Through the Years: Softball 1975-2015
June 28, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For more than three decades, the MHSAA Softball Finals have helped finish off another year of high school athletics in Michigan.
But as we begin this summer series of features on MHSAA tournaments from our spring issue of benchmarks, we'll kick off with softball and editor Rob Kaminski's look at the tournament's first 31 seasons.
We'll look at another MHSAA postseason event every Tuesday and Friday throughout this summer.
Moment: Tinner Proves Strong as Steel
May 11, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An injured ankle couldn’t keep Tinner Sharon from carrying Gladstone into the 2014 Division 3 Softball Final.
Nor could surrendering back-to-back home runs and a three-run lead when needing just one more out to secure a Semifinal win – a scenario that surely would rattle most.
Only minutes after watching a 4-1 advantage disappear with a pair of Coloma homers in the bottom of the seventh inning of that June 13 Semifinal, Sharon led off the eighth inning with a single, then raced to second base on a fielder’s choice and scored on a throwing error.
But the lasting memory of the eventual Braves’ 5-4 win came in the bottom of the inning, as Sharon snagged a popped-up bunt and shoveled a throw to first base for a game-ending double play.
“All season we’ve had this motto of ‘never say die,’ and you never know what can happen in the bottom of the seventh, which was very important to (Coloma) today,” Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes said that afternoon. “Tinner was struggling with her foot today, but she’s one incredible kid and definitely a leader for us.”
The next day, Sharon would score Gladstone’s first run and strike out 12 as the Braves defeated previously-unbeaten Unionville-Sebewaing 2-1 in the Division 3 championship game.
Click for Semifinals coverage from Second Half and watch below for Sharon’s game-ending double-up against Coloma.