USA Fearlessly Eludes Scare in D4 Repeat
June 18, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — Another pitcher might have backed down and avoided the threat altogether.
But Nikki Bauer of Unionville-Sebewaing isn't just an ordinary pitcher.
One day earlier, Cloe Mallory of Indian River Inland Lakes was intentionally walked in her next two at-bats after hitting a two-run homer that produced the game's only runs in an MHSAA Division 4 Semifinal victory over Holton.
The thought of pitching around Mallory never crossed Bauer's mind, not even when the possibility that one swing of the bat in the final inning could cost the Patriots a second straight MHSAA championship.
"I struck her out the time before," Bauer said. "I try not to be afraid of hitters, because it just messes with my mind."
Bauer went right at Mallory, and got more than she bargained for. Not only did she strike out the Central Michigan University commit for the third straight time, but catcher Sara Reinhardt caught Precious Delos Santos trying to steal second base for an unorthodox double play. Shortstop Marisa Morton stayed with the tag after Delos Santos overslid the base.
One groundout later, and the Patriots repeated as Division 4 champions with a 1-0 victory over Inland Lakes on Saturday at Michigan State University.
It's the fifth championship in 11 years for Unionville-Sebewaing, which also won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
"I never actually thought this day would come, where I would be in the position to represent our town and represent our school," said senior Kayla Gremel, who scored the game's only run in the top of the sixth inning. "I'm proud. This is what we've worked for since we were little girls. The goal was to get to Battle Creek, then it changed to MSU. We showed everyone we can do it."
One game after Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Meghan Beaubien threw only the second perfect game ever in an MHSAA Final, Bauer took a perfect game into the sixth inning. A lead-off single up the middle by Makayla Henckel in the sixth broke it up, but Bauer retired the next three batters.
"I don't really think about that," Bauer said of the perfect game. "I guess no runs is my goal. I was just thinking that every hit is a run; that's what my mindset was. I needed to keep that off the field."
Mallory, who has 15 homers, figured she would have to earn the Patriots' respect.
"Coming into this game, I didn't think they were going to intentionally walk me," she said. "Every game you have to prove yourself. I didn't do that much in this game."
It was the second year in a row that Bauer pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out 11 in the championship game. She started the 2014 Division 3 title game against Gladstone, but was pulled after four innings of a 2-1 loss.
"I know what losing here feels like, and I know what winning here feels like," Bauer said. "I know which one I want to feel."
Bauer is not only a dominant pitcher, but she has a 4.006 GPA and scored 33 (36 is perfect) on the ACT college entrance test. The combination of athletic and academic prowess earned her a softball scholarship to Stanford.
"The thing of it is, she's such a special person, just in terms of being a person, also," Patriots coach Steve Bohn said. "She's a great representative of Unionville-Sebewaing, a great representative for Stanford University. Everything she does is top-notch."
After battling with Mallory through five scoreless innings, Bauer got all of the support she would need in the top of the sixth.
Gremel led off with a single to center field, was bunted to second by Alexis Cady and advanced to third on a wild pitch. She beat the throw home when Marisa Morton bunted the ball to third base.
"I'm not the fastest girl on the team, but I knew I had to run my butt off in order to win," Gremel said. "That's just what I did, I guess. I knew that Nikki was on fire. I knew that their offense was slow, our offense was slow, so one run was going to put us ahead and get us the win."
The Patriots loaded the bases after Gremel scored, but couldn't add to their lead.
While Bauer pretty much cruised through the game, Mallory pitched with runners on base in all seven innings, but battled out of some tough situations to keep her team in the game. She gave up six hits, walked four and hit a batter one day after pitching a shutout against Holton.
The Patriots stranded nine runners.
"It's definitely hard, especially coming from yesterday when there was barely anyone on base to today when everyone was on base," Mallory said. "It's like you have to be perfect with every pitch and just know you've got to make this one or it's not going to end well."
It was only the second appearance ever for Inland Lakes in an MHSAA championship game in any sport. The 1998 baseball team lost in the Division 4 final to Southgate Aquinas. The school's only MHSAA title is in the nonbracketed sport of girls track and field (1979, Class D).
PHOTOS: (Top) Unionville-Sebewaing’s Nikki Bauer prepares to fire a pitch during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) The Patriots celebrate their latest championship at Secchia Stadium.
Forgettable Start, Unforgettable Finish
June 13, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — The goal for Warren Regina after eight games wasn't to win an MHSAA softball championship.
It was much simpler than that: Just win one game.
Although records don't exist for such things, it's safe to assume that Regina is the first team to win an MHSAA championship after starting a season 0-8 (without forfeits).
The journey from frustration to elation concluded Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Caledonia in the Division 1 title game at Michigan State University.
Regina finished with a 27-16 record but more importantly, was 7-0 during the MHSAA tournament. The Saddlelites allowed only eight runs and had three shutouts in those seven games.
Once Regina's record hit 3-11, a team meeting was convened.
"We talked about, 'Hey, we have a lot of team talent. Why waste it this year?'" said senior pitcher Marissa Tiano, who pitched a two-hitter and struck out nine against Caledonia.
It was the kind of start that Regina's players can make light of in retrospect.
"We actually made jokes about it," said Regina junior Nicole Roeske, who was 3 for 3 in the Final. "It's a whole different team, like a family now. At the beginning, we were frustrated with losing."
Legendary Regina coach Diane Laffey said that, in her role as athletic director, she was partially to blame for the slow start.
"I was probably stupid," said Laffey, who has won 1,066 games in 45 years as Regina's coach. "I front-loaded the schedule and probably shouldn't have. Of those eight losses, two were to Mercy, two were to Ladywood, two were to Romeo, two were to Dakota. Those are all good teams. We weren't losing to flukes, but it gets really frustrating."
The only frustration Saturday was experienced by the Caledonia hitters, who couldn't get to third base and reached second only twice. The Fighting Scots' most reliable way to reach base was getting hit by pitches. They were hit three times, walked twice and had only two singles.
"We didn't show the kind of team we are today," Caledonia coach Tom Kaechele said. "She had us guessing up there. We just didn't adjust, but that's the game of softball. That's why you compete at this level. We just played at the highest level we could in Division 1, and there are 199 other schools who would like to be here just like us."
The game was scoreless through three innings before Regina broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth. Roeske led off with a single and scored on a two-out triple to right-center field by Hailey Reese.
"Knowing my team, I knew all we needed was one big hit and we'd win the game," Reese said. "I had faith in them."
The Saddlelites busted it open with a four-run fifth inning.
On a 3-2 pitch, Riley Hison lined a double deep to left field to score two runs. Hison moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a pitch in the dirt. Sydney Spatafore scored the final run of the fifth just before a tag on a runner going from second to third ended the inning.
Caledonia (34-5) had batters hit by pitches in each of the last three innings, but neither got past first base.
Regina has a 6-0 record in MHSAA Finals, winning its first title since going on a four-year run from 2004-07.
"Our picture goes up in the gym along with the other ones," Tiano said. "It feels great."
Caledonia was playing beyond the regional round for the first time.
"We're disappointed, obviously," Kaechele said. "This team has overcome a lot of adversity this year. To be 34-5 is an awfully good season. I told them to make sure you celebrate this moment and look at the accomplishments you've had this year. We've never been here before. We've never won a Regional before. You need to celebrate that for the program, the community and yourselves."
PHOTOS: (Top) Longtime Regina coach Diane Laffey hoists her team’s championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) Regina’s Lauren Buckowski tries to beat a throw to first base with Hannah Horvath covering.