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.
Grass Lake Wins Matchup of Aces, Rosel Pitches Ravenna to Historic Semifinal Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2026
EAST LANSING – The highly-anticipated matchup between the previous two Division 3 champions, Evart and Grass Lake, lived up to the billing Friday.
A clutch go-ahead hit in the fifth inning and a solid pitching performance from senior Morgan Conrad helped Grass Lake upset top-ranked and the previously-unbeaten Wildcats 3-2 in the morning’s first Semifinal at Secchia Stadium.
Fourth-ranked Grass Lake (36-5) will attempt to finish a repeat run at 3 p.m. Saturday against Ravenna.
Evart had won the Division 3 championship in 2024 and entered Friday with a perfect 42-0 record.
“Evart is a very solid team, and I’ve followed them for years,” Warriors coach Roger Cook said. “They have a very good tradition, so coming in we kind of talked about the other team, but it was about us and the ball and we try not to look at everything else. The less they have to think about, the better. To be with this group of wonderful human beings for another day is a blessing.”
Grass Lake, which returned five starters this spring from a year ago, relied on its youngsters to deliver a pair of timely hits.
In the third inning, freshman Mikayla Jurek scorched a ball to the base of the wall to score Ava Hemp and give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Evart answered in the bottom of the inning when starting pitcher Kyrah Gray ripped a solo home run over the left field wall to even the score.
But Grass Lake sophomore Chloe Hollifield produced the biggest moment of the game in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and a full count. She laced a shot up the middle to score the eventual game-winning runs.
“I was just thinking bat on ball,” Hollifield said. “Get a hit, or just get on base in general to score a run. Whatever I could do to help my team.”
Added Cook: “Chloe struggled at the beginning of the year, but she has really come through. She’s a great kid who has listened and grinded, and to have her in the spotlight with some of the other girls coming through was phenomenal.”
Evart closed the gap in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI double from senior Keira Elder, but Conrad closed the game with two shutout innings.
The Wildcats tried to rally in the seventh after a throwing error by Grass Lake put the leadoff batter on base. After an intentional walk to put two on with one out, Conrad retired the final two batters.
“I wasn’t stressed because I trust my team so much,” said Conrad, who had two of Grass Lake’s six hits. “We’ve been in many situations where we’ve had close games, and I know to stay calm. Getting worried doesn’t help my team, and I knew with a young team the girls could be nervous, but everyone was so positive and so ready to play.”
Mattisen Tiedt went 2-for-4 for Evart, while Gray struck out 10 and scored two runs.
“I don't remember how many times two girls that have won a state championship have faced each other but that happened today with these two starting pitchers,” Evart coach Shaun Gray said. “I thought both pitchers did awesome. But unfortunately, somebody had to win and somebody had to lose and we were on the wrong side of it today.
“They know they lost the game and they are disappointed, but disappointment is the farthest thing on my mind right now. I’m very proud of these girls. We’d never been down here once, so to be here three times in the last five years has been very special and something that can never be taken from us.”
Ravenna 7, New Lothrop 0
It took a while for Ravenna’s bats to wake up Friday. But once they did, it allowed the third-ranked Bulldogs to make school history by becoming the first team to advance to a Final.
Junior pitcher Natalie Rosel tossed a two-hitter, and Ravenna (38-1) exploded for six runs in the final two innings. It was Ravenna’s first Semifinal win after losses in their previous two trips.
“Ravenna softball has never been in a state finals game, so this is a huge accomplishment,” Ravenna coach Dave Sherman said. “I feel good about it, our coaching staff feels good about it and our girls obviously feel really good about it. It’s a compliment to our coaching staff because they do a great job, and the girls leaned on what they’ve been working on for a long time.”
Rosel’s complete-game shutout included 13 strikeouts. She didn’t walk a batter.
“This is amazing,” Rosel said. “We’ve worked really hard for this for years. Ever since we were little it’s all we’ve worked toward. It’s exciting to finally be here.”
The Bulldogs struck early with an RBI triple by Emily Postema in the first inning to make it 1-0. However, New Lothrop senior hurler Mallory Heroux silenced Ravenna over the next four innings before the Bulldogs’ potent offense came alive.
Ravenna scored three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Sydney Morrissey plated three runs with a bases-loaded triple in the sixth to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0, and Reese Herremans blasted a two-run home run in the seventh.
“Give credit to their pitcher because she did a good job of keeping us off balance, but we made some adjustments and the two big innings we had we just hit the ball hard,” Sherman said. “A lot of girls contributed, and it’s been a team effort all year long. Today it was our top and middle.”
Unranked New Lothrop (33-11) was making its first Semifinal appearance since winning the Class C title in 1982.
The Hornets started five freshmen.
“Ravenna was tough, but this was a good thing to start the tradition of getting down here,” New Lothrop coach Chad Henige said. “Ravenna has been here, this is routine for them, so getting down here was great and it’s good for the girls and good for the program.”
Postema, Herremans and Riley Homoly combined for seven of Ravenna’s 10 hits.
PHOTOS (Top) Grass Lake pitcher Morgan Conrad makes her move toward the plate during Friday’s Semifinal win over Evart. (Middle) A Ravenna runner slides into third base while New Lothrop's Leigha Eagan awaits a throw.