Pitcher Shows Mercy to 1st Diamond Title
June 18, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — Andrea Elmore's confidence was never shaken.
Even if she wasn't pitching her best, she knew that she had one of the most potent offenses in Michigan to back her up.
"Having a strong offense always builds confidence," she said.
After winning back-to-back slugfests to reach the MHSAA Division 1 softball championship game, second-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy rode the shutout pitching of Elmore to a 4-0 victory over top-ranked Macomb Dakota on Saturday at Michigan State University.
It was the first MHSAA softball title for Mercy, a perennial powerhouse which lost in the Semifinals last season.
"Last year we had some amazing people on our team," Elmore said. "I really wish we could have done it last year for them, too. This year, we're a really close team. I consider them my sisters. Getting to do this one last time, it was emotional yesterday after our last practice. It was amazing to get the win as a team."
The Marlins (43-2) won because Elmore was able to keep Dakota in check while preserving a 1-0 lead through six innings. Mercy broke it open with a three-run seventh.
The game was a contrast to Mercy's Quarterfinal and Semifinal victories, games that the Marlins won 11-7 over Lake Orion and 9-6 over Mattawan. Elmore was taken out of the game against Lake Orion.
"Her sense of humor was incredible," Mercy coach Alec Lesko said. "The day after the quarterfinal game, she walked in and said, 'Well, coach, I'm barely making it.' I didn't understand what it was until I read one of the articles. So I said to Andrea, walking out to start the game, 'Well, you're barely still here.' We kind of chuckled. She buckled down. We got that first run and it seemed to light her up. She had that look in her eye. She was golden. It's one of the best performances I've seen."
Elmore allowed only five hits and one walk, striking out five.
"My team made all the plays when I pitched it to them," she said. "For me, the heat definitely helped, and my pitches were working well. I felt really confident. Just having them around me and thinking this is our last game really pumped me up to do well."
Lesko didn't actually think Elmore pitched that poorly against Mattawan.
"She knew it was a mechanical thing that was going wrong, and she just didn't have time to fix it with Lake Orion," he said. "That Mattawan game, there were people who thought she was struggling still. She didn't walk anybody and struck out eight. I don't know about you, but when you're playing a team that hits the ball and scores double-digit runs every day, you've got to give her credit."
Elmore got all of the support she would need in the top of the first inning. Anna Dixon led off with a walk and scored on a triple deep to left field by Sophia VanAcker.
"Especially in a game like this, it's important to come out strong," VanAcker said. "That's one of the things we like about hitting first. We can get out on top and we can take the momentum from the first inning throughout the rest of the game, which is what we did."
Nursing a one-run lead against a team as powerful as Dakota made for some anxious moments for the Marlins, particularly in the fourth inning.
Elmore escaped a jam in the bottom of the fourth after two singles and a wild pitch put Dakota runners on second and third with one out. She struck out Kattie Popko and got Claire Hamlin to pop out to shortstop Shannon Gibbons to end the threat.
"That was huge," Elmore said. "I tried to keep my composure, because I didn't want to get overconfident and then do something wrong. I just tried to stay calm the entire time."
Dakota (38-3) also threatened in the fifth. After Corbin Hison doubled with two outs for her third hit of the game, Elmore got a line out to left field.
"We've been great with two outs and with two strikes all year," Dakota coach Rick Fontaine said. "Today we didn't get swings on the ball like we have been all year. We didn't get the clutch hit when we had the opportunities."
Some of the tension was released in the top of the seventh when Mercy scored three times. Nicole Belans hit the first pitch of the inning over the fence in left field for her third home run of the season, but the Marlins weren't done. Elmore followed with a double, with courtesy runner Julia Kleismit scoring on a sacrifice fly by Megan Satawa.
The Marlins' fourth run had an unfortunate consequence. Shannon Gibbons started to come home on a flyout by Mary Reeber, stopped, then continued to the plate on an overthrow. Star pitcher Kendahl Dunford was covering the plate and got spiked in the left ankle. She was taken out of the game in considerable pain.
Dunford, a junior, has verbally committed to Florida International. She was a huge reason why Dakota won only its second District championship and its first Regional title this season.
Mercy had been to the championship game once before, losing 4-0 to Portage Northern in the 2002 Division 1 Final.
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy pitcher Andrea Elmore unwinds toward the plate during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) A Mercy runner slides into home plate ahead of a throw to catcher Samantha Bunk.
Competitive Fire Always Burning as Wayland's Ritz Climbs All-Time Coaching Wins List
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
May 9, 2025
WAYLAND – Cheri Ritz will never have to be nudged out of coaching.
After more than 40 extraordinary years as a high school softball coach, when the moment to step aside finally comes, Ritz will recognize it's time to move along.
All she'll have to do is check the progress of her latest Wayland softball team.
That's the yardstick Ritz has for herself in determining how much longer she'll coach. When the program's phenomenal success starts to wane, Ritz said she will know it's time to retire.
Ritz entered this season 10th on the MHSAA's all-time wins list with a 1,037-275 record. But when numbers like 23 Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold titles, 34 District and Regional championships, five Semifinals appearances and Division 2 Finals titles in 2006 and 2015 become a distant memory, Ritz said she'll know it's time to hang up her green and white jersey.
"It means I don't think I'll be doing my job," she said. "It means I'm out and it's time for someone else to take over. If I ever get there, it means I'm not doing my job. It's like when I can't pitch batting practice, I'm done."
That time, however, seems a faint light on the horizon. Wayland has won 41 of its last 52 games over the last two seasons, four straight conference titles and 14 over the last 17 years.
Those type of numbers – and Ritz's desire to continue coaching – fall in line with what makes her tick as a coach: competition. Whether it’s a weekly pickleball game in Hudsonville or throwing a frisbee or playing ping pong at family gatherings, Ritz is in it to win. Period.
It's non-negotiable with her. If a score is kept, Ritz said there's only one side of the ledger to be on.
Still, when she's pressed, Ritz – who took over at Wayland after serving as head coach at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg from 1987-94 and also coached at East Grand Rapids – will admit she has probably changed from her first two years at Wayland when the team managed just a combined 29-34 record with fourth and fifth-place conference finishes. It wasn't until the third season when the team went 31-6, and 14-1 in the conference, that Ritz first tasted success.
While the competitive drive hasn't waned, Ritz does believe her coaching philosophy has been, well ... altered. Whether it's a love of teaching, growing relationships with other coaches, attending national and local conferences, running summer softball leagues and three annual clinics, offering optional Sunday hitting practices or trying to win games, Ritz still has a fire for all.
Winning is still priority No. 1, but her appreciation of what else softball means to her has only deepened over the years.
"As a coach I wanted to be successful, but I'm probably more transformational now," she said. "Do I say this will be my last year? Maybe. But I still like being a part of it all. I like molding players into a great team and better people."
The success at Wayland is no accident. Only three coaches ahead of her on the statewide all-time wins list have a higher winning percentage (.790) than Ritz. That comes from her not only having a pulse on what's happening in softball in the Wayland area, but also in the surrounding communities.
As director of middle school athletics, Ritz has a handle on upcoming talent. She also runs an offseason league in Moline, holds four-person workouts in the winter and conducts clinics in the spring, summer and fall. Combine that with a program that teaches fundamentals and it's no wonder only Hudsonville's Tom Vruggink (1,197) has won more games among West Michigan softball coaches.
"We work hard on fundamentals," said Ritz, who played softball at Michigan State from 1978-81. "(Teaching) is still fun for me, and being around like-minded people. I want the best for our program and the kids."
Like many successful coaches, it's tough to pin down Ritz on her favorite moments at Wayland. Her teams have won at least 30 games 20 times, including a trio of 40-win campaigns. There was her winningest season with a 42-2 mark in 2014. Then there are the 43 collegians she's coached, including five who went on to play at Michigan, Michigan State and Central Michigan.
But probably topping the list are the two championship teams – the 2006 team finished 41-3, and the 2015 title winner featured five future college ballplayers. Not only did both teams feature superior talent, both had to overcome substantial off-field difficulties. Ritz said it's a credit to the players that they played up to lofty expectations amid problems that could have wrecked many clubs.
Whether it's those two teams or others she's coached, Ritz, whose ambition includes writing a book on why coaches are successful, said the goal for Wayland players is clearly spelled out during her annual three-hour postseason banquet. Ritz said what constitutes the program's philosophy is clear to any prospective player or coach who has attended:
Any player on the roster can be expected to be pushed – and if that's not possible, they should consider alternative activities.
While that may be harder for parents to accept in today's society, Ritz said it's still the cornerstone of the Wildcats program.
"They know my philosophy and what I put in and what I expect from the kids," she said. "It is probably a lazier society today, so you have to push a little harder. But winning is fun."
Ritz said her philosophy of teaching fundamentals combined with her competitive drive and trying to do what's best for players was tested years ago when she was coaching tennis in the fall. She glanced at the nearby football field where a coach was screaming at a player over an apparent lack of effort. Ritz went home, researched how that program had recently fared, and saw less-than-mediocre numbers. The scene made Ritz reevaluate how she ran her own program.
"I see other coaches and talk like that isn't going to get it done," she said. "I am a coach watcher, and I didn't like what I saw."
Ritz said while high school athletics have changed over the years, her love of the game hasn't faltered. She's still flattered when an opposing coach praises her team not necessarily for how well it plays, but for the classy way players handle themselves. Ritz loves hearing stories about how former players have succeeded and what playing softball at Wayland meant to them.
Another reason why Ritz’ coaching conclusion doesn't seem close is how she approaches games versus practice. Ritz said she still gets the same thrill in talking about one of her past 40-win seasons versus a 2025 club that features nine of 11 players clubbing the ball over a 227-foot fence on the first day of outdoor practice.
"My love of the game is still the same," she said. "I still get excited about practices. I tell the girls I like to win practices and they like to win games."
PHOTOS (Top) Wayland softball coach Cheri Ritz works with Laney Wolf – also an all-state swimmer – on bunting during practice this spring. (Middle) Ritz shows off her first Division 2 title team. (Below) Ritz presents the championship trophy to her 2015 Finals winner. (Top and middle photos by Steve Vedder.)