Grass Lake Wins Matchup of Aces, Rosel Pitches Ravenna to Historic Semifinal Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2026
EAST LANSING – The highly-anticipated matchup between the previous two Division 3 champions, Evart and Grass Lake, lived up to the billing Friday.
A clutch go-ahead hit in the fifth inning and a solid pitching performance from senior Morgan Conrad helped Grass Lake upset top-ranked and the previously-unbeaten Wildcats 3-2 in the morning’s first Semifinal at Secchia Stadium.
Fourth-ranked Grass Lake (36-5) will attempt to finish a repeat run at 3 p.m. Saturday against Ravenna.
Evart had won the Division 3 championship in 2024 and entered Friday with a perfect 42-0 record.
“Evart is a very solid team, and I’ve followed them for years,” Warriors coach Roger Cook said. “They have a very good tradition, so coming in we kind of talked about the other team, but it was about us and the ball and we try not to look at everything else. The less they have to think about, the better. To be with this group of wonderful human beings for another day is a blessing.”
Grass Lake, which returned five starters this spring from a year ago, relied on its youngsters to deliver a pair of timely hits.
In the third inning, freshman Mikayla Jurek scorched a ball to the base of the wall to score Ava Hemp and give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Evart answered in the bottom of the inning when starting pitcher Kyrah Gray ripped a solo home run over the left field wall to even the score.
But Grass Lake sophomore Chloe Hollifield produced the biggest moment of the game in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and a full count. She laced a shot up the middle to score the eventual game-winning runs.
“I was just thinking bat on ball,” Hollifield said. “Get a hit, or just get on base in general to score a run. Whatever I could do to help my team.”
Added Cook: “Chloe struggled at the beginning of the year, but she has really come through. She’s a great kid who has listened and grinded, and to have her in the spotlight with some of the other girls coming through was phenomenal.”
Evart closed the gap in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI double from senior Keira Elder, but Conrad closed the game with two shutout innings.
The Wildcats tried to rally in the seventh after a throwing error by Grass Lake put the leadoff batter on base. After an intentional walk to put two on with one out, Conrad retired the final two batters.
“I wasn’t stressed because I trust my team so much,” said Conrad, who had two of Grass Lake’s six hits. “We’ve been in many situations where we’ve had close games, and I know to stay calm. Getting worried doesn’t help my team, and I knew with a young team the girls could be nervous, but everyone was so positive and so ready to play.”
Mattisen Tiedt went 2-for-4 for Evart, while Gray struck out 10 and scored two runs.
“I don't remember how many times two girls that have won a state championship have faced each other but that happened today with these two starting pitchers,” Evart coach Shaun Gray said. “I thought both pitchers did awesome. But unfortunately, somebody had to win and somebody had to lose and we were on the wrong side of it today.
“They know they lost the game and they are disappointed, but disappointment is the farthest thing on my mind right now. I’m very proud of these girls. We’d never been down here once, so to be here three times in the last five years has been very special and something that can never be taken from us.”
Ravenna 7, New Lothrop 0
It took a while for Ravenna’s bats to wake up Friday. But once they did, it allowed the third-ranked Bulldogs to make school history by becoming the first team to advance to a Final.
Junior pitcher Natalie Rosel tossed a two-hitter, and Ravenna (38-1) exploded for six runs in the final two innings. It was Ravenna’s first Semifinal win after losses in their previous two trips.
“Ravenna softball has never been in a state finals game, so this is a huge accomplishment,” Ravenna coach Dave Sherman said. “I feel good about it, our coaching staff feels good about it and our girls obviously feel really good about it. It’s a compliment to our coaching staff because they do a great job, and the girls leaned on what they’ve been working on for a long time.”
Rosel’s complete-game shutout included 13 strikeouts. She didn’t walk a batter.
“This is amazing,” Rosel said. “We’ve worked really hard for this for years. Ever since we were little it’s all we’ve worked toward. It’s exciting to finally be here.”
The Bulldogs struck early with an RBI triple by Emily Postema in the first inning to make it 1-0. However, New Lothrop senior hurler Mallory Heroux silenced Ravenna over the next four innings before the Bulldogs’ potent offense came alive.
Ravenna scored three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Sydney Morrissey plated three runs with a bases-loaded triple in the sixth to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0, and Reese Herremans blasted a two-run home run in the seventh.
“Give credit to their pitcher because she did a good job of keeping us off balance, but we made some adjustments and the two big innings we had we just hit the ball hard,” Sherman said. “A lot of girls contributed, and it’s been a team effort all year long. Today it was our top and middle.”
Unranked New Lothrop (33-11) was making its first Semifinal appearance since winning the Class C title in 1982.
The Hornets started five freshmen.
“Ravenna was tough, but this was a good thing to start the tradition of getting down here,” New Lothrop coach Chad Henige said. “Ravenna has been here, this is routine for them, so getting down here was great and it’s good for the girls and good for the program.”
Postema, Herremans and Riley Homoly combined for seven of Ravenna’s 10 hits.
PHOTOS (Top) Grass Lake pitcher Morgan Conrad makes her move toward the plate during Friday’s Semifinal win over Evart. (Middle) A Ravenna runner slides into third base while New Lothrop's Leigha Eagan awaits a throw.
Flashback 1979: Detroit Dominates Diamonds
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
June 4, 2019
The MHSAA Baseball and Softball Finals will join girls soccer’s championship games in concluding the 2018-19 school year next weekend, June 13-15, at Michigan State University.
Forty years ago, baseball was concluding its ninth season with MHSAA playoffs, while softball was completing its fifth. The metro Detroit area emerged with six of the eight championships awarded, with the Detroit Catholic League earning four of those six titles as games were played at eight sites around the state.
Here’s a flashback to those 1979 championship rounds:
BASEBALL
Among the tournament surprises was the defeat of Birmingham Brother Rice (23-3), winner of the Detroit Catholic League title and favorite to win Class A. Rice blew a 3-0 lead and fell to Flint Carmen 5-3 in a Regional Semifinal. At the time, winners of Regionals immediately advanced to the MHSAA Semifinal round.
Twice beaten by Brother Rice during the regular season and runner-up to the Catholic League crown, Detroit Catholic Central posted wins over Center Line and then St. Clair Shores Lake Shore in Regional play to advance to the final round. A 7-4 victory over Adrian in the Semifinal meant the Shamrocks filled one side of the title-game bracket.
On the other side, Port Huron Northern cut down Flint Carmen, 4-2, in the Regional Final, then slipped past East Kentwood on a game-saving catch by future Oakland A’s prospect Tony Moncrief. Trailing 2-1, East Kentwood loaded the bases in the seventh inning with only one out. A bunt, fielded by Northern pitcher Steve Campau and relayed to catcher Scott MacReady, forced the second out of the inning. After two quick strikes by Campau, Kentwood’s Jeff Bartoszek laced a shot to left-center, but Moncrief brought the crowd to their feet with a last-second diving catch to retire the side, and the Huskies advanced to the championship contest.
In the Final, DCC scored single runs in both the first and third innings off starter MacReady, then added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings off reliever Norm Fretenborough for a 6-1 lead. Junior Chris Sabo, a future National League Rookie of the Year and three-time all-star with the Cincinnati Reds, had a triple and two singles and drove in a pair of runs for the Shamrocks. A seventh inning rally by Northern loaded the bases with nobody out. The Huskies scored three runs to pull within two, 6-4, before running out of steam.
Craig Herberholz, a late-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals, entered the game for Catholic Central in the fourth inning after starter Jeff Evans was struck in the leg by a line drive. Herberholz earned the win, finishing the year with a 9-3 mark. The final round games were played at Battle Creek’s Bailey Park.
Southgate Aquinas’ all-state southpaw, Paul Assenmacher, allowed three hits and struck out nine as Aquinas grabbed a 5-1 victory over South Haven in Class B, hosted at Pontiac Northern High School. Runner-up in 1978, Aquinas ended the year 25-11. South Haven committed an uncharacteristic seven errors during the game, but the biggest blow came in the third inning when starting pitcher Paul Dulik was hit by a line drive just below the knee. A bruised shin meant he was done for the day. With the game scoreless through four innings, Aquinas scored three times in the fifth and twice in the sixth, while South Haven scored its lone run in the sixth.
Assenmacher, who went on to a 14-year MLB career as a relief pitcher, allowed 35 hits and seven earned runs over 86 innings that season, while striking out 113 batters. With the win, he ended the spring with a 10-3 record.
In Class C at Marshall High School, Allen Park Cabrini picked up its first MHSAA Finals baseball title behind the arms of righthander Pat Burns and Steve Nowak. Burns, a senior slinger, won five of the Monarchs’ seven tournament games including an 11-1 two-hit victory in the Semifinal over Lansing Catholic Central. Novak allowed four scattered hits and struck out eight in the title game, a 2-0 win over Clare, before a crowd of 400. The fourth inning provided all the scoring needed as Jerry Jourdan drove home Tim Wylie with a single to left, followed by Chuck White coming home on an error.
It was the third trip to the final rounds for Cabrini and coach Don Oboza. The team posted a 118-47 mark over the previous six seasons, falling in MHSAA Semifinals in 1976 and 1978.
In Class D, Pete Worchester went 3-for-3 in Grosse Pointe University Liggett’s 4-3 win over Frankfort, played at Wyoming. Kevin Wohlfield pitched five innings, while Jack Roberts tossed the final two for the winner.
SOFTBALL
In Class A at Southfield, coach Gary Bryce’s Royal Oak Dondero squad slipped past Grand Ledge 2-1 in extra innings. With the game scoreless through three, Grand Ledge’s Kelly Lawrence singled to open the fourth inning, then star pitcher Bonni Kinne doubled to left to drive in Lawrence, breaking the deadlock. Dondero’s left fielder Kathie Bell ran down a pair of fly balls, followed by a spectacular diving catch by second baseman Beth Fistler to close out the inning, stranding Kinne.
Fistler got Dondero on the scoreboard in the fifth with a single, stole second then advanced to third on a dropped third strike. She scored on a sacrifice to center by first baseman Mena Reyman, knotting the game at 1-1. Dondero’s Sue Larke reached second on an error in the ninth, then scored on another error for the win. It was the first state title for the Oaks since the fall of 1935 when the school, then known simply as Royal Oak, claimed a state title in football (according to media rankings; MHSAA Football Playoffs weren’t introduced until 1975).
Dondero’s Sandy Taylor dealt a four-hitter, picking up her 25th win against two defeats, and with catcher Diane Ashcraft earned all-state honors.
Bryce, who coached Dondero for five seasons, compiling a 130-36 mark, was named Coach of the Year. He is now in his 38th season as head coach of the softball program at Wayne State University.
In a rematch of the 1978 title game, Fenton repeated as Class B champion, downing South Haven 10-4 in a game played at Ionia High School. Pitcher Barb Barclay upped her season mark to 25-2 with the win. She ended her high school career with a 61-5 record including a 45-game winning streak, four no-hitters, and mention in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.” Dee Ann Moore went 5-for-5 in the contest, scoring four times and garnering five RBI. Pat Witt had a three-run homer for the winners. It was South Haven’s third consecutive runner-up finish. Fenton, under coach Dave Lazar, would pick up its third straight title in 1980.
St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic scored three times in the eighth inning to grab a 7-4 win over Armada to earn the Class C crown, its first MHSAA Finals title in any sport. Catcher Mary Beth Borlik went 3-for-4 in the title game with three RBI. Catholic opened a first-inning 3-0 lead, featuring a triple by Borlik that pushed across two runs. Sophomore Beth Sharai picked up wins in both the semi and final contests, hosted at Clare.
In Class D, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Ellen O’Keefe tossed a two-hitter in the morning’s Semifinal, a 5-0 win over Mason County Eastern, and then held Morenci to four hits in its 4-2 title game win. O’Keefe swatted a three-run homer in the Semifinal, then doubled in a run in the championship game, played at Allendale. O’Keefe ended her college career as the winningest pitcher at Northwestern University, with 41 victories (including 16 shutouts). Today, her total ranks ninth in Wildcats history.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fenton’s Barb Barclay fires a pitch in 1979 for the eventual Class B champion. (Top middle) Southgate Aquinas’ Paul Assenmacher receives a throw at first base. (Middle) Allen Park Cabrini celebrated its first MHSAA title in baseball in its third trip to the final rounds. (Below) St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic softball earned the school’s first MHSAA Finals championship in any sport. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)