USA Triumphs with Pitching, Fielding Gems

June 15, 2019

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING – What a way to win a championship.

In a top-play moment, Unionville-Sebewaing turned a triple play in the seventh inning to secure a 3-1 victory over Kalamazoo Christian in the Division 4 softball championship game at Michigan State’s Secchia Stadium.

With runners on first and second base, the Comets’ Sammy Gano lined a shot off USA pitcher Brynn Polega’s arm. The ball ricocheted in the air to shortstop Rylee Zimmer, who touched second base and threw to first to complete the gem. (Click for video.)

Polega, a sophomore, had 15 strikeouts and a bruise on her arm. 

“It hit me right in the elbow, and I just turned around and I said, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Polega said. “I said please get this, and I saw (Zimmerman) step on second. The runner on first was halfway to second, and I said that’s it. I was so excited when that happened. To win this as a sophomore is incredible.’’

“Chaos. I’ve never seen an ending like that,’’ added Patriots coach Isaiah Gainforth. “Whether in the Major Leagues, college baseball. I played a lot of different things, and I’ve never seen anything transpire the way that last inning did. I’m just glad we’re on the winning end of it.’’

Polega kept the Comets hitters at bay for most of the game.

“My curveball was working good,’’ she said. “My drop ball was good. Right before the game, my pitching coach and I were over there working on it. He said stay tall, keep my arm long and snap hard. That’s what I did all game.’’

She had six strikeouts through the first two innings, and by the end of the fifth she had racked up 12.

Staked to a 3-0 lead after the third inning and tossing a one-hitter, Polega never gave a young Kalamazoo Christian team a chance to get back into it before the seventh-inning dramatics.

Chants of “USA, USA, USA’’ rang through the Patriots crowd. It was the sixth Finals title for the Patriots (31-9) since 2009.

The teams finished with identical records, and it would be no surprise if they met again in next year’s Final with USA losing just three seniors and the Comets losing two.

“We’re a young team and so are they, so it could happen,’’ said Polega.

USA had a first-inning threat as Zimmer tripled with one out, but she was left on base.

Polega mowed through Kalamazoo Christian hitters, striking out eight through three innings and getting out of a jam in the third with a strikeout.

The Patriots got on the board in the third inning when Maci Reinhardt singled and scored on a throwing error with Maci Montgomery at the plate. Polega bounced out, scoring Montgomery, and Delanie Pavlichek doubled in another run to make it 3-0.

The Comets finally got to Polega in the sixth inning on a single by junior second baseman Megan Snook, who eventually scored on a single by freshman Reagan Broekhuizen to make it 3-1.

Polega ended the threat with another strikeout, her 15th of the game.

“She was zoned in,’’ said her catcher, Montgomery. “Everything was right on the spot. She made a couple of mistakes, but the defense supported her.’’

Especially in the seventh inning.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) USA's Brynn Polega works through an inning on the way to pitching her team to a Division 4 Final win. (Middle) Macy Reinhardt (14) connects with a Kalamazoo Christian pitch.

Swan Valley Focuses on Finish

June 14, 2013

By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half

BATTLE CREEK — If Saginaw Swan Valley’s softball players were feeling good about themselves for reaching a second straight MHSAA championship game, the warm fuzzies quickly vanished once coach Tom Kennelly was done talking to them.

“You’re better than this!” he yelled during the team’s postgame huddle following a 5-2 Division 2 Semifinal victory over Linden on Friday at Bailey Park. “You’re not satisfied to be down here!”

Later, Kennelly spelled out “D-E-B-A-C-L-E” to describe his team’s temporary meltdown early in the game.

The message was driven home: Swan Valley shouldn’t be content just to be playing on the season’s final day, even with a young team that may get another crack next season.

The Vikings got this far last season, losing 4-0 to Livonia Ladywood in the championship game. They’ve done that on two other occasions since winning their only MHSAA crown in 1986.

“You don’t need great plays, for crying out loud, but you can’t let singles go for doubles and triples,” Kennelly said. “Mr. Sunshine, that’s what they call me.”

After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, Swan Valley had two outfield errors and a walk that led to two Linden runs in the second.

The damage was minimized when junior pitcher Courtney Reinhold stranded Linden’s Alyssa Logie on third base. Logie reached third with no outs, but Reinhold induced a ground out to drawn-in third baseman Aspin Stack and struck out the next two batters.

“She’s done that in crucial situations,” Kennelly said. “I don’t know how many times she’s stranded people at third with nobody out.”

After that shaky second inning, Reinhold shut down the Eagles over the final five innings. Linden had only three more base runners, none past second base.

“I knew what I did wrong,” Reinhold said. “Pitching a girl on 0-2 something down the middle was obviously not very smart. I just cleaned up my spots and focused on what Paige (Churchfield) called back there.”

Swan Valley was the beneficiary of sloppy play by Linden in a pivotal third inning.

Three walks, two wild pitches and a hit batter led to a three-run outburst by the seventh-ranked Vikings (31-9).

Kelli Halvin and Reegan Flattery scored on wild pitches before Morgan Stadler drove in the final run of the inning with a double.

While Swan Valley is a regular participant in Battle Creek, reaching the MHSAA Semifinals is a rare treat for Linden (31-5). This is only the fourth Linden team in any sport to play in a Semifinal game, and the first girls team since the 1981 volleyball squad. The softball team hadn’t won a Regional before this season.

“It was a goal,” Linden coach Gordon Jamison said. “You always want to have high goals and expectations. I didn’t know we were going to do it. I’ve only been here four years, so it came fairly quick. It was a good group of girls, and they played together a lot.”

Swan Valley will play in the Division 2 final against unranked Tecumseh, a surprising 8-0 winner over second-ranked Ladywood. The title game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Bailey Park.

Tecumseh 8, Livonia Ladywood 0

Senior Emily Maves shut down reigning champion Ladywood (32-10), allowing only four hits and no walks while striking out 10.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Maves said. “I never thought we’d make it this far. I don’t think a lot of people thought we’d make it. We’re the underdogs.”

The Indians (32-5-3) got the only runs they would need on a three-run triple by senior Kylie Hill in the third inning. After taking a 4-0 lead in the fifth, Tecumseh broke open the game when a three-run homer by Kelsey Rendell highlighted a four-run sixth.

“That three-run triple was extremely huge,” Tecumseh coach Jeff Nowak said. “It took a little pressure off of Emily, and the kids kind of cruised from there.”

Click for full box scores.

PHOTOS: (Top) Swan Valley pitcher Courtney Reinhold warms up Friday on the way to beating Linden 5-2. (Middle) Tecumseh second baseman Claire Burnett tosses to first base during her team's Semifinal win over Ladywood. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)