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.
Nelson Aiming for Another Finals Trip to Close Stellar Whiteford Career
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 16, 2024
OTTAWA LAKE – It’s easy to figure out what is on Unity Nelson’s mind.
The Ottawa Lake Whiteford softball pitcher is focused on getting the Bobcats back to Michigan State University and in a position to win a Division 3 championship.
“We’re going to get back there,” Nelson nods, while knocking softly on the wooded dugout at Whiteford’s softball field.
Nelson has been one of the most dominating pitchers in the state the past couple of seasons and has the No. 1-ranked Bobcats poised for another strong season. Whiteford has come painfully close the last couple of seasons to bringing home a Finals title but come up short.
In 2021 they lost in the Division 4 Quarterfinals after going 32-5. In 2022, Whiteford won a school-record 40 games before falling in the Division 4 championship game. Last season, a 37-5 season ended with a loss in the Division 3 Final.
Nelson said this year’s Bobcats are a new team with the same championship mindset.
“We are really close,” she said. “That helps us. On and off the field, we are very close. With some of the new faces on the team, I think all the seniors have had to step up a little bit. We want everyone to have fun, and we are trying to help them with the new experience.”
Nelson grew up in nearby Clinton, where her sister Tierney was an all-state pitcher who went on to play a season at Lamar State College in Texas. Unity followed in her sister’s softball footsteps.
“I remember watching my sister play,” Nelson said. “She was a pitcher and I looked up to her. I’ve seen videos of me pitching when I was 4.”
By 7, Nelson was pitching to her dad, Mike, and joined a travel team. As a ninth grader, she enrolled at Whiteford and was an instant hit.
The Bobcats are coached by Matt VanBrandt, previously an all-state baseball player at the school and Whiteford’s baseball coach for several seasons before he gave it up around the time his daughters Anna and Aly were born. His wife Audra assists him, and both daughters played for them. Aly won the Miss Softball Award last year as the top senior position player and is now starting for University of Indiana.
Nelson came into this season 64-6 over her three varsity seasons, with 858 strikeouts in 404 innings. She’s allowed just 26 earned runs in three seasons. Last year in the District, she struck out 22 of the 24 batters she faced over eight perfect innings.
She already holds several Whiteford single-season and career records, but Matt VanBrandt is careful not to overpitch the 5-foot-2 Nelson.
“I don’t plan on pitching her any more this season,” he said. “She’s pitched about 65 or 70 percent of the innings over the last three years, and that’s what she will do this year. She’s always had another pitcher alongside of her, and this year we have Karlei Conard, who is going to play in college and possibly pitch.”
The soft-spoken Nelson has become more vocal this season.
“At first she was a lead-by-example player,” VanBrandt said. “She was doing that as a freshman.
“This year, she’s become more vocal to the underclassmen, but in a positive way. She’s matured in her leadership. She’s grown every single year. It’s been so much fun to watch her grow and interact with her teammates. She’s everything you want in a leader. She pushes everyone to be their best.”
Nelson is devoted to the sport. She pitches to her dad as many as five days a week. She’s grown to understand what she needs to do to stay sharp.
“If I need to work on a certain pitch, I’ll do that,” she said. “I’ll listen to what my body needs. If it hurts, I’m probably not going to pitch. I’ll stretch and ice instead.
“If I don’t feel connected mentally and physically, I try to work and slow things down at home and get back to how I want to feel.”
While Nelson is focused on a state championship, she’s also not in a hurry to speed things up. She wants to enjoy her senior season before she heads off to pitch at North Dakota University.
“I try to just stay in the moment,” she said. “I don’t want to reach too far into the future. It’s about this game, this inning, this pitch. That’s what I want to live by right now. It’s my senior year. I want to hold on to that.”
While Nelson dominates the circle, future Bobcats stars often gather around the dugout to watch. When Whiteford faced Blissfield on Monday in a non-league game, several had a front-row seat, watching and cheering every pitch, every at-bat and occasionally had one of the Whiteford coaches check in to be sure they understood what was happening on the field.
It’s part of keeping the program connected, VanBrandt said.
Nelson and the rest of the varsity Bobcats love seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids watching.
“I hear them cheering when everyone is hitting,” she said. “It’s so cute.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Ottawa Lake Whiteford’s Unity Nelson unwinds toward the plate during a game in the pitching circle. (Middle) Nelson readies to make a play. (Photos by Kristie Conrad.)