Turmell's Near No-Hitter, Byrnes' Blast Deliver Northern's 1st Finals Championship
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2026
EAST LANSING – Grand Haven softball coach John Hall had an idea how Saturday’s Division 1 Softball Final with Walled Lake Northern was going to go.
“I told our coaches last night at the hotel this is going to be a 2-1 game,” Hall noted.
Indeed, it was a pitcher’s duel that saw the teams combine for just four hits in Northern’s 2-1 victory.
The Finals championship was the first for the Knights – and while the result may have been predictable given the talent in the circle, it also took a minute to believe for the winner of that individual duel.
“I didn’t believe it was real until my catcher (Anna Doyle) started running at me,” said Northern senior pitcher Lyla Turmell.
The Knights also made their first appearance in a Semifinal on Thursday, edging Northville by the same 2-1 score.
This game was decided on a home run by junior Shayla Byrnes in the bottom of the sixth inning. Her fly ball down the left field line banged off the foul pole to break a 1-1 tie.
Turmell then struck out the side in the top of the seventh inning.
She had given Northern (39-3) a 1-0 lead on a homer in the first inning.
“I threw her a wicked rise ball, and she got her hands up to it,” Grand Haven pitcher Lorelei Chcuik said. “There was nothing I could do about it.”
"(I was) getting a rally started, at least," Turmell said of her round-tripper. "I knew my bat could help me."
Chciuk scored Grand Haven’s run in the fourth inning, scoring on a fielder’s choice.
Both pitchers were outstanding.
Turnell allowed only one hit, a first-inning single by Ryley Jeltema. She walked three and struck out nine.
She worked out of trouble in the top of the sixth inning, handling a comebacker with the bases loaded to end a Grand Haven rally.
Chciuk was equal to the task, striking out 12 while getting on base three times on two walks and being hit by a pitch.
Grand Haven (36-5-1) also was making its first appearance in a championship game.
“It was a game that could go either way,” Hall said. “It came down to two swings. Would I have liked to win? Sure.
“But I wouldn’t’ve traded this for nothing. Nothing.”
PHOTOS (Top) Walled Lake Northern welcomes Shaela Byrnes (9) as she crosses the plate after her go-ahead sixth-inning home run. (Middle) Grand Haven’s Ryley Jeltema is stuck between third base and home as Northern catcher Anna Doyle runs her back.
High 5s - 4/24/12
April 24, 2012
Each week, Second Half gives "High 5s" to multiple athletes and a team that have performed exceptionally on the field or made a notable impact off of it.
Please offer your suggestions by e-mail to editor Geoff Kimmerly at [email protected]. Below are this week's honorees:
Mallory Weber
Northville senior
Soccer
Weber, a two-time Division 1 all-state forward, leads one of the best teams in the state. Northville is 5-0-2 and ranked No. 3, with its most significant win so far coming last week, 1-0 over reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 5 Novi. Although Weber did not score that goal, she did help open up the field by drawing two and at times three defenders. She has nine goals and five assists this season, and has signed with reigning Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State after also considering the University of Maryland and the University of Miami (Fla.). She also played basketball at Northville.
For love of the game: "I love soccer. It's so competitive. It's just fun. It's fast-moving; basketball you stop so much, but in soccer you're always continuing."
I learned the most about soccer from: "Probably my (club) coach Andy Vanover. He was my coach for probably six years, and he taught me to never give up. That work ethic is part of what makes my game so hard to defend."
I model my game after: FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi. "Just how he's so good with his foot skills. That's the biggest part of my game I try to work on."
Up next: Weber is undecided on her major at Penn State, but is considering something in food science and nutrition. "I just like the whole thing of how food affects your body, how it plays into your performance."
Jake McFadden
Clare senior
Track and Field
McFadden won the 110-meter hurdles (14.9 seconds), the 300 hurdles (39.3) and the 200 dash (22.3) on Saturday at the Remus Chippewa Hills Invitational as Clare scored 174 points to finish first. He's the reigning MHSAA Division 3 champion in both hurdles races and helped Clare to a third-place team finish at the 2011 Final. He also owns school and Jack Pine Conference records in the 110 (14.82) and 300 (39.28), according to a report by the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun. McFadden played football in previous falls until this school year, when he switched to cross country to help him get into better shape for track season.
Up next: McFadden has signed to run track at Michigan State University, and will study biomedical engineering. "I just like the working-with-my-hands aspect, making new things (like) replacements for hips and knees, making innovations in that kind of stuff."
Quick learner: McFadden shot put and ran on a relay in junior high, but didn't try hurdling until high school. "I just watched a lot of film on myself, just fixed stuff there."
I look up to: "I'd say my brother (Mike McFadden, a 2010 Clare grad). He's the one who really got me into track. He played baseball freshman year and ran track sophomore year, and he really liked track. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and see what I could do."
Crossing over: "I played football every year but senior year. I ran cross country this year. It was a good experience, got me in shape. I ran about what I wanted to run, time-wise."
Stevensville Lakeshore softball
In a battle of top-ranked teams, Stevensville Lakeshore -- ranked No. 1 in Division 2 -- downed Division 1 No. 1 Mattawan 4-3 in eight innings to win Saturday's Mattawan Invitational. The Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference rivals also met in last season's Mattawan championship game, with Mattawan winning in eight innings, and again in last weekend's Portage Invitational final -- a 4-2 Wildcats win. Mattawan had won 38 straight games before falling to Portage Central earlier Saturday.
Lakeshore also beat Division 1 No. 3 Grandville, 7-1, and Vicksburg 6-1. The Lancers improved to 11-2 with the tournament sweep.
This spring's previous honorees
Sarah Appold, Saginaw Valley Lutheran softball
Nick Stiles, Bath baseball