Softball Finals: Champs are Here
June 13, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three of last season's MHSAA softball champions will return to Battle Creek's Bailey Park on Friday looking to make it two -- or in Petersburg-Summerfield's case, three -- in a row.
Mattawan, Clinton and the Bulldogs won the titles last season in Divisions 1, 3 and 4, respectively. And it's fair to call them all favorites to repeat -- although Division 1 in particular also includes the champions from 2008-2010.
Division 2 surely will have a new champion -- but Saginaw Swan Valley and Livonia Ladywood also made the Semifinals last season and plenty familiar with all that goes into succeeding over the season's final two days.
Below is this weekend's schedule, followed by a look at each of the 16 teams that will be playing.
Semifinals - Friday
Division 1
White Lake Lakeland vs. Mattawan - 3:30 p.m. Diamond 1
Hudsonville vs. Garden City - 4 p.m. Diamond 3
Division 2
Coloma vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 1 p.m. Diamond 1
Livonia Ladywood vs. Wayland Union - 1:30 p.m. Diamond 3
Division 3
Unionville-Sebewaing vs. Clinton - 10:30 a.m. Diamond 1
Gladstone vs. Springport - 11 a.m. Diamond 3
Division 4
Dansville vs. Rapid River - 6 p.m. Diamond 1
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart vs. Petersburg-Summerfield - 6:30 p.m. Diamond 3
Finals - Saturday
Division 3 - 10 a.m.
Division 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Division 1 - 3:00 p.m.
Division 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Tickets cost $7 per round or $15 for an all-tournament ticket that includes admission to baseball games. All Finals also will be streamed live online at MHSAA.tv and FoxSportsDetroit.com.
Statistics below are through teams' Regional tournaments, except for Dansville's, which are through the Aggies' District games. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
GARDEN CITY
Record/rank: 29-4, honorable mention
Coach: Barry Patterson, 26th season (614-237)
League finish: First in Western Wayne Athletic Conference Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2008, Class A runner-up 1991.
Players to watch: P sr. Kelsey Susalla (.617, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 15-3, 0.90 ERA, 109 K in 101 IP), CF sr. Sam Bellovary (.558, 40 RBI), 3B sr. Hillarie Werda (.507, 10 2B, 34 RBI, 8-1, 0.70 ERA).
Outlook: This will be Garden City’s third trip to Battle Creek over the last seven seasons, following the team’s fifth Regional title over that same span of time. The Cougars are led by 11 seniors, including seven who start. Susalla was an all-state selection last season and has signed with the University of Michigan, and senior shortstop Ashley Lynn (.441) has signed with Northwood University.
HUDSONVILLE
Record/rank: 37-3, No. 4
Coach: Tom Vruggink, 31st season (843-226)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2010 and 2009.
Players to watch: C sr. Bethaney Murphey (.500, 4 HR, 44 RBI); SS jr. Danielle Freeman (.538, 11 HR, 64 RBI), P fr. Lexi Agers (16-1, 0.67 ERA).
Outlook: Hudsonville won its fourth straight Regional title and sixth in seven seasons, and returning all-stater Murphey also started on the MHSAA championship team in 2010. She’s signed to play next season at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and serves as the target for a dynamic duo of underclassmen pitchers – Agers and sophomore Alli Kortman (13-2, 1.22 ERA).
MATTAWAN
Record/rank: 32-10, No. 3
Coach: Alicia Smith, 12th season (316-144-1)
League finish: Third in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011.
Players to watch: DP sr. Loren Nagy (.439); P sr. Stacy Thompson (.402, 31 RBI, 16-4, 1.94 ERA); 1B jr. Abby Stoner (.426, 10 HR, 36 RBI).
Outlook: Mattawan is back in Battle Creek despite graduating three all-staters from last season’s championship team and after losing a combined six games to top-ranked powers Portage Central (Division 1) and Stevensville Lakeshore (Division 2). Nagy and junior third baseman Sarah Johnson (.370) are returning all-staters, while sophomore second baseman Kyla Nickrent (.455, 9 SB) and junior shortstop Allie Havers (.436, 28 RBI) provide punch up the middle.
WHITE LAKE LAKELAND
Record/rank: 36-6, No. 6
Coach: Joe Alsup, 11th season (342-55)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association North
Championship history: Division 1/Class A runner-up five times (most recently 2010).
Players to watch: 3B jr. Kelly Merkle (.524); DP soph. Karissa Gawronski (.489); CF soph. Madison Burgess (.459).
Outlook: Lakeland is hoping to finally get over the top after coming close a number of times of late – three of those runner-up finishes came over the last six seasons, and the Eagles have won their Regional seven of the last eight. And the team is built to continue making a run. There are only three seniors, but five sophomores, in the starting lineup. Juniors Selena Hicks and Annika Wiesinger handle the pitching duties. Alsup is 956-203 overall during a coaching career spanning nearly four decades.
Division 2
COLOMA
Record/rank: 40-2-1, honorable mention
Coach: Wendy Goodline, 13th season (327-166-1)
League finish: First in Lakeland Conference
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: SS fr. Jenna Faultersack (.424, 14 2B, 5 3B, 41 RBI); P soph. Emily Najacht (37-2, 0.77 ERA, 270 K in 233 IP, 368, 36 RBI).
Outlook: After being shut out 5-0 by Stevensville Lakeshore earlier this season, Coloma stunned the top-ranked team in Division 2 by beating the Lancers 1-0 in the Regional final. This is the Comets’ first trip to the Semifinals and caps a run that’s included two straight league titles. It could also be the start, as only one player – left fielder Amanda Swihart – is a senior.
LIVONIA LADYWOOD
Record/rank: 37-3, No. 2
Coach: Scott Combs, fifth season (168-31)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2009.
Players to watch: P sr. Briana Combs, 1B jr. Andria Gietl, 3B jr. Celeste Fidge, 2B sr. Carli SanMillan. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Ladywood has won at least 35 games each of the last four seasons, Combs, Gietl, Fidge and SanMillan all made the all-state team last season and are among eight total who also started during the 2011 Semifinal run. Combs has signed with Cleveland State University and SanMillan with Davenport University.
SAGINAW SWAN VALLEY
Record/rank: 36-3, No. 3
Coach: Tom Kennelly, 33rd season (961-245)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central
Championship history: Class B champion 1996, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: 3B sr. Mary Berden (.415, 59 SB); P sr. Mackenzie Boehler (21-1, 0.33 ERA, 276 K in 145 IP, .386, 38 RBI); OF sr. Heather Pollick (.411, 6 HR, 35 RBI).
Outlook: Kennelly is one of four coaches in MHSAA softball history with at least 900 wins, and a strong group of seniors will try to get him back into a championship game for the first time since 2002. The Vikings emerged from a league that also included No. 9 Bullock Creek and outscored District opponents Alma and honorable mention Mount Pleasant by a combined 18-0. Berden, Boehler and Pollick are all returning all-staters.
WAYLAND UNION
Record/rank: 38-2-1, No. 5
Coach: Cheri Ritz, 18th season (709-197-1)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Gold
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2006
Players to watch: C sr. Kayla Merice (.523, 10 3B, 39 RBI); SS soph. Sierra Mutschler (.512, 6 HR, 60 RBI), RF soph. Brittany McLain (.496, 50 RBI), P fr. Mallory Teunissen (29-2, 0.78 ERA, 215 K in 179 IP).
Outlook: Wayland has its most wins this season since going to the Semifinals in 2007 and won its league for the eighth straight season despite a relatively young squad. The team has only three seniors, and two start – centerfielder Autumn Anderson and Merice batting in the top two spots. But the Wildcats have five batters hitting at least .450, and Anderson, with 26 stolen bases, leads a team that has stolen 105 total in 122 attempts.
Division 3
CLINTON
Record/rank: 41-1, No. 1
Coach: Al Roberts, 19th season (583-125)
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2011, Class C runner-up 1997.
Players to watch: P sr. Tierney Nelson (29-1, 1.01 ERA, 318 K in 200.3 IP), C sr. Abi Clark (.461, 15 2B, 48 RBI, 15 SB), SS sr. Haley Mercy (.492, 47 SB).
Outlook: Although the team has only three seniors, six starters are back from last season’s title-winner. And those seniors all are returning all-staters who play positions of particular importance. All three seniors also started on the Clinton teams that made the Division 3 Semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
GLADSTONE
Record/rank: 29-5-1, No. 7
Coach: Gerald A. Smith, ninth season (257-65-1)
League finish: Gladstone does not play in a league.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2009 and 2004.
Players to watch: OF sr. Katie Becker (.521, 28 RBI), C jr. Jordan Kowalski (.357, 21 RBI), P soph. Christine Sharon (22-4, 1.94 ERA).
Outlook: Gladstone capped its 10th-straight District championship with its fifth-straight trip to Battle Creek for the Semifinals. Becker and Kowalski were all-state honorable mentions last season, and Becker is one of seven senior starters making a run at a second championship for the team in four seasons.
SPRINGPORT
Record/rank: 39-2-1, honorable mention
Coach: Jo Dee Johnston, 14th season (336-131-1)
League finish: First in Big 8 Conference
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2002
Player to watch: P soph. Sam Bates. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Springport hasn’t lost since April 26, and has given up only two runs during the postseason. Bates emerged as an all-stater last year in her first as a high schooler, and she threw a no-hitter Tuesday against Buchanan to advance the Spartans to Battle Creek.
UNIONVILLE-SEBEWAING
Record/rank: 40-4, No. 5
Coach: Steve Bohn, first season (40-4)
League finish: Second in Greater Thumb Conference West
Championship history: Three championships (most recently 2009 in Division 4), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: 1B Jessica Gremel (.451, 16 2B, 41 RBI), C jr. Ashlyn VanHoost (.408, 16 2B, 45 RBI), 2B soph. Stephanie Neuman (.518, 15 2B, 45 RBI).
Outlook: USA has championships in three of the last six seasons (including two in Division 3) and lost in extra innings of last season’s Division 4 Final. Gremel, VanHoost and senior leftfielder Taylor Anker (.398) all were all-state last season, and the team has two more starters – catcher Calie Valentine and designated player Tessa Dinsmoore – hitting at least .460.
Division 4
DANSVILLE
Record/rank: 30-5, No. 9
Coach: Mick Ream, 31st season (record N/A)
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: 1B jr. Evy Lobdell (.500, 16 2B, 47 RBI); C/P sr. Rebekah Guy (.424, 15 SB, 27 RBI, 8-1, 1.38 ERA); P soph. Meagan Kelly (18-4, 1.54 ERA, 183 K in 145 IP).
Outlook: The Aggies are back in the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons and led by a four-year starter in Guy, who despite not being an all-stater last season was a first-team pick as a catcher in 2010. Lobdell is the team’s top run producer and also has spent time as Dansville’s top pitcher during her high school career. Seniors Addie Price and Alison Schlicker and junior Paige Galbreath also started on the 2010 team.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 31-7, honorable mention
Coach: Amy Gaudard, second season (55-20)
League finish: Second in Mid-State Activities Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: SS soph. Sara Hansen (.640, 33 SB, 39 RBI), 3B soph. Lauren Sabuda (.407, 31 RBI), C jr. Elizabeth Albaugh (.450, 21 2B, 9 HR, 55 RBI).
Outlook: The Irish are back in the Semifinals for the second time and first since 1994. Sacred Heart got here in part by surviving a 14-inning District semifinal against No. 4 Breckenridge and by beating No. 10 Mason County Eastern in the Regional final. The starting lineup includes just two seniors, although one, Kelsey Poag (19-4, 1.56 ERA) splits pitching duties with another senior, Courtney Fracassi (11-3, 1.68).
PETERSBURG-SUMMERFIELD
Record/rank: 33-3, No. 1
Coach: Robert Taylor, 20th season (495-148)
League finish: Second in Tri-County Conference
Championship history: Three MHSAA championships (most recently 2011), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: P sr. Emily Puterbaugh (32-3, 0.81 ERA, 312 K in 207 IP), C sr. Taylor Goodin (.513, 16 2B, 45 RBI), SS jr. Olivia Ostrosky (.413, 25 RBI, 11 SB).
Outlook: Petersburg-Summerfield has won the last two Division 4 championships, and is a favorite to help give the Tri-County Conference two again this season with two of those losses to reigning Division 3 champ and league mate Clinton. Puterbaugh and Goodin are returning all-staters, and Ostrosky earned honorable mention last season. And Clinton isn’t the only strong team the Bulldogs have faced; they also saw and beat a number of larger schools including Canton and Detroit Renaissance.
RAPID RIVER
Record/rank: 35-5, No. 3
Coach: George Kanyuh, second season (64-13)
League finish: Rapid River does not play in a league.
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: P sr. Heather Sanderson (.509, 18-3), SS sr. Ashleigh Monticello (.440), 1B soph. Savannah Stenlund (.453).
Outlook: Despite playing for its first championship game berth, this is Rapid River’s third appearance in the Semifinals in four seasons. Three of its losses this spring were to Division 3 Semifinalist Gladstone, and Rapid River beat No. 8 Rogers City on the way to Battle Creek. Seven starters from last season’s team are back.
PHOTO: Swan Valley Heather Pollick charges to catch a line drive during her team's 2011 Semifinal against Milan at Battle Creek's Bailey Park. Pollick and the Vikings are back at Bailey this weekend.
Bluestreaks' Run Thrilling, Unforgettable
June 29, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Dawn Forter will never forget Brooklyn Woelmer’s knowing smile with Ida’s championship hopes one strike from being dashed.
The senior shortstop faced reigning champion Richmond and a two-strike count, her team down 3-1 with two outs in the seventh inning of the Division 2 championship game June 17 at Secchia Stadium.
If Ida’s run would’ve ended there, it still would’ve been worth celebrating. Seeking their first MHSAA title in the sport since 1994, the Bluestreaks had advanced to their first Final since 2006 despite entering the playoffs unranked and overlooked.
“I don’t know how many she fouled away. That last one barely touched (the bat),” Forter, her coach, said of Woelmer’s crunch time effort. “She stepped out of the box, took a deep breath, looked in the dugout and smiled.
“I’ll never lose that image. I knew when I saw her face that she was going to get on base.”
Woelmer ended up driving a double down the right-field line that brought in a run, and she crossed the plate as well on an error to tie the score at 3-3. The teams traded runs in the eighth inning before Ida put up four runs in the ninth to finish off the Blue Devils in the most thrilling conclusion from a tournament season packed with them.
There were a number of strong candidates for the final MHSAA/Applebee’s Team of the Month award for the 2016-17 school year. But it was impossible to look past Ida, which downed No. 10 Carleton Airport on the way to Michigan State, then No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore in the Semifinal and the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils to earn a title at least a decade in the making.
Forter, who took over the program in 2004, had been part of an MHSAA runner-up finish as a player at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in 1989, and enjoyed a nice share of accolades playing shortstop at University of Detroit Mercy before also coaching at the college level and then returning to guide the Bluestreaks.
She has led the program to 349-131 record over 14 seasons and three league titles over the last four springs. This Ida team enjoyed something special from the beginning – although Forter had only 12 players, she said all could’ve started at any time – and together with three junior varsity call-ups, they won the program’s first District title since 2010 and first Regional title since 2009.
She said after the Semifinal win she was proud of all 15 of her players, and she meant it. All three of those call-ups had contributed in the Quarterfinal shutout of Flint Powers Catholic, 10 players saw the field in the Semifinal and 12 played in the championship game.
Ida had only three seniors and seven underclassmen on the postseason roster. But they showed they belonged at that late stage in the tournament – and showed some impressive poise conquering it.
“We were down a couple times during the postseason, after the other team scored first, but we chipped away,” Forter said. “We did what we do, we didn’t lose our minds, we stayed cool. We had confidence all along that we could battle back. We have extremely powerful bats, and we relied on the fact that that carried us all year. So there was no panic, even down 3-nothing in the seventh inning of the state finals. My assistant coach (Cheryl Hoffman) and I were more freaked out than they were.
“Where did they get that (composure)? I don’t know. We were a nervous mess.”
Ida had a little extra juice entering the postseason thanks to the rankings slight. Like many coaches in many sports, Forter said she doesn’t pay much attention to the weekly coaches association polls. But some of her players and their parents do. And when the Bluestreaks didn’t crack even the honorable mention list at the end of the regular season, Forter found herself a little irked too.
No doubt, that fueled the fire a little bit. “But I’d take that path again if it happens,” she admitted.
Ida finished 37-7, and after the season Woelmer, junior outfielder Karlee Lambert and junior second baseman Hannah Tuller made the all-state team. But their talents and contributions extend farther than the foul lines. Woelmer and senior outfielder Ashlyn Brososky claimed academic all-state individual honors as the Bluestreaks earned team academic all-state recognition. This year’s group boasted a grade-point average above 3.6, with no player below a 3.2. Forter also noted the group’s well-roundedness, with a number of her players active in Ida’s Young Life club and several participating in peer tutoring at the district’s elementary school.
This was a banner softball season for the southeastern corner for the state. Not only did Ida win in Division 2, but Monroe County neighbor and Forter’s alma mater St. Mary won its third straight Division 3 title. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, from bordering Lenawee County, was runner-up in Division 4.
Of that original 12 players on Ida’s roster, eight had been playing together since they were about 8 years old. They usually teamed up for the annual age-group tournaments that are part of the Monroe County Fair, coming away with at least four championships over the years against tough competition.
Those no doubt also prepared them to hang tough when their dreams rested on one more possible strike two weeks ago.
“How things played out, I don’t think I’ve ever been on an emotional rollercoaster like that as a player or a coach,” Forter said. “I was part of a state runner-up and I played college ball as well, and this didn’t compare to anything else I’ve experienced on a ball field.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2016-17
May: Whittemore-Prescott boys track & field - Report
April: Frankfort baseball - Report
March: Flushing girls basketball - Report
February: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central girls skiing - Report
January: Powers North Central boys basketball - Report
December: Dundee boys basketball - Report
November: Rockford girls swimming & diving - Report
October: Rochester girls golf - Report
September: Breckenridge football - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Ida coach Dawn Forter and her players celebrate Brooklyn Woelmer (14) scoring the tying run during the seventh inning of the Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Bluestreaks, after winning an earlier round of the MHSAA Tournament.