Multiple Aces Pay Off as Comets Reign
June 15, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BATTLE CREEK — Most softball teams ride one dominant pitcher and hope for the best.
It never hurts to have an insurance policy, however, because even the best pitchers have an off day.
Splitting the pitching duties between two girls all season paid off for Kalamazoo Christian on Saturday in a 16-6 victory over Ubly in the MHSAA Division 4 championship game at Bailey Park.
When Ubly’s first seven batters reached base in a six-run third inning, senior Stephanie VanderLugt was pulled in favor of junior Bekah VanDam.
It was hardly a desperate move for the top-ranked Comets.
VanDam didn’t allow a run in four innings, giving up three hits and striking out three.
Coming into the game, VanDam (15-3) pitched 114 2/3 innings in 20 games.
VanderLugt (18-4) pitched 127 1/3 innings in 22 games, starting every game after Districts.
“I went with Stephanie because it was one game at a time, and we went with her strengths over Bekah’s,” Kalamazoo Christian coach Karla Reno said. “I had to make a decision between the two. Bekah knew her job was to be ready to go in on relief if needed, and go in and throw hard and throw low. That’s exactly what she did.”
While both players are accustomed to pitching regularly, one rarely has to relieve the other. VanDam was playing third base when she got the call to enter the pitching circle.
“It’s unexpected, for sure, but I came in ready to go,” VanDam said. “My adrenaline was going. Normally either one of us is on; she struggled.”
If VanderLugt was upset about her pitching performance, she didn’t let it show when she came to the plate. She finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, including a two-run single that broke a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the third. She finished with a team-high 46 RBI.
“I knew Bekah could do it,” VanderLugt said. “I knew she’s tough.
“I had to get that out of my mind, because if that stayed with me, I never would’ve performed well. I had to suck it up for the team.”
Kalamazoo Christian pounced on Ubly, scoring six runs in the first inning. The Comets’ first six batters reached base.
That’s usually an insurmountable lead in championship softball, but Ubly stormed back with six runs in the third, tying the game on a two-run single by Hailey Kubacki. VanDam entered after Kubacki’s hit, retiring three in a row to end the inning.
“Nerves took over right away, and you could tell that,” Ubly coach Courtney Dekoski said. “The girls never lie down. I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them.”
Kalamazoo Christian took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning. The Comets scored twice in the fifth and ended the game via the 10-run mercy rule with five in the sixth. A sacrifice fly by VanderLugt scored the final run.
Kalamazoo Christian’s run total is the second-most in an MHSAA Final and the 22 combined runs also rank second. Both marks were set in Byron’s 17-10 victory over Kalamazoo Christian in the 1976 Class C title game.
“It was crazy,” VanderLugt said. “They took advantage of what we did wrong, and we did the same for them. I give them a lot of credit for battling when we got up so early.”
Tori Sides was 3-for-5 and scored three runs for the Comets (33-7). Kara Gjeltema and McKena Razenberg were both 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Kubacki was 2-for-2 with two RBI for Ubly, which hadn’t won a Regional until this season.
PHOTOS: (Top) A Kalamazoo Christian runner slides into third base during her team's 16-6 victory. (Middle) Comets hitter Bekah VanDam prepares to make contact with a pitch while teammate McKena Razenberg (4) warms up in the on-deck circle. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Grass Lake Caps 2025 Softball Season with Classic Title Clincher
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING — The last high school softball game of the 2025 season was played by Grass Lake and Clare, and fittingly the old adage “saving the best for last” applied in what was a thrilling finish between two teams making their first championship game appearances.
Grass Lake ultimately got to celebrate its first title by holding off Clare for a 5-4 win in the Division 3 Final. But it was the seventh inning that had the overflow crowd buzzing, even long after the final out was made.
Clare entered the top of the seventh up 2-1 after scoring a run in the sixth, and Grass Lake had its 7-8-9 hitters coming up.
But Grass Lake head coach Roger Cook wasn’t worried.
“It seems like the bottom of order has been coming through quite a bit,” Cook said. “One through nine, we’re comfortable with the next person.”
Sure enough, freshman Kennedy Collins walked, sophomore Reese Late reached on a bunt single and junior Addalynn Hensen walked to load the bases for the top of the order.
Grass Lake then tied the game at 2-2 when Collins beat a throw to the plate on a ground ball hit to second base.
With the bases still loaded and nobody out, Grass Lake took a 4-2 lead on an infield error, which scored two runs. Grass Lake then went up 5-2 on a sacrifice fly by senior Bree Salts.
Then, it was Clare’s turn to mount a comeback.
In the bottom of the inning, senior Addison McMillan tripled and scored on a single by senior Tessa Kelly to make it 5-3. With two outs, Clare cut the Grass Lake lead to 5-4 on an RBI double by sophomore Breez Yarger.
The Pioneers eventually had a runner on first and third base with two out, but Grass Lake junior pitcher Morgan Conrad ended the game by inducing a flyout.
Whew. What an ending.
“I was definitely nervous, but over the years I’ve learned how to handle those nerves,” said Salts, one of the team’s seniors and catcher. “So I just knew this was the only place in the world I wanted to be in this moment.”
An alum and current teacher at Grass Lake who is in his 24th year as head coach, Cook said he walks by pictures in the school of past Finals championship and runner-up teams.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I’ve been thinking, ‘Gosh, just one time for us to get up there,’” Cook said. “Today is the day.”
Much like it did during its Semifinal win, Clare scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to grab a 2-1 lead.
With runners on first and second and one out, senior catcher Savannah Buzzelli hit a hard ground ball that deflected off the pitcher and went to the left side of the infield. That gave enough time for pinch runner Sophia Buzzelli to score from second base and put Clare ahead.
Grass Lake opened the scoring in the third inning, grabbing a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Salts. Clare tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning when a run scored on a wild pitch.
“We got the ground balls we wanted, we just didn’t capitalize,” Clare head coach Shane Kelly said. “We were in that situation against Gladstone (in a Quarterfinal), got a double play and got out of it. I every bit thought we were going to do the same thing. We just didn’t capitalize.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grass Lake players hoist their championship trophy Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Morgan Conrad (11) yells after arriving at second base.