1st-Time Semifinalists Walled Lake Northern, Grand Haven Earn Championship Chance
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 11, 2026
EAST LANSING — When Walled Lake Northern senior ace pitcher Lyla Turmell faced Northville in a tournament at New Baltimore Anchor Bay on April 25, things didn’t go as planned in a 6-3 loss.
Getting another chance at Northville in a Division 1 Semifinal at Michigan State’s Secchia Stadium on Thursday, Turmell said there were plenty of mental notes to recall from that first meeting.
“We played them earlier in the season, so I kind of knew some of them,” Turmell said. “I knew the hitters, (that) I had to move the ball out more or in more. It 100 percent helped.”
It certainly did, as Turmell limited a powerful Northville offense to just five hits in a 2-1 Northern victory.
In doing so Turmell, who has signed with Toledo, also helped guide the Knights to their first state championship game, where they will meet Grand Haven at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Northern head coach Kristen Woodard said she didn’t offer any special advice to Turmell before the game – other than to just be herself.
“To hit her spots, and I know she’s tough and can do that,” Woodard said.
While Turmell led the Knights in the run-prevention category, sisters Aubrey Kresbaugh and Makenna Kresbaugh provided the offense.
A sophomore, Aubrey Kresbaugh opened the scoring, leading off the game with a home run to right field to give Northern a 1-0 lead.
Northville countered with a run in the bottom of the first inning, tying the game at 1-1 on an RBI single by sophomore Jocelyn Burns after senior Kendall Heron had tripled.
It was the predictable pitcher’s duel from that point between Turmell and Northville senior ace Mary Gugala, until Northern broke through in the sixth.
With Aubrey Kresbaugh on third base and two outs, Makenna Kresbaugh hit a liner to right that ended up dropping for an RBI single that gave the Knights a 2-1 lead.
Northville got its leadoff hitter on base in the seventh inning on an error, but a double play on a popped up bunt, plus a strikeout, ended the game.
Gugala was just as brilliant in defeat for Northville, tossing a four-hitter and striking out 10.
The Mustangs (35-5-1) were making their first Semifinal appearance as well.
“That’s been Mary Gugala for three-plus years,” Northville head coach Scott DeBoer said. “She’s been somebody that just digs deep, and things don’t bother her. She’s only 5-foot-3, but she’s got a heart that’s bigger.”
Grand Haven 8, Macomb Dakota 3
It’s not a formula that Grand Haven head softball John Hall coach wants to consistently follow, but it has sure worked for his team thus far in the MHSAA Tournament.
The Buccaneers have consistently fallen behind in games, but rallied for victories, which happened again against Dakota in the first Division 1 Semifinal.
Grand Haven spotted Dakota a run in the bottom of first inning, but once again roared back in advancing to its first championship game.
“To me, we’re the hunters,” Hall said. “We were down 1-0 to Reeths-Puffer. We were down 4-0 to Rockford. We were down 1-0 to Hudsonville, we were down 1-0 to Traverse City Central and came back to win every game. It wakes them up. I’m not saying we want to go down 1-0 in every game. But it fires them up and wakes them up.”
After Dakota took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by senior Kiley Phelan, Grand Haven responded with a run in the top of the second on an RBI groundout by senior outfielder Claire Sova to tie the game at 1-1.
The Buccaneers then plated two runs in the third inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Lorelei Chiciuk and an RBI single by junior Makenna VandenBrink. Grand Haven then broke the game open in the fifth, scoring four times to take a 7-1 lead. VandenBrink had an RBI single and Sova another RBI groundout during the rally that was aided by a Dakota error.
The run support was more than enough for Chiciuk, the team’s ace who settled down after a rocky first inning.
Chiciuk didn’t allow a hit in the second, third and fourth innings and pitched out of some trouble, most notably in the sixth when she got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with two strikeouts. Sova also made a diving catch to end the fifth inning and save a run.
Chiciuk finished with 15 strikeouts as she moved toward 400 on the season.
“I’ve noticed through every game, the first inning is always the ice-breaker where I go through rocky stuff,” Chiciuk said. “There’s going to be something that happens. But it’s the comeback that happens.
Grand Haven (34-7-1) collected 10 hits.
“We hit all our metrics today,” Hall said. “We love 8 to 10 hits, we love to score four or five runs, and you need about one or two ESPN plays (defensively).”
Dakota made somewhat of an unexpected run in the tournament, with the signature win a 7-5 triumph over No. 2 New Baltimore Anchor Bay in a District Final.
The Cougars advanced to the Semifinals for the first time since finishing Division 1 runner-up in 2022.
“We applied pressure, we got runners in scoring position,” Dakota head coach Shelby Weeks said. “We just couldn’t come up with those key hits today. That’s just how it was for us. The girls fought the whole seven innings.”
PHOTOS (Top) Walled Lake Northern players celebrate after their Semifinal win over Northville on Thursday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) A Grand Haven hitter drives a pitch during her team’s Semifinal victory.
Grass Lake Caps 2025 Softball Season with Classic Title Clincher
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING — The last high school softball game of the 2025 season was played by Grass Lake and Clare, and fittingly the old adage “saving the best for last” applied in what was a thrilling finish between two teams making their first championship game appearances.
Grass Lake ultimately got to celebrate its first title by holding off Clare for a 5-4 win in the Division 3 Final. But it was the seventh inning that had the overflow crowd buzzing, even long after the final out was made.
Clare entered the top of the seventh up 2-1 after scoring a run in the sixth, and Grass Lake had its 7-8-9 hitters coming up.
But Grass Lake head coach Roger Cook wasn’t worried.
“It seems like the bottom of order has been coming through quite a bit,” Cook said. “One through nine, we’re comfortable with the next person.”
Sure enough, freshman Kennedy Collins walked, sophomore Reese Late reached on a bunt single and junior Addalynn Hensen walked to load the bases for the top of the order.
Grass Lake then tied the game at 2-2 when Collins beat a throw to the plate on a ground ball hit to second base.
With the bases still loaded and nobody out, Grass Lake took a 4-2 lead on an infield error, which scored two runs. Grass Lake then went up 5-2 on a sacrifice fly by senior Bree Salts.
Then, it was Clare’s turn to mount a comeback.
In the bottom of the inning, senior Addison McMillan tripled and scored on a single by senior Tessa Kelly to make it 5-3. With two outs, Clare cut the Grass Lake lead to 5-4 on an RBI double by sophomore Breez Yarger.
The Pioneers eventually had a runner on first and third base with two out, but Grass Lake junior pitcher Morgan Conrad ended the game by inducing a flyout.
Whew. What an ending.
“I was definitely nervous, but over the years I’ve learned how to handle those nerves,” said Salts, one of the team’s seniors and catcher. “So I just knew this was the only place in the world I wanted to be in this moment.”
An alum and current teacher at Grass Lake who is in his 24th year as head coach, Cook said he walks by pictures in the school of past Finals championship and runner-up teams.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I’ve been thinking, ‘Gosh, just one time for us to get up there,’” Cook said. “Today is the day.”
Much like it did during its Semifinal win, Clare scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to grab a 2-1 lead.
With runners on first and second and one out, senior catcher Savannah Buzzelli hit a hard ground ball that deflected off the pitcher and went to the left side of the infield. That gave enough time for pinch runner Sophia Buzzelli to score from second base and put Clare ahead.
Grass Lake opened the scoring in the third inning, grabbing a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Salts. Clare tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning when a run scored on a wild pitch.
“We got the ground balls we wanted, we just didn’t capitalize,” Clare head coach Shane Kelly said. “We were in that situation against Gladstone (in a Quarterfinal), got a double play and got out of it. I every bit thought we were going to do the same thing. We just didn’t capitalize.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grass Lake players hoist their championship trophy Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Morgan Conrad (11) yells after arriving at second base.