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High 5s - 6/19/12

June 21, 2012

The final High 5s of 2011-12 go to a pair of Ishpeming Westwood golfers who led their team to a rare feat of four straight Finals championships, and perhaps the most unexpected team champion of the spring season -- the Dansville softball team, which downed reigning champion Petersburg-Summerfield in the Division 4 championship game.

Berkley LaFreniere
Ishpeming Westwood senior
Golf

LaFreniere completed her fourth and final season on the Westwood golf team this spring by helping the Patriots to a fourth-straight MHSAA title. She shot a 90 to finish individual runner-up at the Division 2 Final to teammate Megan Manninen. LaFreniere also was a forward on the basketball team and played No. 1 doubles for the tennis team that ended the fall with a third-straight Upper Peninsula Division 2 championship. Three of the golf titles were in Division 2, while the 2010 championship came in Division 1.

Winning ways: "It takes a lot of practice. Obviously the time you put in is what gets you the best results. But I also think it's about having fun."

I learned the most about golf from: "My dad (Paul) is a big golfer. We've had a membership at Wawonowin (Country Club) since I was really little. I would say maybe 10 years old (is when I started), maybe even younger."

If I could play with three others: "Rory (McIlroy) from the PGA, Tiger Woods just because he's the best known, and probably Jack Nicklaus. I just always hear about him when I'm watching golf. They always compare things to him."

Up next: LaFreniere will attend the University of Michigan and study one of the sciences, perhaps biochemistry, on the way to becoming a pediatric oncologist. "When they find a cure for cancer, I want to be part of that."

(Click to read more.)

Megan Manninen
Ishpeming Westwood senior
Golf

Manninen, with LaFreniere, also completed her fourth and final season on the Westwood golf team as part of the Patriots' fourth-straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals winner. Manninen shot an 87 to also win her second-straight and third total UP Division 2 individual championship. A point guard on the basketball team, she'll signed to play hoops this fall at Lake Superior State University.

I learned the most about golf from: "My dad (Kevin Manninen). He's the manager of Wawonowin Country Club and was the manager as Marquette Golf Course. He played at Oakland University and in a couple of U.S. Open qualifiers."

If I could play with three others: "My dad, Jame (Reichardt, her uncle who died May 14) and my grandpa (Harold Reichardt)."

My favorite golfer to watch: "Rory McIlroy. I enjoyed watching him last year in the U.S. Open. He was new, and he was trying to win for his dad because it was Father's Day. I enjoyed watching him a lot." 

My favorite to watch play hoops: "Skylar Diggins, the point guard for Notre Dame. I like her control and leadership."

Up next: Manninen will get the chance to contribute immediately for the Lakers' basketball team, and will major in pre-med with hopes of becoming a physician assistant. "I want to help people, and when I was down at U-M (to visit her uncle at the hospital) I saw a lot of opportunities to do that."

(Click to read more.)  

Dansville softball

On Friday, the Aggies won their first MHSAA Semifinal. On Saturday, the finished the weekend with the Division 4 championship. Dansville was in its third trip to Bailey Park over the last four seasons, and defeated top-ranked and two-time reigning champion Petersburg-Summerfield, 3-2. Not only was it the first softball championship in school history, but also the first MHSAA title in any girls sport. The Aggies had entered the postseason ranked No. 9 and finished this spring 31-5.

This spring's previous honorees

Forgettable Start, Unforgettable Finish

June 13, 2015

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING — The goal for Warren Regina after eight games wasn't to win an MHSAA softball championship.

It was much simpler than that: Just win one game. 

Although records don't exist for such things, it's safe to assume that Regina is the first team to win an MHSAA championship after starting a season 0-8 (without forfeits).

The journey from frustration to elation concluded Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Caledonia in the Division 1 title game at Michigan State University. 

Regina finished with a 27-16 record but more importantly, was 7-0 during the MHSAA tournament. The Saddlelites allowed only eight runs and had three shutouts in those seven games.

Once Regina's record hit 3-11, a team meeting was convened. 

"We talked about, 'Hey, we have a lot of team talent. Why waste it this year?'" said senior pitcher Marissa Tiano, who pitched a two-hitter and struck out nine against Caledonia.

It was the kind of start that Regina's players can make light of in retrospect. 

"We actually made jokes about it," said Regina junior Nicole Roeske, who was 3 for 3 in the Final. "It's a whole different team, like a family now. At the beginning, we were frustrated with losing."

Legendary Regina coach Diane Laffey said that, in her role as athletic director, she was partially to blame for the slow start.

"I was probably stupid," said Laffey, who has won 1,066 games in 45 years as Regina's coach. "I front-loaded the schedule and probably shouldn't have. Of those eight losses, two were to Mercy, two were to Ladywood, two were to Romeo, two were to Dakota. Those are all good teams. We weren't losing to flukes, but it gets really frustrating." 

The only frustration Saturday was experienced by the Caledonia hitters, who couldn't get to third base and reached second only twice. The Fighting Scots' most reliable way to reach base was getting hit by pitches. They were hit three times, walked twice and had only two singles.

"We didn't show the kind of team we are today," Caledonia coach Tom Kaechele said. "She had us guessing up there. We just didn't adjust, but that's the game of softball. That's why you compete at this level. We just played at the highest level we could in Division 1, and there are 199 other schools who would like to be here just like us." 

The game was scoreless through three innings before Regina broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth. Roeske led off with a single and scored on a two-out triple to right-center field by Hailey Reese.

"Knowing my team, I knew all we needed was one big hit and we'd win the game," Reese said. "I had faith in them." 

The Saddlelites busted it open with a four-run fifth inning.

On a 3-2 pitch, Riley Hison lined a double deep to left field to score two runs. Hison moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a pitch in the dirt. Sydney Spatafore scored the final run of the fifth just before a tag on a runner going from second to third ended the inning. 

Caledonia (34-5) had batters hit by pitches in each of the last three innings, but neither got past first base.

Regina has a 6-0 record in MHSAA Finals, winning its first title since going on a four-year run from 2004-07. 

"Our picture goes up in the gym along with the other ones," Tiano said. "It feels great."

Caledonia was playing beyond the regional round for the first time. 

"We're disappointed, obviously," Kaechele said. "This team has overcome a lot of adversity this year. To be 34-5 is an awfully good season. I told them to make sure you celebrate this moment and look at the accomplishments you've had this year. We've never been here before. We've never won a Regional before. You need to celebrate that for the program, the community and yourselves."

Click for the box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Longtime Regina coach Diane Laffey hoists her team’s championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) Regina’s Lauren Buckowski tries to beat a throw to first base with Hannah Horvath covering.