EAST LANSING — Spending her entire life in the Richmond community, Katie Shuboy can pinpoint exactly when she wanted to become part of the tradition-rich softball program at the high school. 

“I’ve always gone to Richmond schools, and I remember watching my cousin (Erin Shuboy) win a state championship (in 2016) and watching the 2021 team win it,” Shuboy said. “I knew I wanted to do that one day.”

That one day turned out to be Saturday, as Shuboy helped guide Richmond to its third Finals title with a 3-0 victory over Paw Paw in the Division 2 championship game.

A senior pitcher who has signed to play next for Ferris State, Shuboy tossed her second 1-hit shutout of Finals weekend, striking out 12 and walking two.

It was also her third-straight shutout to end the season after a 6-0 win over Goodrich in a Quarterfinal and a 2-0 blanking of Escanaba during the Semifinals. 

“I decided I wanted to pitch when I was about 10,” Shuboy said. “I really wasn’t that great. But my Dad has really helped me with everything. We throw every single day, and I wouldn’t be here without him.”

Paw Paw entered the game with one of the state’s most potent offenses, with five players batting .434 or higher. 

Shuboy and her coaches went over scouting reports and tendencies of Paw Paw’s hitters, but the plan was pretty much doing what she has all year. 

“You can only overthink it so much,” Shuboy said. “You just really have to go out and do what you normally do.”

Howard Stuart, who just completed his 47th year as Richmond’s only softball coach, said Shuboy definitely ranks as one of the all-time greats at the school. 

“I’ve had some pretty good pitchers that won state titles in 2016 and 2021,” Stuart said, referring to the Division 2 title in 2016 and the Division 3 crown in 2021. “She’s like them. All of them have a lot of speed and a lot of movement.”

Paw Paw head coach Mike Mottl certainly was impressed with Shuboy’s performance.

“She was really good at painting the corner,” Mottl said. “She had good control of her fastball, and she also had a nice rise ball that didn’t really start high or finish high. When a rise ball is at the middle and then finishes up, it’s really hard to lay off of. She did a phenomenal job.”

The silver lining for Mottl and the rest of the Paw Paw community though was looking at the roster when peeking ahead to next year.

“No seniors,” Mottl said with a wry smile knowing his squad should be a title contender again in 2026. 

But 2025 belonged to Shuboy and Richmond, which jumped on Paw Paw early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. After hitting a leadoff triple to left field, freshman Kendall Nader scored on an RBI bunt single by junior Audrina Nader. 

Following a double by Shuboy that put runners on second and third, junior Anna McKiernan scored Nader with an RBI infield single to make it 2-0 Blue Devils. 

The game remained that way until Richmond got some insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by junior Emma Bambrick that made it a 3-0 game. 

In addition to her pitching dominance, Shuboy finished with two doubles to lead Richmond’s seven-hit output.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Richmond’s Katie Shuboy looks to her dugout after one of her two doubles Saturday. (Middle) Paw Paw’s Elizabeth Vanderburg makes a play.