Veteran Holton Looks to Take Next Steps
April 12, 2017
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Holton ace Mikaela Baker couldn’t wait to pitch in last year’s MHSAA Division 4 Softball Quarterfinals against top-ranked Coleman.
So when her coach informed her a couple of hours before the showdown that he was going with 14-year-old freshman Haylee Brant instead, Baker thought he was kidding.
“I was pretty mad and couldn’t understand why he would do that,” said Baker, now a senior, thinking back to Holton’s 6-3 upset of Coleman, which was repeatedly frustrated by Brant’s off-speed pitches. “It worked out perfect. I’m really glad that we have both of us; it makes us a better team and that game proved it.”
Baker is now a senior and Brant a sophomore, and the duo has Holton hoping to get back to the Division 4 Semifinals for the third straight year – and then take the final two steps.
Holton, a rural school with 265 students in northeastern Muskegon County, was a volleyball powerhouse in the early 1990s, finishing Class C runner-up in 1993 and winning the title in 1994. The Red Devils also fielded outstanding football and baseball teams about a decade ago, including a memorable run to the 2006 Division 4 baseball championship game, where powerhouse Homer rallied for a 3-2 victory.
These days, Holton is making its biggest impact on the statewide sports scene on the softball diamond.
Holton made it to the Class C Semifinals in 2013, then posted a 37-0 record in 2015 with a senior-laden roster, before falling to powerhouse Unionville-Sebewaing in the Semifinals at Michigan State University. The Red Devils made a real statement about the strength of their program last spring, overcoming the loss of six key seniors and double-digit losses in the regular season to get back to the Semifinals before losing 2-0 to Indian River Inland Lakes. Holton finished 29-13 last year.
“Last year, we weren’t expected to be very good, and for a while we weren’t real good,” said third-year Holton coach Kirk Younts, himself a 1990 Holton graduate. “But we kept getting better and made another great run. It’s different now. We know we have a big bullseye on us, but we’re excited to get going.”
This spring, enthusiasm remains high with the return of all but three seniors off of last year’s final four team – including the “two Bs” on the mound, Baker and Brant.
Baker, the harder thrower of the two, finished last season with a 13-5 record and 2.93 ERA. She has worked tirelessly during the offseason with her pitching coach, Kelsey Bandstra, and comes into this season with five pitches and more pinpoint control.
Brant was 12-6 with a 2.36 ERA in her freshman year on the varsity and continues to improve both her speed and presence on the mound. Her signature win remains her complete-game gem over Coleman in last year’s Quarterfinals, and starting her in that crucial game drew coaching praise for Younts from his Coleman counterpart.
“It took a couple innings to get back down to her speed,” said Coleman coach Chad Klopf after getting ousted by Holton in the Quarterfinals for the second straight year. “We’ve seen some pretty good pitching the last few weeks. Good move.”
Younts will continue to use both pitchers this spring, but he believes his team’s biggest improvement will come at the plate.
Among the big bats returning to Holton’s lineup are senior centerfielder Emily Larabee (.520 batting average, 44 stolen bases), sophomore catcher Morgan Murat (.400 average, 44 RBI) and senior outfielder Shelbey Younts (.373 average). Younts is the coach’s daughter and the younger sister of Rachel Younts, an all-state player on Holton’s 2015 team who now plays softball at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.
“We have nine tough hitters this year, so we feel like we can be putting pressure on the other team all the time,” said Coach Younts, whose brother, Jeff, is Holton’s junior varsity coach. “I credit that to all the work these girls have done in the weight room.”
Among the other bats to watch in the Red Devils’ lineup are sophomore shortstop Kaylie Piper and seniors Courtney Slater, Micheylah Ross and Alicia Dykman.
The excitement surrounding Holton softball is evident all over town, starting with a successful golf outing in September and a breakfast fundraiser in March. Recently Holton, despite being one of the smallest schools in the Muskegon area, ran away with MLive’s first area “Team of the Week” poll with 5,381 votes – more than 61 percent of the total votes cast.
The team bonded further on a spring break trip to Gulf Shores, Ala., where, among other things, the Red Devils watched South Alabama’s college team play – an experience that made the Red Devils even more excited to get started.
Baker, who plans to attend Grand Valley State this fall, is determined to enjoy every minute of her final sports season at Holton, which she hopes will end one game later than the past two springs – in the Division 4 championship game on June 17.
She is one of many three-sport athletes (volleyball, basketball, softball) on Holton’s roster who have formed a special bond over the past four years of wins and losses and ups and downs.
“We have spent a lot of time together, and we are really close,” Baker said. “A lot of little girls in Holton really look up to us, which is pretty cool. We just want to finish strong.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Holton players cheer on a teammate during last season’s Division 4 Semifinal while Mikaela Baker preps in the on-deck circle. (Middle) Catcher Morgan Murat takes a swing against Indian River Inland Lakes.
Dakota, Mercy Set Up Top-Ranked Match-up
June 16, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING — Kendahl Dunford started summer softball last year with a team that wasn't operating at full strength.
While Dunford was beginning her travel season, some of her teammates were still busy trying to win MHSAA championships with their high school teams.
Dunford's own postseason dreams with her Macomb Dakota team ended in the Pre-District round for the second straight year, despite a 30-6 regular-season record.
"It was not a good feeling," Dunford said. "We had some girls (from the summer team) who were still here. We were like, 'Wow, we could've really been here.' Now this year, being here, it's the best thing ever."
Dunford's high school season will extend to the last possible game after she pitched top-ranked Dakota to a 4-2 victory over Midland in the MHSAA Division 1 semifinals on Thursday at Michigan State University.
The Cougars (38-2), who hadn't won a District since 2000 and had never advanced beyond Regionals until this season, will face Farmington Hills Mercy at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Division 1 title at MSU's Secchia Stadium.
"It's surreal," senior second baseman Sarah Fringer said. "I never thought we were going to get here. We have such a great team. Not getting out of Districts the past couple years has been really tough. Finally being here is an amazing feeling."
It was Fringer who made the defensive play of the game to thwart Midland's final threat.
The Chemics (36-8) had runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, trailing 4-2. Nicole Miiller hit a grounder to the left of Fringer, who made a diving stop, got up and made the throw to first to end the inning.
"It was really huge," Fringer said. "They had runners on first and second with two outs. I was just trying to do anything I could to keep the ball in front of me and not let a run score. I just saw the ball coming and got it. It was a huge relief. We only had three more outs left after that. It was really a big confidence booster that we really had it. We really were going to get the win."
Fringer's play left Midland wondering what could have been.
"We squared it up quite a few times," Midland coach Robin Allen said. "Some of the times when we did, they made a nice play or it went right at them. If that second baseman doesn't make that diving play, that's a whole new ball game. It might have got in the gap. If that gets in the gap, we might have scored two there."
Against Dunford, teams don't get many opportunities to put runs on the board. She retired the Chemics in order in the seventh, ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts. Dunford had nine strikeouts total, allowing six hits and no walks.
Dunford, a junior who has verbally committed to Florida International, entered the game with five straight shutouts. She had allowed only one run over 37 innings in six tournament games, as Dakota outscored its opponents 53-1.
Dakota struck first when Kattie Popko doubled and scored on a single by Claire Hamlin in the second inning.
The Cougars built a cushion in the third, scoring three unearned runs. With one out and nobody on, Corbin Hison reached first base when third baseman Zoe Manary threw high to first base. With two outs, Kelcie LaTour singled home Hison to make it 2-0. After a single by Dunsford, Julia Salisbury stepped up and lined a double to the fence in left-center field to score two runs.
"I just imagine that I'm going to hit it out to left field," Salisbury said. "Before I bat, I look to left field and say, 'I'm driving it out there.' That's what I thought when I hit that."
Dunford's scoreless inning streak ended at 35 in the fourth inning, as Midland cut the Cougars' lead in half.
Pitcher Maya Kipfmiller singled with one out to begin the rally. Julia Gross then hit a ball that eluded the center fielder and rolled to the fence for a triple. Gross headed home when the throw to third was wild. It appeared she would be easily cut down at the plate, but the throw home sailed high.
"We had a little defensive hiccup there," Dakota coach Rick Fontaine said. "I don't think we've made that many errors in the entire postseason. We got them out of the way on one play, so I guess that was a good thing. Defensively, we've been great all year."
Midland went down 1-2-3 in the fifth and seventh innings, failing to score in the sixth because of Fringer's diving stop and throw on the grounder by Miiller.
Dunford had two of Dakota's six hits off of Kipfmiller, who walked four batters, none of whom factored into the scoring.
Kipfmiller and Gross had two hits each for Midland.
"We have one senior," Allen said. "We're a young team, but they don't play like they're young. They all play like seniors. They've been around the program for a long time. It's a special season. It's something these girls will remember the rest of their lives. I'm really excited for them. It's memorable."
Farmington Hills Mercy 9, Mattawan 6
Cari Padula came just a foot or so away from hitting a grand slam down the right field line in the second inning.
She had to settle for a three-run double to left after her long foul ball, but she isn't complaining. Padula's hit highlighted a five-run uprising that carried No. 2 Mercy (42-2) into the championship game for the second time in school history. The 2002 team lost in the Division 1 Final, 4-0 to Portage Northern.
"It would have been awesome if it went out," Padula said of the near-miss to right. "I just knew I needed to recoup. I took a deep breath. I have this little saying. I say, 'See ball, hit ball.' That's exactly what I did."
Padula had a run-scoring single as part of a three-run sixth inning, giving her four RBI.
"I was really happy for Cari," Mercy coach Alec Lesko said. "Cari walked away from our last game thinking she didn't contribute enough, but she had a couple sac flies. Today she missed a grand slam by about a foot and came down the other line for a bases-emptying double. We're excited for her. She's a senior, and she's been a great leader. I'm glad she had a chance to do something big today."
Fourth-ranked Mattawan (32-9) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning before Mercy responded with the five-run second. After Mercy extended its lead to 6-2 in the third following a 54-minute rain delay, Mattawan cut the deficit to 6-5 with two runs in the third and one in the fifth.
Anna Dixon's second double and third hit of the game ignited a three-run sixth inning that gave Mercy some breathing room. Mattawan scored a run in the sixth, but couldn't get closer.
"We gave up too many, but we fought hard and never gave up," Mattawan junior Joanna Bartz said. "We just tried to play our game and fell short."
Andrea Elmore allowed nine hits and struck out eight for Mercy. Shannon Gibbons was 3 for 4, nearly getting a fourth hit in the sixth, only to be denied by a diving catch by left fielder Sarah Hillsburg.
PHOTOS: (Top) Macomb Dakota celebrates its first MHSAA Finals berth in softball. (Middle) A Farmington Hills Mercy runner rounds third base during her team's Semifinal win.