Elementary School Rivalry Set Stage for Clio's Climb Into Statewide Elite
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 22, 2026
Players on the Clio softball team credit their togetherness for their success this season.
The Mustangs are 28-4 this year, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, and feel their close bond on and off the field can elevate them to a third-straight District title, and hopefully much more.
But things weren’t always so friendly, as many of the players started as fierce rivals on either side of the Orange Crush vs. Aftershock rivalry.
Like any good Under-10 matchup, those games were played for the ultimate prize: elementary school bragging rights.
“We always wanted to be the best team,” said senior Kelcy Sperling, a former member of the Orange Crush. “Then we could go to elementary school and say that we’re the best.”
The epic matchups … were actually kind of one-sided, and ultimately played between friends.
“We weren’t very good,” said junior Veronica Tate, a former member of the Aftershock. “They kicked our butts every single time. We just hated them, but we were all friends in the end.”
While the vitriol may not have been there, clearly the talent was, even if eventually banding together to win at the high school level was the furthest thing from their minds.
“I think back then we were just so in the moment,” said junior Addie Taylor, another Orange Crush member. “We were with our best friends, our parents were the coaches, it was just so much fun.”
The Mustangs are still having plenty of fun as they’re rolling to another successful season under coach Kevin Coombe.
Now in his seventh season, Coombe has Clio softball among the contenders in Division 2. The District title in 2024 was the program’s first since 2016, and now they’re looking to get beyond the Regional for the first time since 2004.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Coombe said. “This year, we took the extra step and we’re a little bit better than we’ve been in the past. Year after year of being a solid team has led to the girls buying in.”
As he was building the program, Coombe knew what was coming up and that it could be special. While the team is mostly comprised of upperclassmen, Coombe starts as many freshmen (three) as seniors.
“Oh yeah, we knew what we had coming in as a younger group,” Coombe said. “And they had a good solid core they were going to be joining with. We had a good hope this was going to be the season we would have. We have a pretty dominant pitcher that we can rely on to keep us in games, and we hit from one to nine in the lineup.”
Pretty dominant might be underselling Taylor, who has already committed to play at Wayne State. The junior has an earned-run average below 1.00 and four no-hitters on the season. She’s quick to give credit to those around her, though.
“It makes me a lot more confident knowing that if I make a mistake or miss a spot, something small like that, my teammates are going to pick me right back up,” Taylor said. “I can smile and laugh about it, and make sure I don’t do it again. I love having good coaches and teammates that will pick me up.”
It’s not just the defense helping pick Taylor up, it’s also an offense that is averaging more than 10 runs per game.
“If somebody is having an off day, we just be sure to pick up our teammates with a hit,” Tate said. “We don’t let our energy fall. It’s really important to stay positive and pick up your teammates. As soon as someone’s energy is down, we try to pick up the whole team.”
The hope is that combination of pitching and hitting can lead to extending the District title streak and a historic Regional run. Of course, to accomplish those, the Mustangs will likely have to get through Frankenmuth and Goodrich. It was the Eagles that had long stood in their path to a District title, and again this year look formidable, ranked No. 6 in Division 2.
And it’s Flint Metro League rival Goodrich that has ended each of their past two seasons in the Regional Final. Clio is 1-2 against the Martians this season, splitting their regular-season doubleheader and losing 3-2 this past Tuesday in the conference tournament.
“I think (having rivals standing in their way) makes us want to work hard,” Sperling said. “I know that in practices before those games, we work really hard, and we work hard all the time. But for practices and even warm-ups before those games, we’re locked in and we want to go play our best.”
Knocking off rivals to do something the program hasn’t done in so long would be a moment Sperling and her teammates would never forget, mostly because they’d be doing it together.
“It would mean so much to me,” Sperling said. “This group of girls, I’ve been playing with them since I was 8 years old. So being able to accomplish that with my team would mean so much to me.”
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) Clio’s Kelcy Sperling waits on a pitch during a game this season. (Middle) From top, Evey Wagner, Addie Taylor and Veronica Tate also have been among significant contributors during the Mustangs’ surge. (Photos courtesy of the Clio softball program.)
Laingsburg's Bila Sisters Combine for 5 Records on Softball Diamond
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 27, 2024
Laingsburg’s Ashley Bila finished her senior season this spring with 14 listings in the MHSAA softball record book and three records as she followed up older sister Hailey Bila’s 13 listings and two records set over the first half of this decade.
Ashley set the single-season runs record with 93 as a freshman in 2021 and added the second-most, 91, as a senior in setting the career runs record with 335 over 152 games. She also set the career walks record, drawing 136 including 42 as a senior.
Bila also made the single-season hits list as a freshman with 85 (tied for 12th-most) on the way to finishing fifth on that career list with 279. She is on the career doubles (47) and triples (25) lists and ranks 11th all-time with a .599 career batting average. She also finished with 166 career stolen bases.
Hailey Bila remains tied for the single-season triples record with 20 hits during 2021, and her eight RBI in an inning May 18, 2022, tops a list as well. She also made the single-season home runs list with 14 in 2022 and single-season RBI list with 72 in 2022 and 70 in 2021.
Additionally, Laingsburg teammate Addyson Buchin was added to the single-season pitching wins list after going 35-6 as a sophomore in 2023, and her 18 doubles this spring also earned a listing.
Hailey Bila is playing at Michigan State, and Ashley Bila is playing at Central Michigan.
See below for more recent additions to the softball record book:
Softball
Natalie Wandrie finished her three-season Indian River Inland Lakes career in 2023 among the most accomplished hitters in MHSAA history – and despite her freshman season being canceled due to COVID-19. Wandrie is listed 21 times in the record book, including as a senior for 20 doubles, 24 home runs (fifth all-time), 79 RBI and a .685 batting average. She made career lists with 36 doubles, 47 home runs, 198 RBI and a .651 average over 82 games – the average third all-time, the home runs tied for 11th and the RBI tied for 14th. She’s playing softball and volleyball at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.
Addison’s Laci Mae Patterson earned a record book entry as a junior in 2023, when she hit 11 home runs across 37 games.
Riverview junior Ella Vinco earned a highlight less than a month into the 2024 season, when she made the record book for back-to-back home runs against Dearborn Divine Child on April 20.
Algonac’s Kenna Bommarito entered her senior season this past spring with six record book entries – a combined four for back-to-back homers during the first innings of games in 2021 and 2023, and two more from 18-strikeout six-inning games also in 2023 against Armada and Marine City. She is playing at Oakland.
Decatur’s Sienna Potter entered the 2024 season with five record book entries, including for 16 doubles and 18 home runs as a sophomore.
Grand Ledge prevailed over Mason 25-20 on April 6, 2023, and in doing so hit seven home runs – tying for second-most all-time for one game. The Comets led off with two straight homers and also had a pair back-to-back during the fourth inning.
Several entries for Rogers City’s string of successful seasons at the end of the last decade have been entered, highlighted by a record of nine home runs in one game against Johannesburg-Lewiston in a 2018 District Semifinal. Rogers City as a team was added 17 times, with highs during that time of 481 runs, 438 hits, 85 doubles, 374 RBI and a .403 batting average all in 2017 and 40 home runs in 2018. Total, 31 individual entries were added. Kayla Rabeau’s work included 234 runs, 229 hits, 36 doubles, 25 home runs and 186 RBI from 2015-18. Sarah Meredith was added for a .570 career average, 252 hits, 45 doubles, 38 home runs and 245 RBI from 2013-16. Hannah Fleming made career lists with 208 hits, 47 doubles, 29 homers and 187 RBI from 2015-18, and Taylor Fleming made career lists with 38 doubles, 32 home runs and 185 RBI during the same four seasons. Jayna Hance, Brooklyn Orr and Amanda Wirgau also made individual record lists. Meredith played for Ferris State, Rabeau played for Mott Community College, Hannah Fleming played at Alma College, Hance played at Northwood, and Taylor Fleming played volleyball at Lake Superior State.
Maple City Glen Lake sophomore Laila Shimek didn’t take long to reach the record book during her first season in the spring, driving in seven runs during an 18-3 win over Traverse City Christian on April 16.
Marlette’s Delaney Gage reached the record book for the first time in 2023, with a 15-strikeout five-inning game against Warren Woods-Tower and then 366 strikeouts for that season over 166 innings. She graduated in the spring and is continuing at Northwood.
An unforgettable hitting performance earned Emma Weber five record book entries. The Birmingham Seaholm then-junior hit three home runs, consecutively and including two during the third inning, and drove in seven runs including six in that third inning of her team’s 11-1 win over Rochester Adams on May 16.
Chloe Parker capped her Niles Brandywine career this spring on three career lists, with 64 doubles, 21 home runs and a .570 batting average over 108 games and four seasons. Kadence Brumitt, also a senior this past spring, was added for hitting 10 home runs during her final campaign. Parker is continuing at Central Michigan, and Brumitt is playing volleyball at Valparaiso.
PHOTO Laingsburg’s Ashley Bila runs the bases against Bath during her senior season in the spring. (Photo by Click by Christine McCallister.)