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.
Pallozzi Seeking to Add Memorable Finish to Unforgettable Start as Mercy's Ace
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
April 3, 2025
FARMINGTON HILLS — Three years ago at about this time, Farmington Hills Mercy softball coach Corey Burras sent then promising freshman Kaitlyn Pallozzi out to the circle for her first varsity game knowing she possessed lots of potential.
But what happened next is something that still amazes Burras and everyone else who witnessed it.
Pallozzi threw a no-hitter in that debut, striking out 14 batters for the Marlins. Oh, and it got better.
Three days later, Pallozzi struck out all 21 batters she faced in a 1-0 win over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, becoming the 12th pitcher in state history to strike out at least 21 in a seven-inning game and the third to strike out at least 21 straight hitters.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a game like that, playing or watching,” Burras said. “It was magical to see.”
Magical would be a good way to describe the high school career up to this point for Pallozzi, who is now a senior and a solid contender to be throwing the final out of this year’s Division 1 championship at Secchia Stadium come June.
Going into the season opener Tuesday at Dearborn Divine Child, Pallozzi had a 57-4 record, 899 strikeouts and a 0.54 earned-run average in 372 2/3 innings pitched for her career.
Signed to play collegiately for Alabama, Pallozzi also is a .400 hitter in the heart of Mercy’s lineup.
But her pitching dominance is what’s been especially notable during her high school career, which is somewhat remarkable since she said she wasn’t full-time into the position until she was about 13 years old while playing travel ball.
“I did pitch, but just in the (travel) seasons, I was never put in (games),” Pallozzi said. “I played third base and first base. When I got to 13-U, I was put in more and I started developing. I had been working for it my whole life. I knew I always wanted to be a pitcher. I really worked over that winter and then coming into the summer, it really took off.”
Already with a good arm from playing third base, it didn’t take long for Pallozzi to master the craft of pitching, how to move the ball and change speeds.
“I always threw pretty hard,” she said. “My location was inaccurate. I had to work on locating, adding a changeup and also a rise ball.”
Burras said Pallozzi took her game to a whole new level last year in the midst of a tougher schedule, practically driving Mercy to a Semifinal berth.
While it might seem impossible, Burras said there definitely can be more improvement from Pallozzi this year as a senior, even as she is arguably the favorite for the Miss Softball Award.
“She drove our team to the best it could be last year,” Burras said. “What’s she’s working on is accepting the role and responsibility of being a leader on the team. Also, accepting the role and pressure of getting all this attention, which she doesn’t want. She wants to go out there and support her teammates, play great softball and get prepared for the next stage.
“The most improvement you’ll see is strength and size. She’s also working on the mental aspect of the game, knowing it’s OK if she gives up a hit and it’s OK if she’s not at her best.”
There haven’t been too many times in high school where Pallozzi hasn’t been at her best, but the one most notable occasion is what is driving her and the Marlins this spring.
Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong in a 10-0 Semifinal loss to eventual Division 1 champion Hudsonville last year. With Pallozzi and all but two regulars back from that team and a roster filled with seniors, it’s no wonder Mercy is on top of the preseason coaches association Division 1 rankings.
“I think we are all fueled because of that game,” Pallozzi said.
As difficult as her debut three years ago has been to top, if Pallozzi and Mercy can celebrate a title in East Lansing, her last game of high school softball would be even more memorable than her first.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Kaitlyn Pallozzi makes her move toward the plate during last season’s Division 1 Semifinal against Hudsonville. (Middle) Pallozzi, during a practice this spring.