Regina Goes 8 Innings for 7th Finals Win
June 15, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Adriana James was nervous.
Saturday’s MHSAA Division 1 Final had moved into the eighth inning, and Warren Regina teammate Marisa Muglia had led off the bottom half by reaching first base on an error. After pinch-runner Jenna Holt moved all the way to third base on a sacrifice, James watched Howell walk Regina’s next two hitters to set up force plays at every base.
Now the Secchia Stadium bases were loaded for the Saddlelites freshman.
James sent a grounder back to the pitching circle, and a bobble gave Holt enough time to cross the plate and finish a 3-2 win that clinched the program’s seventh Finals championship.
“When Adriana came up and the pitcher bobbled it … I have no words for it,’’ Holt said.
Added James: “All (the pitcher’s) balls were moving outside. I just saw the ball right on the inside corner, low, and I just went for it. We had nothing to lose, and it paid off. I was surprised they walked the two batters because it has really never happened. I was really nervous.’’
The championship was the program’s first since 2015, and all seven have come in Division 1 or the former Class A under longtime coach Diane Laffey.
Howell’s Avrey Wolverton opened her team’s half of the eighth inning with a single, and Maddie Springer walked. Both moved up, but the threat ended on a Muglia strikeout.
“This is a resilient group. They never quit,” said Laffey, leader of the Regina program since 1963. “They are very team-oriented. The team chemistry is outstanding. The seniors have made the freshmen feel as welcomed as anyone could. I thought when we got ready for playoffs in the Catholic League, we were ready to make a move at that point.’’
Regina finished the year 30-11, while Howell ended 36-4.
Howell ran into problems in the second inning when a hit batter and two walks loaded the bases for Jacqueline Jozefczyk. She promptly singled off the glove of the shortstop to score two runs for the Saddlelites.
Muglia managed to keep the Highlanders at bay despite giving up some hard-hit line-drive outs to the outfield. Even after giving up doubles to Maddie Gillett and Skye Grant, the Regina ace was able to keep Howell off the scoreboard through four innings.
Regina had scored two runs in the second inning, and the Highlanders broke through in the fifth when Rosie McQueen singled and senior outfielder A.J. Militello doubled off the wall in left center field to cut the deficit in half. Muglia got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Jozefczyk led off the fifth inning with a double, and Alana LaRue sacrificed her to second base. But that rally died, and the Saddlelites clung to a one-run lead.
Howell kept banging the ball. Gillett walked in the sixth inning and Wolverton singled her to third on a hard drive past the shortstop. Springer tied the game on a sacrifice fly, as courtesy runner Avery Pruss tagged up and moved to third. But Muglia regained her composure and got another strikeout and popout.
Neither team threatened during the seventh inning, sending the game into an extra frame.
Muglia finished with 12 strikeouts, and Howell pitcher Molly Carney struck out seven and gave up only five hits.
PHOTOS: (Top) Warren Regina greets Jenna Holt after she scores the winning run in the Division 1 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Saddlelites pitcher Marisa Muglia unwinds toward the plate during a 12-strikeout performance.
Grass Lake, Clare Do Double Damage to Earn Spots on Championship Day
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2025
EAST LANSING — Hitting balls to the gaps has been the backbone of Grass Lake’s offense all season.
So it was fitting that was the case again during the first MHSAA Division 3 Semifinal on Friday.
The Warriors hit a pair of gap shots that ended up producing three runs in a 4-2 triumph over Algonac in a matchup of teams both looking to make their first championship game appearance.
Grass Lake entered the game with 93 doubles on the season, tied for 23rd most in state history.
“They are so comfortable taking those short, compact swings and finding the gaps,” Grass Lake head coach Roger Cook said of his players. “I think that has helped us a lot with the doubles.”
The first big hit to the gap came in the third inning courtesy of senior Nadene Hubbard, who laced a 2-run double to right-center that drove in two runs and made it 2-1 Grass Lake.
The Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Bree Salts, and then with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth, junior Leilah Smith hit a line drive to the gap in right-center that ended up scoring senior Emily Brown from first base.
Grass Lake (40-4) also got a good pitching performance from junior Morgan Conrad, who allowed single runs in the first and seventh innings, but nothing in between. Conrad struck out 11, walked two and allowed four hits, saying her curve ball and rise ball were on point.
“Just keeping (their lineup) off-balance, trying to go out and then try and bring it back up,” she said.
Things did get a little uncomfortable for Conrad and Grass Lake in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Muskrats (24-15-1) made things interesting by scoring a run on a wild pitch to make it a 4-2 game, then putting runners on first and second base with one out.
But Conrad got out of the jam with a strikeout and a popup to end it.
“I just kept taking deep breaths and telling myself, ‘Have fun. It’s OK,’” Conrad said. “I just knew my team had my back and would get the outs. I was just trying to stay confident.”
Algonac took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by junior Ava Murray. The Muskrats couldn’t get anything going after that until the seventh inning when they nearly pulled off a rally.
“I feel like that’s kind of how our season has been going,” Algonac head coach Natalie Heim said. “We’ve been coming from behind, and we had the top of our lineup coming up. At the end of the day, somebody had to lose. Unfortunately it was us.”
Grass Lake finished with 10 hits.
Clare 2, Ravenna 1
Clare senior Morgan Campbell and head coach Shane Kelly disagree on whether Campbell was in a slump entering their team’s Semifinal against Ravenna.
But what can be agreed upon is that Campbell might have delivered the biggest hit in school history for Clare.
With two outs and a runner on first base following an error in the bottom of the sixth inning, Campbell blasted a double to left field to drive in what turned out to be the game-winning run.
Ranked No. 1 going into the MHSAA Tournament, Clare (39-2) advanced to its first championship game.
“I’ve been going through a slump, and that was my time to come out of it,” Campbell said.
Kelly feels a bit differently about Campbell’s “slump.”
“Morgan has never been in a slump,” he said. “She’s been hitting the ball hard, doing all the right things in practice and listening to the coaches. When she got up there, I said, ‘Morgan, she’s going to throw you a strike on that first pitch. Don’t miss it.’ She didn’t miss it.”
Campbell’s hit was the difference in a nice pitchers’ duel between Clare junior Kyley Wyman and Ravenna sophomore Natalie Rosel.
Wyman threw a three-hitter, striking out 11 and walking one. Rosel allowed just four hits, striking out four and walking one.
No. 4 Ravenna broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when junior Riley Homoly walked with the bases loaded. But Wyman kept the score at 1-0 by getting out of the inning via a popout and a strikeout.
In the fifth, Clare tied the game at 1-1 on a 2-out single to right by senior Alissa Brandon. That ended up setting the stage for Campbell’s heroics in the sixth.
Wyman pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the victory.
Ravenna finished 34-5, but has a bright future with just two seniors on the roster.
“I feel good about this team,” Ravenna head coach Dave Sherman said. “Yeah, we lost this game. But they battled all season long and it was a great season. There are great kids on this team, and I love them all. We’ll be back.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grass Lake's Emily Brown takes a powerful swing during her team's Semifinal win over Algonac. (Middle) Clare's Kyley Wyman (2) drives a pitch Friday.