Unexpected Ubly Reaches Season Finale
June 14, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BATTLE CREEK — Nobody outside of Ubly expected the Bearcats to be playing for the MHSAA Division 4 softball championship.
Even some within the inner circle were skeptical.
"It's crazy and unbelievable," senior catcher Alyssa Briolat said following an 8-6 victory over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in a Semifinal on Friday at Bailey Park. "I would never have thought this would happen. It's just so surreal. I'm on cloud nine and my feet haven't touched the ground yet since we've been here. Now that we're going to the Final, we just need to keep it up and play our game."
It's understandable that Ubly's trip to the Final has caught everyone by surprise. The Bearcats (27-6) had never won a Regional championship until this season and were unranked. Even as they marched all the way to Battle Creek, they did so without facing a team that even merited honorable mention in the final state rankings.
But against a fourth-ranked Liggett team that allowed two runs or fewer in 26 of its 31 games, Ubly became the first team this season to put up eight runs against the Knights (27-5).
"At the beginning of the season, regionals was our goal," Ubly coach Courtney Dekoski said. "Last year we lost in the first round of regionals, so our goal was to improve there. Look where we are."
The Bearcats are playing on the final day of the season against top-ranked Kalamazoo Christian at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Bailey Park. After toppling the fourth-ranked team in the state, the Bearcats won't be intimidated against a program that owns six MHSAA titles.
"I'm psyched," Dekoski said. "There's no stopping us now with the momentum we have and the girls we have. It's anybody's game."
The key to Ubly's victory was a four-run third inning that featured a two-run homer by Briolat.
"I definitely wasn't trying for a home run," Briolat said. "I just wanted to get a hit. I struggled a little in the quarterfinal and I struck out my first at bat. I just wanted to make some contact. Right from the bat, it felt good."
The home run gave Ubly a 4-1 lead. Liggett scored twice in the bottom of the third inning to make it 4-3, but the Knights could never catch up. A three-run fifth got Liggett within 7-6, but Ubly got breathing room when Maria Guza led off the seventh with a home run.
Julia DeRoo gave Liggett a chance by leading off the seventh with a single, but she was picked off when pitcher Michela Guza speared a line drive by Emily Kanakry and threw to first base to complete a rally-killing double play.
"I was paying attention and knew if I caught it, I saw her off the base and we might have a double play," Guza said.
Maria Guza and Briolat drove in three runs each for Ubly.
Kalamazoo Christian 2, Rogers City 0
Senior Stephanie VanderLugt pitched a two-hit shutout for Kalamazoo Christian. She struck out nine and allowed only one run.
Rogers City's only significant threat came in the top of the seventh inning, when it put runners on first and second with one out. VanderLugt forced two popups to second base to end the game.
"I was a little nervous, because they could win with a home run, and I knew they had quite a few home runs over the whole year," VanderLugt said. "I was just trying to focus on my game, rather than what their batters had."
VanderLugt got all the support she would need when freshman Kara Gjeltema hit a solo homer to right field with one out in the fourth inning. The Comets got an insurance run when Carly Vandenberg led off the fifth with a double and scored on an error.
Kalamazoo Christian has won eight straight games, outscoring its competition 67-8, since getting swept 11-0, 15-5 late in the season by Division 1 powerhouse Mattawan.
"We don't see a Division 4 team until we get to this," Kalamazoo Christian coach Karla Reno said. "Locally, we've got Portage Central, Portage Northern, Mattawan, Coloma, Wayland, who are really top teams. All of the KVA teams are bigger schools than us. It helps prepare us tremendously. You can never play good teams too much. It helps bring our level of play up."
Rogers City (33-7) was in the semifinals for the first time since 2004, scoring 77 runs in six postseason games before getting blanked.
"We ran into a really good pitcher today," Rogers City coach Karl Grambau said. "We just couldn't come up with the big hit. We hit the ball all year. We're a great hitting team. You've got to give the Kalamazoo Christian pitcher a lot of credit."
Kalamazoo Christian is in the MHSAA Final for the ninth time, but the first time since 2002. The Comets have won the last six times they've reached the title game.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ubly first baseman Lindsey Briolat prepares to scoop up a grounder during Friday's Semifinal win over University Liggett. (Middle) Kalamazoo Christian pitcher Stephanie VanderLugt delivers during her shutout of Rogers City. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
USA Standout Skilled for Every Season
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
December 28, 2018
Rylee Zimmer lightened her winter workload during her sophomore year, taking the basketball season off to focus more on volleyball.
It turned out to be a short-term move.
“I could make it to some of the games still, because I wasn’t quite as busy,” the Unionville-Sebewaing senior said. “But when I watched them play, I missed it, so I came back to play.”
Zimmer has finished her high school volleyball career and signed to continue playing the sport at Saginaw Valley State University. But her days as a Patriot are not over, as she is currently playing basketball, and in the spring will come back to her familiar spot on the softball diamond, where she is a returning all-state selection as a shortstop.
“I actually think (playing three sports) does help me,” Zimmer said. “Like in basketball, we’re working on jumping and we run a lot. It keeps me more in shape.”
It’s no secret, however, that volleyball is No. 1 for Zimmer. She plays for the Five:1 club during the winter and spring, and is currently balancing school, the club and basketball season. Sub out softball for basketball, and you have her spring schedule.
“Actually, it works out pretty good, because for girls basketball, we play on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I have practice on Monday and Wednesday,” she said. “After basketball and softball practices, I drive to Clio and practice until 9 at night. I don’t have much downtime.”
Zimmer was a four-year starter for the Patriots volleyball team, and this fall she led the team to its first MHSAA Finals appearance – where it fell to four-time reigning champion Bronson in the Division 3 title match.
“When we were in eighth grade, when Erica Treiber (a volleyball All-American at Tennessee) was on the team, we went to Battle Creek with my family (for the Semifinals), and I never thought I’d be able to make it there,” Zimmer said. “This year, my senior year, when we started playing I thought, ‘This team is pretty good and can make it pretty far.’ It was so exciting to be able to make it to the last game of the season.”
On the season, Zimmer finished with 828 kills, 630 service receptions, 537 digs, 132 total blocks and 41 aces. It was her second straight season with more than 800 kills, and she finished her career with 2,332. Her career kill percentage was .374.
“Rylee is just an athletic player,” USA coach Teresa Rose said. “Last year, she was a captain, but this year she was a little more of a vocal captain. She never wanted to step on the seniors’ toes when she was only a junior. She’s very knowledgeable. She plays club at Five:1, she plays basketball, she plays softball – she's constantly doing something. Girls that only play one sport, they’re playing club, too, but they’re not using those other muscles you do while doing those other things. I think that really helps her be strong.”
Zimmer committed to Saginaw Valley late in her junior year, and signed during the early signing period in November. She said that playing at the next level was something she had dreamed of and thought could be a reality since she was moved up to varsity for volleyball as a freshman.
While playing three sports through high school has helped make her a better all-around athlete, she is looking forward to focusing on a single sport in college.
Rose also is excited to see what Zimmer can do at the next level.
“I’ve seen her play at this level, and she’s a standout,” Rose said. “To see her at the next level when she’s playing with everybody that’s that good, I can’t wait to watch her. Seeing her play with girls at the college level that are all volleyball players – that's all they’re doing – I think you’re going to see her be even more explosive than what she was this year.”
Before she moves on, however, Zimmer has more to do at USA. While the Patriots are 2-3 to start this season on the court, last winter Zimmer averaged 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game to lead the team to the Class C Regional Final.
The USA softball team was a Division 4 semifinalist a year ago, with Zimmer playing a big part. She hit .445 in 38 games, with 27 extra-base hits (14 doubles, 11 triples, two home runs), 41 RBI and 53 runs scored. She has a career batting average of .429.
“I’m just excited to have fun and have one last year with the people I’ve always played with,” she said. “I’m excited to have one last season with them.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clockwise from left, USA’s Rylee Zimmer spikes during this fall’s Division 3 Volleyball Final, Zimmer throws to first during last spring’s Division 4 Softball Semifinals and works for position in the post during a Class C Basketball District game. (Middle) Zimmer (4) celebrates her team’s Volleyball Semifinal win with her teammates. (Volleyball and softball photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos; basketball photo by Varsity Monthly.)