Preview: Fantastic Finals Trips Await for 16 Title Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 10, 2026
Frequent visitors to Michigan State’s McLane Stadium for MHSAA Baseball Finals weekend know how special the experience can be. And we have a pair of those joining us over the next three days in reigning Division 3 champion Traverse City St. Francis and annual contender Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
But we’ll also hopefully deliver some breathtaking moments to several communities for the first time – or first time in a long time.
Two teams will play in Semifinals this weekend for the first time, and a handful more for the first time in at least a decade. Six more teams are hoping to play in a championship game Saturday for the first time.
Ten of this weekend’s 16 semifinalists are seeking their first Finals championship in this sport – and three of the six teams that have won in the past are seeking their first title in at least 20 years.
This weekend's schedule is as follows:
Division 1 – Friday
Detroit Catholic Central vs. Mattawan - 2:30 p.m.
Rochester Adams vs. Brownstown Woodhaven - 5 p.m.
Division 2 – Thursday
Vicksburg vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills - 9 a.m.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's vs. Dearborn Divine Child - 11:30 a.m.
Division 3 – Thursday
Detroit Edison vs. Kalamazoo Christian - 2:30 p.m.
Traverse City St. Francis vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 5 p.m.
Division 4 – Friday
Royal Oak Shrine Catholic vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart - 9 a.m.
Marcellus vs. Painesdale Jeffers - 11:30 a.m.
FINALS – Saturday
Division 1 – 5 p.m.
Division 2 – 9 a.m.
Division 3 – 11:30 a.m.
Division 4 – 2:30 p.m.
Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. One ticket is good for all baseball, softball and girls soccer games at MSU’s Old College Field that day. All Semifinals and Finals will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Below is a glance at all 16 teams taking the field:
Division 1
BROWNSTOWN WOODHAVEN
Record/rank: 34-5-1, No. 3
Coach: Corey Farner, 12th season (338-90-3)
League finish: First in Downriver League
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2018 and 2023.
Players to watch: Cameron Thorning, jr. C (.446, 13 2B, 52 RBI); Lucas Farner, jr. IF/P (.426, 55 R, 32 RBI, 20 SB, 4-1 pitching, 0.97 ERA); Dante Perry, sr. OF (.429, 47 R, 30 SB); Tristan Spencer, soph. 1B/P (.346, 10 2B, 36 RBI, 8-1 pitching, 0.98 ERA, 70 K/50 IP).
Outlook: After falling a win short of the Semifinals last season, Woodhaven is back thanks in part to defeating No. 1 Brother Rice in Saturday’s Regional Final and also league rival No. 19 Allen Park earlier in the tournament. Woodhaven with one more victory also can tie its winningest season (2019) during Farner’s highly-successful run leading the program. Senior Keden Newsted is another ace for the Warriors entering this weekend 8-1 with a 1.53 ERA, and junior Amauri Gutierrez is 4-0 with a 2.69 ERA and a pair of saves. Junior Aaron Scott (.393) can be counted on for a boost at the bottom of the lineup.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 27-12, No. 6
Coach: Ryan Rogowski, sixth season (138-96)
League finish: Fourth in Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 1999), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Bennett Thompson, sr. 2B/C (.380, 27 R, 10 2B); Dylan Fairchild, sr. SS/P (.333, 32 R, 12 2B, 8 HR, 33 RBI); Andrew Mahoney, sr. P (8-1, 1.32 ERA, 81 K/53 IP); Micky Laser, sr. P/3B (8-0, 1.98 ERA).
Outlook: Detroit Catholic Central is making its first Semifinal appearance since 2004 and has defeated No. 16 Novi and No. 20 Dexter along the way after navigating a league that included top-ranked Brother Rice and Division 2 No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. The Shamrocks have won 12 of their last 14 games. Seven regulars total are hitting at least .300, with sophomore Luke Fairchild (.357, 25 R, 16 SB) and seniors Tommy Maxwell (.357) and Owen Geisler (.351) all among the leaders right behind Thompson.
MATTAWAN
Record/rank: 29-8, No. 8
Coach: Brett Vaughn, 13th season (29-8)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Patrick Dougherty, sr. OF (.431, 46 R, 25 SB); Nolan Jominy, sr. SS (.379, 40 R, 16 2B, 30 RBI, 18 SB); John Pelak, jr. OF (.372, 10 2B); Kaden Jominy, sr. P.
Outlook: Although seeking its first championship, Mattawan was at the Semifinals in 2023 and made the Regional Finals last spring before falling short. The Wildcats haven’t given up more than a run in any of six playoff games this spring, including their 3-1 Quarterfinal victory over No. 18 Byron Center, and total they’ve won 11 of their last 12 games. Seven seniors start, including as well outfielder/pitcher Liam Walsh (.367, 28 RBI), and Kaden Jominy will play next at Cornell. Junior Coleton Strong is another big bat in the middle of the lineup, hitting .336 with a team-high 36 RBI.
ROCHESTER ADAMS
Record/rank: 28-8, No. 4
Coach: Andrew Lamkin, 13th season (277-160-3)
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Class A runner-up 1995 and 1996.
Players to watch: Andrew Wozniak, sr. SS (.327, 31 R, 17 SB); Matt Toeppner, sr. OF/IF (.556): Brady Lindstrom, jr. P/IF (7-0, 1.46 ERA); Koltyn Watters, soph. OF (.398, 45 R, 11 2B, 30 RBI, 38 SB).
Outlook: Adams will play in its first Semifinal since the repeat run to the Class A championship game in 1996. Lamkin actually is in his second tenure running the program, having led the Highlanders from 1994-2003, returned as an assistant in 2011 and taken it back over in 2024. Toeppner, a Michigan State recruit, has been back only three weeks after hand surgery but also has scored 13 runs and stolen nine bases over 11 games. He and Watters both made the all-state first team last season. Adams topped No. 7 Oxford in the Quarterfinal, and a 3-2 win over No. 2 Romeo in the Regional Semifinal was one of three one-run victories this playoffs.
Division 2
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Record/rank: 29-6, No. 7
Coach: Jeremy Shay, fourth season (91-49)
League finish: First in Catholic High School League AA
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2010).
Players to watch: Andrew Ryan, sr. SS/P (.389, 52 R, 28 SB, 5-2 pitching, 2.25 ERA); Dallas Terski, sr. 1B/3B (.370, 34 RBI, 21 SB); Liam Gibbons, sr. P (6-1, 1.01 ERA, 62 K/48 1/3 IP); Kole Boike, soph. CF (.346, 35 R, 30 RBI).
Outlook: Divine Child has taken steps every season under Shay, finishing 15-20 his first season but then adding a District title in 2024, a league championship last spring and now a Regional Finals win and trip to the Semifinals after defeating No. 8 Williamston to advance. Seniors Ian Hall (6-1) and Mason Cubr (5-1) also have seen plenty of starts on the mound and provide the Falcons with more options this weekend. Junior Adam Garcia (.368, 27 RBI) is among five more regulars hitting at least .300. Shay played on Divine Child’s 2008 and 2010 Division 2 championship teams before starring at Bowling Green as well.
GRAND RAPIDS KENOWA HILLS
Record/rank: 35-2, No. 5
Coach: Todd VandenHeuvel, first season (35-2)
League finish: First in River Cities Alliance
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Will Fussman, jr. CF (.411, 48 R, 44 SB); Mason Peebles, sr. C/P (.423, 41 R, 14 2B, 8 3B, 56 RBI, 28 SB); Jack Stoddard, jr. 3B/P (.408, 41 RBI, 8-1 pitching, 1.97 ERA); Andrew Lake, sr. P (9-0, 0.40 ERA, 62 K/53 IP).
Outlook: Kenowa Hills is making its first Semifinals trip since 2015, continuing a tournament run that has seen wins against No. 11 East Grand Rapids, No. 20 Escanaba and No. 6 Standish-Sterling over the last three rounds. The Knights have won 19 straight games and have a solid set of impressive arms leading the staff this weekend with senior Keegan Garvin (9-0, 1.80 ERA) set to start the Semifinal. Senior shortstop Brennan Gustinis (.395, 50 R, 10 2B, 12 SB) is another dangerous bat in the leadoff spot. VandenHeuvel previously coached at Mona Shores, winning 217 games from 1995-2001.
ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S
Record/rank: 32-5, No. 1
Coach: Nick Di Ponio, ninth season (234-134)
League finish: First in CHSL Central
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2022), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Luke Crighton, sr. CF/SS/P (.457, 55 R, 39 RBI, 20 SB, 9-0 pitching, 1.21 ERA, 75 K/52 IP); Andrew Tribul, sr. C/IF (.376, 43 R, 45 RBI, 18 SB); Hudson Brzustewicz, sr. SS/P (.491, 56 R, 12 2B, 34 RBI, 6-1 pitching, 1.64 ERA, 52 K/34 IP); Derick Conrad, sr. C/IF (.427, 47 RBI).
Outlook: St. Mary’s has won 25 straight games and emerged from the same CHSL Central as Division 1 finalist Detroit Catholic Central, thanks in part to playoff wins over No. 4 Richmond and No. 10 Saginaw Swan Valley. Brzustewicz and Crighton were all-state first-teamers last season and are both the team’s leading hitters and top arms from a staff that has seen eight pitchers throw at least 17 innings and win two or more games this spring. Di Ponio led the Eaglets to Division 2 runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2009 during his first tenure with the program (2005-10) and three straight Regional titles since taking it back over in 2024. Senior outfielder Zach Essig (.357) also bolsters the middle of the lineup.
VICKSBURG
Record/rank: 30-7, No. 14
Coach: Brian Deal, 28th season (487-366-4)
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Graham Kubiak, jr. IF/P (.405, 37 R, 41 RBI, 25 SB, 3-2 pitching, 1.80 ERA); Mitchell Beyer, sr. IF (.426, 46 R, 17 2B, 44 RBI, 24 SB); Maddox Rosalin, sr. IF/P (.431, 15 2B, 39 RBI, 10 SB, 9-0 pitching, 0.72 ERA); Maguire Bowles, jr. OF (.450, 59 R, 13 2B, 32 RBI, 34 SB).
Outlook: Vicksburg also is returning to the Semifinals for the first time since 2015 and has put together its winningest season during Deal’s nearly three decades leading the program. A 3-0 Regional Semifinal win over No.18 Niles followed up a regular-season split between the two, and the Bulldogs also avenged an early loss to Paw Paw in the District opener and an 11-run loss to Coldwater with a 12-1 Quarterfinal victory. Three more regulars are hitting at least .300, led by junior Spencer Spicer (.338, 31 R), and sophomore Caden Chisolm (7-0, 2.28 ERA) gives Vicksburg another ace as eight pitchers total have made at least one start.
Division 3
DETROIT EDISON
Record/rank: 23-8, No. 4
Coach: Mark Brown, 10th season (210-104)
League finish: First in Charter School Conference
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2022.
Players to watch: Jamir Campbell, sr. P/SS (.408, 30 R, 26 SB, 6-1 pitching, 1.50 ERA, 60 K/55 IP); Elijah Hines, fr. OF (.357, 16 SB); David Hemphill III, sr. P/OF (.353, 8-2 pitching, 1.75 ERA, 72 K/71 IP); JonTae Wright, sr. IF (.393, 39 RBI, 13 SB).
Outlook: Edison is back at the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons (and third over the last five) after just missing a year ago, thanks to a 7-6 Quarterfinal win over No. 5 Jackson Lumen Christi. Campbell and Wright made the all-state first team last season and lead a lineup that has scored at least seven runs in 16 games. Junior Melvin Tennyson has been another key player in several ways, going 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA and hitting .318 with 19 stolen bases while leading off and playing center field. The Pioneers’ starting nine are a combined 116 for 128 on stolen-base attempts.
KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 25-8, unranked
Coach: Russ Meyer, first season (25-8)
League finish: First in Southwest Athletic Conference Valley
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Jake Bonnema, jr. 2B (.437, 41 R, 34 SB); James Annen, jr. P/1B/OF (.370, 32 R, 5-2 pitching); Crosby Croel, jr. P/1B/3B (.411, 31 R, 13 2B, 35 RBI, 13 SB, 2-1 pitching); Jackson Herder, sr. P/OF (5-1, 2.33 ERA, .280).
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian’s first trip to the Semifinals since 2014 will be the result of a dominating run for the unranked Comets, who have outscored their six postseason opponents by a combined score of 71-6. Meyer may be in his first season as the varsity coach but has been an assistant at Christian and K-Central and was promoted after a decade as the Comets’ junior varsity coach. Herder and third baseman Logan Bittle (.286, 4-1 pitching, 2.79 ERA) are the only seniors. Sophomore catcher Jace Rarick is another top run producer hitting .337 with 13 doubles and 31 RBI.
ROCHESTER HILLS LUTHERAN NORTHWEST
Record/rank: 28-6, No. 16
Coach: Russ Kouba, second season (53-14)
League finish: Second in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2004.
Players to watch: Jacob Kouba, sr. P/1B/OF (.455, 46 R, 14 2B, 41 RBI, 23 SB, 10-2 pitching, 1.06 ERA, 94 K/59 2/3 IP); Brennan Goebbel, jr. OF (.516, 44 R, 12 2B, 41 RBI, 40 SB); Nick Oberdier, sr. P/1B/3B (.344, 46 RBI, 4-2 pitching, 2.07 ERA, 64 K/44 IP); Landon Lindhurst, jr. OF/1B (.360, 17 SB).
Outlook: Lutheran Northwest earned its first trip to the Semifinals since 2006, a strong next step after also winning a District title in Russ Kouba’s first season leading the program. This lineup has only three senior starters, but they’re major contributors with pitcher/shortstop Ethan Wilks (.291, 15 SB, 6-1 pitching, 2.17 ERA, 52 K/38 2/3 IP) joining Jacob Kouba and Oberdier noted above. Sophomore catcher Josiah Kouba (.367) is among younger players who have stepped into prominent roles, and junior Rudy Hauss is a catalyst at the top of the order hitting .302 with 44 runs scored and 25 stolen bases.
TRAVERSE CITY ST. FRANCIS
Record/rank: 32-5, No. 1
Coach: Tom Passinault, 13th season (326-96)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2025), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Lanse Vos, jr. 1B/P (.438, 34 R, 7 3B, 32 RBI, 12 SB, 6-0 pitching, 1.50 ERA, 65 K/46 2/3 IP); Sam Wildfong, sr. C/P (.526, 41 R, 15 2B, 62 RBI, 14 SB, 5-1 pitching, 2.59 ERA, 69 K/43 1/3 IP); Tyler Thompson, sr. SS (.382, 51 R, 11 SB, 7-1 pitching, 1.63 ERA); Tyler Endres, sr. P/1B (.353, 9-2 pitching, 1.38 ERA, 82 K/50 2/3 IP).
Outlook: The Gladiators are pursuing a repeat with Wildfong a returning all-state first-teamer and Thompson a returning second-teamer, and total seven starters and both pitchers back from last year’s championship game. The team is anchored by eight seniors – including as well Braxton Lesinski (.326, 35 R, 36 RBI) – but sophomore Colton Peterson (.340, 41 R, 24 SB) and freshman John St. Peter (.340, 38 R, 19 SB) are also among top hitters. Endres got the pitching win and Vos closed last season’s Final after Wildfong threw a complete game in the Semifinal.
Division 4
PAINESDALE JEFFERS
Record/rank: 15-8, unranked
Coach: Joe Romano, first season (15-8)
League finish: Fourth in Western Peninsula Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Blake Heltunen, soph. 3B/P (.458, 22 SB); Brogan Turner, sr. P/CF (.424, 26 R, 31 RBI, 11 SB, 4-0 pitching, 1.66 ERA); Carson L’Esperance, fr. SS (.372); Pierce Johnson, jr. C (.326, 24 R, 17 SB, 3-1 pitching).
Outlook: Jeffers is making its first trip to the Semifinals as a talented group of athletes who have had success in other sports have brought it to the diamond as well. The Jets advanced with a 15-9 Quarterfinal win over No. 15 Norway and have scored 10 or more runs in all five of their postseason games. There are only three senior starters, but they bat among the top four – although Jeffers will play this weekend without a fourth senior, pitching ace Cameron Anderson (5-1, 1.99 ERA), a cross country Finals champion in the fall who was injured last weekend. Romano coached the Jets girls basketball team to a Class D runner-up finish in 1994.
MARCELLUS
Record/rank: 21-11, unranked
Coach: Christian Hutson, 11th season (143-138)
League finish: Second in Southwest 10 Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Seth Barrera, sr. IF/P (.392, 39 R, 14 2B, 16 SB, 6-4 pitching, 2.60 ERA, 67 K/59 1/3 IP); Eli Torres, sr. IF/P/C (.367, 31 RBI, 2-0 pitching); Abram Coffey, jr. IF/P (.684, 4-0 pitching, 1.31 ERA); Cale Hackenberg, jr. IF/P/C (.584, 44 R, 13 2B, 44 RBI, 19 SB, 7-3 pitching, 2.25 ERA, 114 K/53 IP).
Outlook: Marcellus also is making its first trip to the Semifinals, thanks to a 9-6 Quarterfinal win over No. 4 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep and a pair of one-run Regional wins. Coffey made the all-state second team last season but has played only the last month after recovering for an injury – but he returned just in time to bolster a strong lineup that includes just two seniors. Hutson, who also coaches the girls basketball team, was a standout at Decatur and is the grandson of former softball coach Ron Swartz, who led Marcellus to a Class D title in 1986.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 36-4, No. 2
Coach: Earl Hartman, 43rd season (944-423)
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 1996), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Noah Zeien, sr. 3B/P (.460, 66 R, 45 SB, 3-0 pitching, 0.54 ERA); Hank MacDonald, jr. C/1B (.442, 14 2B, 67 RBI); Brady Davis, sr. 1B/P (.536, 51 R, 14 2B, 48 RBI, 23 SB, 12-2 pitching, 0.52 ERA, 103 K/54 1/3 IP); Nate Siler, jr. SS/P (.457, 11 2B, 51 RBI, 13-1 pitching, 0.80 ERA, 134 K/70 1/3 IP).
Outlook: Sacred Heart has defeated No. 7 Fowler, No. 5 Fulton, No. 3 Beal City and No. 1 Portland St. Patrick during this first Semifinal trip since 1997, and Saturday’s 4-2 Quarterfinal win over the Shamrocks avenged a regular-season loss. Siler made the all-state first team last season and with Davis gives the Irish a powerful 1-2 punch on the mound. Senior center fielder Teegan Duffy (.422, 64 R, 37 RBI, 20 SB) is another big bat at the top of the lineup and has a team-high five triples as well.
ROYAL OAK SHRINE CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 26-8, No. 11
Coach: Dan Noble, 16th season (335-165-3)
League finish: Second in CHSL Intersectional
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up in 2003.
Players to watch: Nate Alba, sr. P/IF/OF (.286, 31 R, 31 RBI, 11-2 pitching, 1.40 ERA, 170 K/84 2/3 IP); Caydin Barbato, sr. P/IF (.444, 50 R, 21 SB); Luke Robinson, fr. P/1B/OF (.385, 35 R, 31 RBI, 21 SB, 3-1 pitching, 2.71 ERA); Sean Murphy, sr. P/C/UTY (.468, 40 R, 17 2B, 43 RBI, 17 SB, 7-3 pitching, 2.62 ERA, 85 K/58 2/3 IP).
Outlook: Shrine won its second Regional championship in four seasons over the weekend, and didn’t give up a run over its first four postseason games until edging Allen Park Cabrini 11-10 in the Quarterfinal. The Knights bounced back from a brief four-game skid midseason to win their last nine, and they’ll bring plenty of pitching to MSU including as well junior Owen Bellows (5-1, 2.91 ERA). Senior Blake Archibald (.333) is another solid bat at the top of a lineup that’s hitting .305 overall this spring.
PHOTO (Top) Traverse City’s St. Francis’ Matthew Kane (25) and Colton Peterson celebrate a moment during a Semifinal win in 2025.
Algonac Diamond Teams Hope Matching Successes Lead to East Lansing
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 24, 2023
Kenna Bommarito remembers how many people were in East Lansing a year ago to support her and her Algonac softball teammates at the Division 3 Semifinals.
So, she has an idea of how many people from the town would show up if both the softball and baseball teams were there this time around.
“I think everyone would be,” the junior pitcher said.
There’s a decent possibility that Bommarito’s theory could be tested. The Muskrats softball team is ranked No. 2 in Division 3, and Tuesday night clinched the first Blue Water Area Conference title in program history.
That came one night after the baseball team – ranked No. 1 in Division 3 – also won its first BWAC title. The BWAC was created in 2002, and Algonac was an original member.
“It’s amazing – this town loves it,” said senior baseball player Tyler Schultz. “We’ve got a small community, and everybody is tagging along. I remember last year, a couple of our final postseason games, that was the most people I’ve ever seen at a game. All of the sports here are starting to build up. We have athletes all around the school. I think as time goes on, I think each sport will get better and better.”
Bommarito’s imagined scenario nearly played out a year ago, as both teams made their deepest postseason run.
While the softball team was making its historic run to the Semifinal, the baseball team was making one of its own, advancing to the Quarterfinal for the first time in program history.
The baseball team’s movement toward this started with the 2017 and 2018 seasons, when the Muskrats won back-to-back District titles.
“We had a couple DI (college) players, and when you have those players come through, it generates excitement through the youth,” said Algonac baseball coach Scott Thaler, who took over the program in 2017. “It’s been a trickle-down effect from that initial first two years. That really set the bar. We’ve had some really good baseball players come through, and I have a great staff.”
Thaler had stressed back then that he wanted to build a program at Algonac and not have it be a flash in the pan. That certainly looks like it’s happening, and not just because his Muskrats are winning and sitting atop the state rankings.
Algonac – which has fewer than 500 students in the entire school – has junior varsity and freshman baseball teams. Thaler also said there are 25 eighth graders coming into the program next year.
“I think that when I was smaller in little league, we didn’t really have that where we went out on the field with the varsity players,” said junior pitcher Josh Kasner. “Now, that’s gotten a lot better. A lot of the smaller kids we see around town, they know who we are and about (the program).”
Of course, talent wasn’t enough to get there. Thaler needed to instill belief in his team in order to help the younger generation see what was possible.
“I was a (football assistant) coach under Scott Barnhart, and one of the things we preached to the kids back then is ‘To believe in the things you haven’t seen before,’” Thaler said. “That’s the mantra we brought to them last year, ‘Why not us?’ Just because it hasn’t happened before here doesn’t mean you can’t believe in that. We had to get them to believe.”
The Quarterfinal run provided proof beyond the belief for the Muskrats, and then the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association added to it all, naming Algonac the preseason No. 1 team in Division 3.
Luckily for Thaler, his team took it in stride.
“I mean, it was a great feeling, but part of me had some doubts,” Schultz said “We’ve got some younger kids on the team, and I thought that maybe they might look at that and might get complacent, but me and some of the other seniors have done a good job of keeping all of these guys looking forward. We’ve still got one goal, and that’s to finish (with a Finals title).”
While the softball team didn’t enter the season with a No. 1 ranking, the expectations were certainly there, as was a new target on its back.
But bigger than both was motivation following a walk-off loss to Millington in the Semifinal.
“I think it just shows us that in those big games with those types of teams, you can never say never,” said first-year softball coach Natalie Heim, who was an assistant on last year’s team. “You really have to bear down. That Millington team that beat us, they fought hard. But I definitely think it fuels us more to get back.”
The softball program’s rise may have seemed more sudden to those on the outside, but senior Ella Stephenson said it had been bubbling for a while.
“My sophomore year, we had some talent for sure,” she said. “We had a really good season, but not as good as junior and senior year. The class above me was really talented. But they kind of turned the program around in my eighth-grade year, and it kind of kept building from there.”
During Stephenson’s sophomore season, the Muskrats lost a tough District game against Richmond, which went on to win the Division 3 Finals title. Not only are the Blue Devils a common early postseason opponent for the Muskrats, they’re also a conference rival. As is Almont. And Croswell-Lexington. And … It’s a brutal conference.
So, much like the baseball team, even during the softball team’s historic 2022 season, winning the conference this spring proved to be tougher than making a deep postseason run.
That made Tuesday night’s sweep of North Branch to clinch the BWAC that much sweeter.
“Honestly, it’s a rush of just happiness,” Bommarito said. “We’re all so excited and just can’t believe we did it. We just played game-by-game today, and really took it one pitch, one out at a time.”
Not only has the BWAC prepared the Muskrats for the possibility of another deep postseason run, it helped keep them focused throughout the season.
“I think a lot of teams don’t have that luxury of facing the best competition during the season,” Heim said. “I think it keeps (the Muskrats) not looking too far ahead. We try to have that approach of one game at a time, one inning at a time, one pitch at a time. It helps with having goals that are a little tougher to achieve. Winning our league, it’s tough. It’s not an easy feat. Especially after last year’s success, it would have been easy to look ahead.”
Now, with league titles secured, both teams can focus on their ultimate goals and the postseason that is directly in front of them.
All with the hope that their similarities – on top of the league titles, both teams are 29-2 as of Wednesday, and both have a University of Michigan-bound player (Kasner and Stephenson) – continue through the third weekend of June with matching trips to East Lansing.
“That’d be unreal. That would be so cool,” Stephenson said. “We all have really good friendships on the baseball and softball teams. Our records are identical. We both won our conference. It’s just really cool. I’m really happy for their success, and ours, too.”
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) Algonac pitcher Kenna Bommarito makes her move toward the plate during last season’s Division 3 Semifinal against Millington. (2) Matthew Rix slides into home as a throw comes in. (3) The Muskrats huddle up in the baseball outfield. (4) The Algonac softball team stands together for a team photo. (Baseball photos and softball team photo courtesy of the Algonac athletic department.)