Did you see that? (10/22-10/28)
October 30, 2012
Qualifiers for the final week of the boys soccer and cross country seasons were determined over the weekend, while volleyball teams finished up league tournaments before serving up District play beginning today.
Soccer
Unity Christian downs 1 and 2: No. 3 Hudsonville Unity Christian became the highest-ranked team left in Division 2 by defeating No. 2 Ada Forest Hills Eastern in a Regional Semifinal and then top-ranked Spring Lake in the Regional Final. (Grand Rapids Press)
Hornets win first Regional: Williamston’s boys had never won a Regional game before last week, but ended it with their first Semifinal berth after a 2-0 win over No. 10 Frankenmuth in Division 3. (Saginaw News)
Cross country
Seaholm girls, Mott boys win: The top-ranked Birmingham Seaholm girls put seven among the top 11 at Saturday's Division 1 Regional at Waterford to finish ahead of No. 7 Northville and claim the championships. The Waterford Mott boys, ranked No. 6, put five among the top 13 to win their race. (Oakland Press)
Volleyball
No. 1 in league, No. 1 overall: Richland Gull Lake secured the top ranking in Class A heading into the MHSAA tournament by winning the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference tournament Saturday. The Blue Devils beat No. 7 Mattawan in the semifinal before taking down Niles in the championship match. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Marysville ready for playoffs: The Class B No. 5 Vikings won their home invitational Saturday, beating No. 10 Croswell-Lexington in three games in the championship match. (Port Huron Times-Herald)
Swimming and Diving
Records fall: Division 2 No. 9 Midland Dow broke all three relay pool records as it hosted rival Midland on Thursday. The Chargers won 141-42 to move to 13-0 in dual meets this fall. (Midland Daily News)
Tennis
Jenshak, Erickson named Players of the Year: Escanaba’s Codi Jenshak and Iron River West Iron County’s Kylee Erickson played three times this season and won the MHSAA Division 1 and 2 Upper Peninsula No. 1 singles championships, respectively. They were named Co-Player of the Year in the Upper Peninsula last week. (Escanaba Daily Press) (Iron Mountain Daily News)
South Lyon Follows Freshman Phenom to 1st Finals Win
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 19, 2021
EAST LANSING – Allen Park was never able to solve South Lyon pitcher Ava Bradshaw on Saturday.
The freshman showed unbelievable poise on the mound and led the Lions (30-6-2) to the Division 1 championship with a 5-0 victory over the Jaguars at Secchia Stadium.
She was in trouble only in the seventh inning, when Molly Hool led off with a double. But Bradshaw got the next three batters, striking out the last to clinch the program’s first Finals title.
“She’s got the fire,’’ said Allen Park coach Mike Kish. “She has Division I stuff and she’s only a freshman. She has the spin and a rise ball. It’s hard to lay off.
“We have a team that loves each other. We’ll be back. We’re a young team. We can’t let her win again. This was the first time both of us were here, and after the Semifinals I thought we were confident.’’
Bradshaw scattered three hits. She said getting a lead just allowed her to pitch.
“I was a mess last night (Friday),’’ said Bradshaw. “My rise ball was working for me. It was on and that obviously helps. I had a great defense behind me. Every ball that was hit, I knew it was going to be caught. When you have that kind of confidence in your defense, it’s easier to pitch.’’
“This is the stuff we practice, being on the big stage in pressure situations. We played some of the top teams in the state, and we’ve always excelled. We practice pressure situations.”
Bradshaw got the scoring started with an RBI double after Grace Walters reached on an error. Julia Duncan’s single scored another run to make it 2-0 in the first inning.
Not long after, the game went into a rain delay for 20 minutes, giving the Jaguars (32-11) a chance to regroup.
Bradshaw didn’t need it.
“She’s always a mess before a game,’’ said coach Dan DePaulis. “The way she trains, the way she plans for things. She’s a competitor. She attacks hitters. She’s just a really special kid.’’
After a rocky first inning, Allen Park pitcher Morgan Sizemore settled down and kept Allen Park in the game while the offense had a hard time solving Bradshaw, who pitched with minor stress.
She continually kept the Jaguars off balance and got great plays behind her. She also continued adding to the offense – after South Lyon loaded the bases on singles in the bottom of the fifth inning, Bradshaw’s sacrifice fly produced a run to make it 3-0.
The Lions tacked on insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-run double by Riley Bourlier.
“I thought we had a chance to do this after Regionals,’’ said Bourlier. “Ava is phenomenal, and it’s a pleasure to play with her.’’
PHOTOS: (Top) South Lyon pitcher Ava Bradshaw is set to fire during Saturday's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Riley Bourlier slides into third base during a Lions rally.