Gladstone Follows 'Rally Girl' to D3 Win
June 14, 2014
By Kelsey Pence
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING – On Friday, Gladstone pitcher Tinner Sharon gave up back-to-back home runs to Coloma in the seventh inning before the Braves came back in the eighth to win their MHSAA Division 3 Semifinal.
On Saturday, Sharon found herself in a similar position – Gladstone led undefeated Unionville-Sebewaing by a run and needed only three more outs to secure the third MHSAA title in program history.
She was anything by nervous.
Sharon struck out all three Patriots she faced in the bottom of the seventh inning, icing a 2-1 win and the Braves’ first championship since 2009.
“After being in the seventh inning (Friday) when they jacked the two homeruns, I was probably the least excited on the field actually,” Sharon said. “I was so focused.”
Sharon’s tournament has been a bumpy ride. She injured her ankle in Friday’s Semifinal while in the pitching circle.
“She knew she wanted to play today,” Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes said. “She is one of the most focused kids I know, and she was coming in here big and focused. It’s just amazing what that girl can do and what she can endure. She is a rally girl out there and got the troops ready in the seventh inning.”
Sharon tripled in the first inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sadie Strasser. But USA’s Allison Hoppe doubled and eventually scored to tie the game in the Patriots’ half.
“I knew they were going to be tough competition, but these girls were in it every step of the way,” Hughes said. “We lost to them in the quarters last year, and our girls wanted revenge.”
Sharon walked and Strasser hit into a fielder’s choice to advance her to second base in the third inning. Lexi Hongisto then ripped a double to deep right field, allowing Sharon’s pinch runner, Alyssa Polley, to score the go-ahead run.
“She was pitching me inside, and I am not a fan of inside pitches,” Hongisto said. “Then she pitched me an outside pitch, and I just went with it and it felt so good.”
The Patriots had a chance to even the score in the fourth inning when Nicole Bauer got a hit to left field with two outs. Jennifer Winchell singled to left field to put two on base, but Rachel Hahn grounded out.
But after retiring three in order, the Patriots again had a chance to tie or take the lead in the fifth.
Mackenzie Eurich doubled to right field to start the inning, with Camille Mayhew subbing in as a courtesy runner. Hoppe struck out, but Stephanie Nueman smacked a pitch to short right field to put two on base with one out. But Gladstone got out of the inning with a double play.
“Our defense has been solid this year and with Tinner on the mound, we are always confident with Tinner,” Hongisto said. “Tinner always tells us one pitch at a time, not one out at a time.”
Sharon pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits, striking out 12 and walking none.
“We had eight hits. We just couldn’t get the one big one,” Patriots coach Steve Bohn said. “That lineout double play was huge for them.”
Neuman finished with two hits for USA, while Nicole Bauer took the loss on in the circle, striking out two, walking two and giving up four hits. Erica Treiber pitched in relief, striking out seven, walking one and holding Gladstone hitless over the last three innings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone pitcher Tinner Sharon gave up one run in a complete-game win. (Middle) Unionville-Sebewaing catcher Breanna Dinsmoore had a hit and caught a pair of pitchers who combined on a four-hitter.
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.)