Ravenna Ends Grass Lake's Reign to Become Finals Champion for 1st Time
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2026
EAST LANSING – Ravenna softball coach Dave Sherman didn’t worry after his team fell behind 1-0 in the first inning of the Division 3 championship game Saturday at Secchia Stadium.
“If you look at the outs we made, we scalded a couple of them, so I had a pretty good idea we would score enough runs,” he said.
His faith was rewarded in the third inning when the Bulldogs, sparked by two-run singles by Reese Herremans and Sydney Morrissey, scored four times en route to a 4-2 victory over 2025 champion Grass Lake.
It was the first softball title for Ravenna, which also has won the Division 4 girls bowling title the past two seasons.
“It’s awesome to see these girls have success in these sports,” Sherman said.
Ravenna’s softball title came in part due to the left arm of junior Natalie Rosel, who walked two, struck out 11 and allowed only four hits Saturday.
“My changeup felt good in warmups,” she said.
It deserted her temporarily in the seventh inning, when Grass Lake scored and had runners on second and third base with two outs.
But Rosel got a strikeout to end the threat and seal the win.
"It's amazing. It’s what we’ve been working for this entire year," she said. "Since January, our mindset was getting the state championship. It’s beyond golden. It's really nice to finish."
The Bulldogs (40-1) had 10 hits off two Grass Lake pitchers, with Rosel totaling three hits from the leadoff spot.
“We ran out of magic,” Grass Lake coach Roger Cook said. “We gave up 10 hits to our four, and you’re not going to win many games like that.
"I’m proud of the girls," Cook added. "We may have lost the game, but they left their mark on Grass Lake."
Grass Lake (36-6) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by starting pitcher Morgan Conrad. Catcher Chloe Hollifield had an RBI single in the seventh.
While Saturday’s championship game was Ravenna’s first, the Bulldogs were finishing a second-straight trip the championship weekend and third over the last four seasons.
Their only loss this spring came during a split with Morley Stanwood – which Ravenna avenged in the Regional Final.
PHOTOS Ravenna catcher Emily Postema and her teammates plant their school down on the bracket after clinching the Division 3 title Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Taylor Nutt (9) drives a pitch for the Bulldogs.
Ingram Joins All-Time Strikeout Leaders in Pacing Northwest's Record Run
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 4, 2023
Jackson Northwest’s Nevaeh Ingram capped her magnificent high school softball career last spring among single-season and career strikeout leaders.
The 2022 grad totaled 415 strikeouts in her final campaign and 1,011 over three seasons (with 2020 canceled due to COVID-19). She also made the single-season shutouts list with 26 last season, and is continuing her career at Grand Valley State.
Northwest teammate Campbell Kloack, a junior this school year, was added for 18 doubles last season. Jackson Northwest finished 39-4 in 2022, making the team record list for wins, and the Mounties also made the team lists for 449 hits, 88 doubles, 32 home runs, 327 RBI, a .401 team average, 26 shutouts and 458 strikeouts.
See below for more recent additions to the MHSAA softball record book:
Softball
Laingsburg’s Hailey Bila set two MHSAA records and tied one more with one big inning May 18, 2022. She hit two grand slams during the second inning of a win over Webberville, becoming the first with two in an inning while setting a record as well with eight RBI in one inning. She also tied the record for homers in one inning, and finished with nine RBI total for the game – seventh on that list. She’s continuing her career at Michigan State.
Hemlock’s Averi Hall earned her first record book entry last June 1 when she drove in seven runs against Carrollton. She’s a senior this school year.
Lawton’s Ella Richter reached the record book for the first times last spring, hitting .640 for the season and with 12 of her 48 hits being triples to also make that stat list. She’s a junior this school year.
A pair of Warren Fitzgerald hitters joined the RBI single-game list last season, Clarice Chapaton with seven against Eastpointe on May 4 and Cheyenne Panek with eight against Hazel Park on June 3. Both are seniors this school year.
A pair of Zeeland East hitting performances from the last two seasons were added. Now-senior Katie Carlson joined the hitting streak list with hits in 30 straight games from May 8, 2021 into May 10, 2022. Then-senior teammate Ali Holman made three home run lists with her power-packed performance on April 20, 2021, against Grand Rapids Union – for three home runs in one game, two in one inning and three in three consecutive at bats. Holman plays at Lansing Community College, and Carlson has signed with Aquinas College.
Hamilton earned six record book listings for offensive success during the 2022 season, with 410 hits, 85 doubles, 30 triples, 33 home runs, 279 RBI and a .411 team batting average over 36 games. Now-senior Madison Jamrog also made the records lists with 11 home runs, and then-senior Tiernan Nykamp did as well with six RBI in a May 21 game against Shepherd. Jamrog has signed with Akron.
Rachel Cairo had a memorable junior season for Southfield Christian last spring, making the record book in three categories and ranking among the top listings in two. Her .737 average over 23 games ranks third all-time, and her 23 doubles are tied for 20th. She also was added for 10 home runs, and teammate Sophia Paryaski was added for 11 as a freshman. Cairo has signed with Central Michigan.
Bad Axe’s Haley Newland previously had reached the record book with 19 doubles as a junior in 2021. She added one more entry as she finished her career last spring, for 40 career doubles over three seasons and despite the 2020 season being canceled.
Leslie’s Jalen Fossitt moved onto the career doubles list in 2022 after just two seasons with 33 over her first 72 games. Teammate Ava Bradford also was added to the records for 10 home runs for the season including two in consecutive at bats last April 19 against Michigan Center, and eight RBI in that game as well. Leslie also was added to the team RBI list with 253 over 34 games. Fossitt and Bradford both are juniors this season.
PHOTO Jackson Northwest’s Nevaeh Ingram winds up during her team’s record-setting 2022 season. (Photo courtesy of the Jackson Northwest softball program.)