexis Kozlowski (signed with Ferris State), junior infielder/pitcher Jayden Jones (Greg’s daughter, committed to sign with Virginia Tech) and junior second baseman Alexis Shepherd (committed to Toledo). Four more juniors also have committed to college softball programs, junior Avery Parker will sign with Northwood basketball, and Vaden said he anticipates college opportunities for remaining uncommitted Blue Devils as well. Sophomore Aubrey Jones – Greg’s daughter as well – already has offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
“They know there’s eyes upon them, so they’re just really focused on what they’re doing at all times,” Vaden said. “Not to mention the fact we have our individual goals and we have our team goals, and they need to play to the standard to meet those.”
The numbers the team has put up so far are setting a bar for those to come as well.
The Blue Devils have scored 401 runs with 425 hits including 105 doubles and 66 home runs, with a team average of .438. All of those make the MHSAA record book right now – the average eighth all-time if they maintain it, with the doubles sixth and climbing and the home runs second and four off tying the state record.
Kozlowski is hitting .591 with 21 doubles, 11 homers, 59 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Junior Taylor Moeggenberg is hitting .524 with nine home runs and 44 RBI, and Aubrey Jones is right at .500 with 16 homers and 59 RBI. Five more players are hitting .420 or better, and the team has a an 0.82 ERA with Parker, the Jones sisters and senior Abby Radulski contributing in the circle.
Major tests are coming Saturday with No. 10 Big Rapids in a Regional Semifinal and then either No. 4 Essexville Garber or honorable mention Freeland if the Blue Devils advance.
But there’s something else of championship value that sticks out to Vaden almost as much as that high standard to which his players are aspiring.
“They’re always cheering each other on, and they also hold each other accountable. You don’t always see that,” he said. “They’re still teenagers, and it’s hard to say to another person, ‘Hey snap out of it. Let’s go.’ But they’re all around each other all the time, they’re all in class together. And they’ve been around each other since they were little.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2022-23
April: Saugatuck girls soccer - Report
March: Croswell-Lexington competitive cheer - Report
February: Hart girls & boys basketball - Report
January: Taylor Trillium Academy girls bowling - Report
December: Byron Center hockey - Report
November: Martin football - Report
October: Gladwin volleyball - Report
September: Negaunee girls tennis - Report
PHOTO courtesy of the Gaylord athletic department.