D4 Final to Match Familiar and New
June 17, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — It never feels like just another game for Unionville-Sebewaing this deep into the MHSAA softball tournament.
Any team made up of high school kids is going to feel some nerves, even if they represent a program that has played in the Semifinals 11 straight years.
"We've been here so many years, but it still feels like the first time," Patriots senior second baseman Kayla Gremel said. "It's still such a surreal experience. We don't take it for granted, that's for sure."
After a slow start, Unionville-Sebewaing heated up and rolled to a 12-3 victory over Morenci in the MHSAA Division 4 Semifinals on Friday at Michigan State University. The Patriots scored eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings after nursing a 4-3 lead through four.
The reigning champion Patriots (35-7) will now move on to their fourth straight championship game and eighth in 11 years against Indian River Inland Lakes (31-3) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at MSU's Secchia Stadium. Inland Lakes beat Holton, 2-0, in the other Semifinal.
Only four other programs have made the Softball Finals at least four years in a row. Bay City All Saints (1987-91) and Kalamazoo Christian (1996-2000) share the record of five consecutive trips to the Finals. Stevensville Lakeshore (1995-98) and Harper Woods Regina (2004-07) went four consecutive years.
Senior pitcher Nicole Bauer is the only member of the current team to reach four championship games. She will be the starting pitcher for the third year in a row. She played in 28 of the team's 39 games her freshman year, but none after the Districts.
Even Bauer notices a different feeling on the final weekend of the season.
"We had some butterflies, just being on the big stage," Bauer said in explaining the slow start. "We just didn't communicate, but we worked it out in the end. I'm a senior. It's my last time here. I just want to do what I can to help my team win."
Bauer helped Unionville-Sebewaing return to the Final by striking out eight and allowing six hits and no walks as a pitcher. As a batter, she went 2 for 3 with a team-leading three RBI.
"In the summer, I don't really hit, so I kind of lost my swinging," said Bauer, who has signed with Stanford University. "I just got it back."
Unionville-Sebewaing is counting on not only its big-game experience over the years, but its experience against tough competition this season to produce a second straight title.
The Patriots have played both Division 1 finalists, beating Macomb Dakota, 3-0, and losing to Farmington Hills Mercy, 12-5. They split with Division 3 finalist Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central and went 1-2 against Saginaw Swan Valley, the top-ranked team in Division 2.
"We've played against some really good teams who are still here," Patriots coach Steve Bohn said. "We've been in those situations where we've been down 2-1 and have thrown some balls away and had to get some hits."
Unionville-Sebewaing is trying to become more than just a great small-school program. The Patriots lost in Division 3 Finals in 2013 and 2014 before winning in Division 4 last year.
"This season we played better competition, and we've done well against them," Bauer said. "It's so rewarding to play teams that are out of our division, like Division 1 and Division 2 teams."
The Patriots had to lean upon the experience of playing in tough games when Morenci took a 2-1 lead in the second inning on an infield single by Hannah Borton that scored Angela Davis and Mikayla Price.
In the bottom of the second, Bauer drove the ball to the base of the fence in left-center field with the bases loaded to score three runs, giving the Patriots a 4-2 lead.
Borton's third RBI of the game came on a single in the fourth, getting Morenci within 4-3.
The Patriots gave themselves some breathing room with a three-run fifth. The runs scored on a bloop single to center field by Marisa Morton, Alexis Cady's steal of home on a double steal and a single by Brianna Osantowski.
The rout was on in the sixth, as Unionville-Sebewaing put up five more runs. The highlight was a two-run double by Cady.
"I looked halfway through the game," said 44th-year coach Kay Johnson, who coached Morenci to back-to-back Class C championships in 1985 and 1986. "They had a lot of two-out runs. We were just that close."
In contrast to Unionville-Sebewaing, Morenci hadn't played in a Semifinal since 1994. The Bulldogs (25-15) may not have to wait that long to make a return visit, as their starting lineup had three freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and one senior. Morenci has reached the Quarterfinals three consecutive years.
"It's good to have the experience here," Johnson said. "Even being in the Quarterfinals three years in a row, we weren't afraid to be there. We were used to being there. It would be nice to bring them back again, and they can settle in."
Indian River Inland Lakes 2, Holton 0
Cloe Mallory had to make do without her favorite bat.
She did just fine.
Mallory's primary bat was ruled illegal before the game, as it failed to pass a compression test. Using her backup stick, she slammed a two-run homer over the right-center field fence in the first inning to produce the game's only runs. Precious Delos Santos was on base after getting hit by a pitch.
"I had to switch to my old bat," said Mallory, a junior who is a Central Michigan University commit. "I was just so thankful I could mentally get through that. They (test) because it's states. I tried blocking it out as much as I could."
Mallory made the lead hold up, as she pitched a two-hitter and struck out 13, while not allowing a runner to pass second base. She couldn't have asked for a better start, striking out the side in the top of the first, then producing a two-run bomb in the bottom of the inning.
Holton coach Kirk Younts had pitcher Mikaela Baker intentionally walk Mallory the next two times she came to the plate, even loading the bases with two outs in the fifth.
"I wish I'd have done that the first time, but you've got to go after it a little bit," Younts said. "She single-handedly beat us. She had their runs and struck us out a bunch. She was on, and she's a great player."
Baker also pitched a two-hitter, walking four. Mallory had three walks.
It's only the second time than Inland Lakes has reached an MHSAA championship game in any sport. The 1998 baseball team lost to Southgate Aquinas, 9-3, in the Division 4 title game.
PHOTOS: (Top) Unionville-Sebewaing’s Rylee Zimmer touches third base ahead of a throw Friday. (Middle) Cloe Mallory prepares to fire a pitch for Indian River Inland Lakes during its Division 4 Semifinal win.
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.