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Armada players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at Secchia Stadium.

Senior Slugger Capozzo, Armada Put Powerful Finish on Historic Championship Run

By Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com

June 13, 2026

EAST LANSING – Taylor Capozzo had a couple of key roles on the Armada softball team this year.

One was at the plate, where her 14 home runs led an explosive offense.

The other was in the field. On a team with only two seniors, her leadership kept the Tigers focused on the way to the school’s first MHSAA Finals softball championship.

“My job is to lead the best I can,” said Capozzo, whose two-run homer in the first inning Saturday proved to be the only runs Armada needed in a 9-1 victory over Farmington Hills Mercy in the Division 2 championship game.

The title capped a magical season for the Tigers, who got off to a shaky start.

“We had seven errors against Richmond early (in the season),” Armada coach Rob Girvin said. “We said if we can clean up in the field, we can be pretty good.”

Tigers shortstop Helena Fettue applies a tag on Mercy’s Sophia Chaput (28) as she slides into second base.That’s not the only thing Girvin saw in his team.

“I told Taylor before (Saturday’s) game that I dreamed she hit a home run,” Girvin said.

Her clout helped relax the Tigers (37-8), who scored in every inning but the seventh. 

Charlotte Stang homered and drove in three runs for Armada, which also took advantage of five Mercy errors in the field.

Meanwhile, freshman lefty pitcher Megan Cox was dominant, striking out 13 and allowing just four hits and one unearned run two days after she shut out top-ranked Stevensville Lakeshore in the Semifinal to send her team to the weekend. 

In addition, the Tigers had a good-luck charm courtesy of fifth-grader Cody Ballard. He gave Girvin a courage coin given to him during his treatment for leukemia. 

“I’ve had it in my pocket since school ended," Girvin said. "I can’t wait to call his mother.”

Mercy coach Alec Lesko, whose team had a similar unexpected tournament run, had no regrets. The Marlins went 6-1 during the tournament to push past .500 and finished 21-18.

“We kept getting better,” Lesko said. “You could see the progress at the end. It was a blessing to coach with my daughter and my grandchildren. I have a big family, and they were all here today.” 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Armada players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Tigers shortstop Helena Fettue applies a tag on Mercy’s Sophia Chaput (28) as she slides into second base.

Tony Coggins serves as PA announcer during a 2022 Division 3 volleyball match at Kellogg Arena.

In Memoriam: Tony Coggins (1971-2023)

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 24, 2023

The MHSAA and Holly school communities are grieving this week after the sudden loss of Tony Coggins, a shining light in his educational community and an enthusiastic supporter of school sports as a public address announcer for several of our largest championship events.

But while that cheerful tone has been quieted, it surely will not be forgotten by the many fortunate to enjoy an event in the presence of that voice and the joyfulness he brought into every arena, press box and classroom.

Coggins, 51, died Saturday. He is survived by his wife Kristy and children Emma and Bradlee, among several family and friends from his local and greater sports communities.

Tony CogginsHis career as a PA announcer began during his freshman year of high school in 1985, when his father Dale Coggins – Flushing’s athletic director at the time – couldn’t find anyone else to announce middle school football games. That was 39 years ago, and this fall Tony Coggins was in his 24th announcing at Holly, where he taught and served as an administrator in addition to his role as “Voice of the Holly Bronchos” for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, competitive cheer and swimming & diving over the years.

Coggins has been a mainstay among MHSAA Finals PA announcers over the last decade in football, basketball, softball and most recently volleyball. He lent his voice to college sports at University of Michigan as well. “Tony was a huge part of our Finals events. It’s hard to imagine it being the same without him,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

As part of the run-up to the MHSAA public address announcers clinic in 2018, Coggins said this about what drew him to the microphone:

“I have zero athletic ability whatsoever, which is interesting because my father was an all-state running back. But I enjoy being involved, and I've always been the one for history and statistics and knowing what's going on,” Coggins said. “This is a way for me to be involved. It's a way for me to use a talent I've been given; public speaking has always come pretty naturally for me.

“So I worked at my craft to get better. I got better from watching the people around me, from studying the people I like, and the people – if I saw someone I didn’t care for – I'd make a note and say to myself, ‘Don't do that.’ I take feedback from people very personally, and I mean that in a good way. If somebody takes the time to come up and say, ‘You did this well; I think you should change this,’ that means they care about the program also. We all have the same goal in mind, and that's to make the experience good for the high school student and the parents, the fans, that come there.”

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. John Vianney, 2415 Bagley Street in Flint. There will be visitation from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, and at the church from 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the Mass.