Escanaba Delivers Memorable D2 Encore
June 15, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Two rarities happened in the first inning of the MHSAA Division 2 softball championship game Saturday at Michigan State’s Secchia Stadium.
The first was Escanaba all-state pitcher Gabi Salo allowed a walk against Stevensville Lakeshore. The second was Salo gave up a run.
Salo entered the championship game with a 25-2 record, 0.24 earned run average and 337 strikeouts and just 21 walks.
If that’s not enough, she had given up only six earned runs all year.
She gave up three runs – two earned – in the championship game, but contained the Lancers enough to secure a 7-3 victory that clinched the Eskymos’ second straight Division 2 title.
“I thought I had my best stuff today,’’ said the junior pitcher. “I thought I went out strong.
“This means so much. Our school went without a state title from 1981 until last year. For us to bring home another one, I don’t have words. This one feels even better than last year.’’
The Lancers surprisingly struck early when Salo surrendered a two-out walk and Meghan Younger drove her home on a double just out of the reach of the centerfielder. It was just the seventh earned run Salo had given up this season.
She finished Saturday with 11 strikeouts while allowing seven hits. Escanaba finished the spring 34-3, while Lakeshore ended 33-11.
Salo helped her own cause in the second inning with a game-tying sacrifice fly, scoring Lexi Chaillier, who had walked, stolen second base and was sacrificed to third.
Escanaba took advantage of two walks and a bounce out to first by Chaillier to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Younger was able to solve Salo with two singles and a double, but her teammates mostly were stifled until the sixth.
Meanwhile, Escanaba loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out on a walk and singles by Heather Bergstrom and Carsyn Segorski. Chaillier popped out, but Nicole Kamin and the Eskymos took advantage of a fly ball dropping out of an outfielder’s mitt that allowed three runs to score and gave the reigning champ a 5-1 lead.
A four-run cushion with three innings left was all Salo needed.
Lakeshore put together a threat in the top of the sixth inning on a single by Younger and fielder’s choice and error by Salo.
Shelby Grau singled, but rightfielder Chaillier threw out a Lakeshore runner at home to negate a potential run. However, Anna Chellman came through with a two-run single to left field to make it 5-3. Salo got out of trouble with a strikeout with two runners on.
“Originally, I was going to throw it to first because I’ve gotten a few girls out at first on those kinds of hits,’’ said Chaillier. “I saw the girl running from third, and I knew I had to go home with it.’’
Said winning coach Gary Salo: “(Chaillier) better be on some all-state teams. I’m going to be upset if she isn’t. She does everything for us. That was a great throw.”
Escanaba sealed the win in the bottom of the sixth inning when a Lakeshore wild pitch allowed two runs to score.
“All week we just kept saying we’re three wins away from going to Wienerlicious (restaurant in Mackinaw City) … (then) we’re two wins away,” Gary Salo said. “We’re going to go back home and celebrate there. We haven’t been home all week.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Escanaba's Georgia Lehto connects with a pitch during Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Eskymos' Gabi Salo fires toward the plate.
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.)