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.

Taylor Nutt (9) drives a pitch for the Bulldogs.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.

Click for the full box score.

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.

Sacred Heart Standout Goes National

July 30, 2012

Sara Hansen put together one of the best softball seasons in MHSAA history this spring.

And here's the most incredible part -- she's still got two more high school seasons to play.

Yes, the Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart shortstop was only a sophomore in leading her team to the Division 4 Semifinals at Bailey Park. Along the way, she had at least one hit in every game this season, set two MHSAA records and tied a national record.

Hansen hit .633 with 39 RBI and 33 stolen bases in the lead-off spot for the Irish, who made their deepest tournament run since 1994. She'll carry a 56-game hitting streak -- dating back to May of her freshman year -- into next season when it begins in March.

We caught up with Hansen last week while the National Federation of State High School Associations was putting the finishing touches on her national record book entries. Click to read our Q&A.

Also, click for the mention of her accomplishments from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

PHOTO: Sacred Heart's Anna Hansen was 3 for 5 with two runs scored in the Irish's 7-3 nine-inning Semifinal loss to Petersburg-Summerfield on June 15. (Click to see more photos at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)