Softball Gave Michigan Girls Opportunity
May 3, 2016
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
In 1971, Jennifer Bradley, a 17-year-old senior at New Buffalo High School, attempted to play for the school’s varsity baseball team. Her request was rejected by the team’s coach. The story made national news.
Described as a better hitter than many boys, who could also run and field, Bradley was a player who local police chief and amateur baseball coach Dale Siebenmark felt would be an asset to any team.
Siebenmark wrote the Michigan High School Athletic Association on her behalf, asking for clarification on her status. Bradley was told, via letter, by the MHSAA rules committee that “girls cannot engage in sports where part or all the membership of a participating team is composed of boys.”
Because she was a senior, Bradley opted not to push beyond.
“I hope in the future other girls who are interested will pursue the matter of girls trying to get on teams,” said Bradley, inadvertently foreshadowing a change that would arrive. “But, they should start when they are freshmen.”
Into this environment was born an expanding array of MHSAA state tournaments for girls.
Outside regional tournaments in alpine skiing, started during the 1953-54 school year and staged for both boys and girls, gymnastics was the first sport for females to receive a statewide MHSAA-sponsored championship tournament. It began with the 1971-72 school year – the school year prior to the signing of the United States Education Amendments, which included Title IX, in July 1972.
MHSAA golf, tennis, swimming & diving and track & field championships were added for girls during the 1972-73 school year. Basketball arrived the following year. Skiing moved to a statewide championship in February 1975.
That spring also would see the first MHSAA Finals for one of the state's fastest-growing girls sports.
According to press reports, 182 high schools in the Great Lakes State had softball teams during the 1972-73 school year. One year later, the number had jumped to 331. With the announcement of the first MHSAA-sponsored softball tournament in the spring of 1975, the total increased again to 410.
“Some of the finest facilities in the state are being used for the championships,” noted the Detroit Free Press, indicating that this was the fifth anniversary of the MHSAA title games for baseball and the first for softball. “The Class A girls softball playoffs, for instance, are being played at Lansing’s Ranney Park, a fine outstate park for 40 years.”
It was one of four separate sites used for the final rounds of softball. Class B games were hosted at Dickinson Field in Kalamazoo, Class C games were held at Manchester High School and Class D at Plangger Field in Benton Harbor. Semifinal games were scheduled at 10 a.m., noon and 12:30 p.m., with the championship contests scheduled for 3 p.m., 3:30 or 4 p.m. of the same day, depending on the site.
In Class A, all-around athlete Mary Kay Itnyre (who in 2015 was inducted into Michigan State University’s Athletic Hall of Fame for her stellar college basketball career) tossed back-to-back no-hit games for Redford Bishop Borgess in regional play. Itnyre, a 6-foot junior, then added a third consecutive no-hitter as the Spartans topped Bay City Central in the Semifinals, 7-0. (Bay City’s girls wore volleyball uniforms that doubled as their softball uniforms, illustrating the inequality between the boys and girls athletics that existed at the time).
“If the Detroit Tigers ever begin drafting females, pitcher Mary Kay Itnyre may be the first on the list,” wrote a United Press International writer covering that first tournament.
Later in the day, Itnyre allowed only four hits as the Borgess girls downed Portage Central, 15-3, for the title. Itnyre opened the game with three innings of no-hit ball while Borgess pounded out 12 runs, including a home run by Sue Janus in the second inning. Lori Tremonti and Itnyre each added three hits for the victors. Ann Nolan had a two-run homer for the Mustangs in the seventh. Despite the loss, the opportunity to compete for a championship game capped a 24-year physical education career for Portage Central’s Jean Smith. Long an advocate for girls sports, Smith became the school’s first softball coach with the passage of Title IX.
Dearborn Divine Child finished the 1974 season with a 6-3 record, earning the “Best Sportsmanship” trophy from the Sterling Heights Women’s Softball Association. A year later, thanks to the changes in high school athletics, they were Class B state champions.
Catcher Sheryl Tominac notched two home runs and tallied six RBI as Divine Child crushed Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 14-2, in the Semifinal. Divine Child continued the offensive assault with 13 hits in a 14-4 pounding of Tecumseh for the title. Tominac again led the Falconettes with a single in the second inning, another home run in the fourth, and a triple in the fifth inning of the championship game.
The Detroit Catholic League continued its dominance of that first tournament, as Riverview Gabriel Richard pitcher Donna Dallos held Kalamazoo Christian to a single hit, a double by Lois Talsma, in a 5-0 victory in the Class C Final at Manchester. Mary Kay Raubolt went 2 for 4 in the game with a two-run single, while Maureen Dalton went 2 for 3 with a double. Dallos, team Most Valuable Player, finished the year with a 13-2 record and an ERA of 1.50. Gabriel Richard posted a 15-2 record on the season and earned the trip to the title game with a 14-5 win over Lakeview earlier in the day.
Freesoil entered the final weekend of softball competition with a flawless 35-0 record over three years of Western Michigan D League play. Trailing 9-8 in the seventh inning of the Semifinal game with Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, the Pirates rallied for a 10-9 win and a chance at the Class D title. Their victory ensured that the Detroit Catholic League didn’t sweep the tournament.
Flint Holy Rosary entered the final inning of its Semifinal game leading 8-1 when Fowler erupted for five runs. According to Associated Press newspaper coverage, Fowler had the bases loaded with two outs when leftfielder Kelli Gerard “tossed out a runner at the plate following a bases loaded hit to nip a last inning rally,” to advance with an 8-6 victory.
In the championship game, Freesoil jumped out to a 2-1 lead behind junior Helen Shereda’s triple in the bottom of the first inning. Shereda, who pitched both the Semifinal and Final, would later become a three-sport star at Oakland University, where she earned All-America honors in basketball. Flint Holy Rosary quickly bounced back with four runs in the second inning to gain a 5-2 lead, then added three more at the top of the fifth, making it 8-2.
Freesoil bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, to pull within two, 8-6, but couldn’t grab the lead. Single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings by the Wolverines sealed the win, 10-6, and completed an incredible school year for the female athletes at Holy Rosary. Earlier, the Wolverines had won the MHSAA Class D girls basketball title, then represented Michigan in the U.S.A. Volleyball regional at Ball State University. (The MHSAA did not sponsor a volleyball state tournament until the winter of the 1975-76 school year.) The softball team included a number of athletes from the basketball and/or volleyball teams, including Gerard, Sally Lipp, catcher Patty Bentoski and pitcher Sandy Histed.
For Holy Rosary coach Anita “Jo” Lake – who had arrived as a volunteer in 1964, a year after the school’s opening – the season included yet another victory. After three operations, she had beaten breast cancer.
Since that first softball tourney, a host of other girls championship tournaments have been added by the MHSAA: Cross Country in 1979, Soccer in 1983, Competitive Cheer in 1994, Bowling in 2004 and Lacrosse in 2005.
Today, Michigan ranks 10th nationally in population, yet ranks 7th in girls and boys student participation in high school athletics. The numbers are truly impressive, especially when one considers them from the historical perspective of 45 years ago.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Redford Bishop Borgess was the first MHSAA Class A softball champion, in 1975. (Middle top) New Buffalo's Jennifer Bradley. (Middle below) Dearborn Divine Child won the 1975 Class B softball title. (Below) Riverview Gabriel Richard and Flint Holy Rosary won the Class C and D titles, respectively, in 1975.
Flashback 1979: Detroit Dominates Diamonds
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
June 4, 2019
The MHSAA Baseball and Softball Finals will join girls soccer’s championship games in concluding the 2018-19 school year next weekend, June 13-15, at Michigan State University.
Forty years ago, baseball was concluding its ninth season with MHSAA playoffs, while softball was completing its fifth. The metro Detroit area emerged with six of the eight championships awarded, with the Detroit Catholic League earning four of those six titles as games were played at eight sites around the state.
Here’s a flashback to those 1979 championship rounds:
BASEBALL
Among the tournament surprises was the defeat of Birmingham Brother Rice (23-3), winner of the Detroit Catholic League title and favorite to win Class A. Rice blew a 3-0 lead and fell to Flint Carmen 5-3 in a Regional Semifinal. At the time, winners of Regionals immediately advanced to the MHSAA Semifinal round.
Twice beaten by Brother Rice during the regular season and runner-up to the Catholic League crown, Detroit Catholic Central posted wins over Center Line and then St. Clair Shores Lake Shore in Regional play to advance to the final round. A 7-4 victory over Adrian in the Semifinal meant the Shamrocks filled one side of the title-game bracket.
On the other side, Port Huron Northern cut down Flint Carmen, 4-2, in the Regional Final, then slipped past East Kentwood on a game-saving catch by future Oakland A’s prospect Tony Moncrief. Trailing 2-1, East Kentwood loaded the bases in the seventh inning with only one out. A bunt, fielded by Northern pitcher Steve Campau and relayed to catcher Scott MacReady, forced the second out of the inning. After two quick strikes by Campau, Kentwood’s Jeff Bartoszek laced a shot to left-center, but Moncrief brought the crowd to their feet with a last-second diving catch to retire the side, and the Huskies advanced to the championship contest.
In the Final, DCC scored single runs in both the first and third innings off starter MacReady, then added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings off reliever Norm Fretenborough for a 6-1 lead. Junior Chris Sabo, a future National League Rookie of the Year and three-time all-star with the Cincinnati Reds, had a triple and two singles and drove in a pair of runs for the Shamrocks. A seventh inning rally by Northern loaded the bases with nobody out. The Huskies scored three runs to pull within two, 6-4, before running out of steam.
Craig Herberholz, a late-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals, entered the game for Catholic Central in the fourth inning after starter Jeff Evans was struck in the leg by a line drive. Herberholz earned the win, finishing the year with a 9-3 mark. The final round games were played at Battle Creek’s Bailey Park.
Southgate Aquinas’ all-state southpaw, Paul Assenmacher, allowed three hits and struck out nine as Aquinas grabbed a 5-1 victory over South Haven in Class B, hosted at Pontiac Northern High School. Runner-up in 1978, Aquinas ended the year 25-11. South Haven committed an uncharacteristic seven errors during the game, but the biggest blow came in the third inning when starting pitcher Paul Dulik was hit by a line drive just below the knee. A bruised shin meant he was done for the day. With the game scoreless through four innings, Aquinas scored three times in the fifth and twice in the sixth, while South Haven scored its lone run in the sixth.
Assenmacher, who went on to a 14-year MLB career as a relief pitcher, allowed 35 hits and seven earned runs over 86 innings that season, while striking out 113 batters. With the win, he ended the spring with a 10-3 record.
In Class C at Marshall High School, Allen Park Cabrini picked up its first MHSAA Finals baseball title behind the arms of righthander Pat Burns and Steve Nowak. Burns, a senior slinger, won five of the Monarchs’ seven tournament games including an 11-1 two-hit victory in the Semifinal over Lansing Catholic Central. Novak allowed four scattered hits and struck out eight in the title game, a 2-0 win over Clare, before a crowd of 400. The fourth inning provided all the scoring needed as Jerry Jourdan drove home Tim Wylie with a single to left, followed by Chuck White coming home on an error.
It was the third trip to the final rounds for Cabrini and coach Don Oboza. The team posted a 118-47 mark over the previous six seasons, falling in MHSAA Semifinals in 1976 and 1978.
In Class D, Pete Worchester went 3-for-3 in Grosse Pointe University Liggett’s 4-3 win over Frankfort, played at Wyoming. Kevin Wohlfield pitched five innings, while Jack Roberts tossed the final two for the winner.
SOFTBALL
In Class A at Southfield, coach Gary Bryce’s Royal Oak Dondero squad slipped past Grand Ledge 2-1 in extra innings. With the game scoreless through three, Grand Ledge’s Kelly Lawrence singled to open the fourth inning, then star pitcher Bonni Kinne doubled to left to drive in Lawrence, breaking the deadlock. Dondero’s left fielder Kathie Bell ran down a pair of fly balls, followed by a spectacular diving catch by second baseman Beth Fistler to close out the inning, stranding Kinne.
Fistler got Dondero on the scoreboard in the fifth with a single, stole second then advanced to third on a dropped third strike. She scored on a sacrifice to center by first baseman Mena Reyman, knotting the game at 1-1. Dondero’s Sue Larke reached second on an error in the ninth, then scored on another error for the win. It was the first state title for the Oaks since the fall of 1935 when the school, then known simply as Royal Oak, claimed a state title in football (according to media rankings; MHSAA Football Playoffs weren’t introduced until 1975).
Dondero’s Sandy Taylor dealt a four-hitter, picking up her 25th win against two defeats, and with catcher Diane Ashcraft earned all-state honors.
Bryce, who coached Dondero for five seasons, compiling a 130-36 mark, was named Coach of the Year. He is now in his 38th season as head coach of the softball program at Wayne State University.
In a rematch of the 1978 title game, Fenton repeated as Class B champion, downing South Haven 10-4 in a game played at Ionia High School. Pitcher Barb Barclay upped her season mark to 25-2 with the win. She ended her high school career with a 61-5 record including a 45-game winning streak, four no-hitters, and mention in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.” Dee Ann Moore went 5-for-5 in the contest, scoring four times and garnering five RBI. Pat Witt had a three-run homer for the winners. It was South Haven’s third consecutive runner-up finish. Fenton, under coach Dave Lazar, would pick up its third straight title in 1980.
St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic scored three times in the eighth inning to grab a 7-4 win over Armada to earn the Class C crown, its first MHSAA Finals title in any sport. Catcher Mary Beth Borlik went 3-for-4 in the title game with three RBI. Catholic opened a first-inning 3-0 lead, featuring a triple by Borlik that pushed across two runs. Sophomore Beth Sharai picked up wins in both the semi and final contests, hosted at Clare.
In Class D, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Ellen O’Keefe tossed a two-hitter in the morning’s Semifinal, a 5-0 win over Mason County Eastern, and then held Morenci to four hits in its 4-2 title game win. O’Keefe swatted a three-run homer in the Semifinal, then doubled in a run in the championship game, played at Allendale. O’Keefe ended her college career as the winningest pitcher at Northwestern University, with 41 victories (including 16 shutouts). Today, her total ranks ninth in Wildcats history.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fenton’s Barb Barclay fires a pitch in 1979 for the eventual Class B champion. (Top middle) Southgate Aquinas’ Paul Assenmacher receives a throw at first base. (Middle) Allen Park Cabrini celebrated its first MHSAA title in baseball in its third trip to the final rounds. (Below) St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic softball earned the school’s first MHSAA Finals championship in any sport. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)