Did You See That? (April 22-28)
April 30, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The clouds finally began to break last week. And as expected, teams in every spring sport quickly got started catching up on what they'd had to put off most of this month.
Read on for some of the top headlines from all over the state, plus our favorite story – which highlights a pair of officials who will be recognized this weekend for their dedication to high school athletics.
Good Read of the Week
Father/Daughter rule the diamond: Ralph Burr will be among those celebrated by the MHSAA this weekend for 50 years of service as an official. But the past 20 have been his favorite – his daughter and umpiring partner Jackie will be recognized this weekend for her two decades of service. (Muskegon Chronicle).
Softball
McClure strikes again: Manchester pitcher Katie McClure moved into ninth in MHSAA history with 511 career strikeouts after totaling 27 more at Saturday’s Concord Invitational. Her team won the event by beating the host 3-1 in the final. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
One vs. One: In what has become arguably the best softball rivalry in the state, Stevensville Lakeshore swept Mattawan 4-2 and 9-4 on Thursday in a matchup of top-ranked teams. Lakeshore is ranked No. 2 in Division 2, while Mattawan holds the top spot in Division 1. (St. Joseph Herald-Palladium)
Another Clinton ace: That’s Cami Prater, who has taken over for graduated standout Tierney Nelson and no-hit the No. 5-ranked host at Saturday’s Springport Invitational. Prater hit a home run as Clinton won last season’s Division 3 championship game. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Snowbirds down No. 1: Gaylord St. Mary scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to upset Division 4 No. 1 Onaway 2-1 a week ago before settling for a hard-earned split. (Gaylord Herald-Times)
Girls Lacrosse
“Play Day” perfection: Rockford hosted its fourth “Play Day” on Saturday, and the Division 1 top-ranked Rams finished it with wins over No. 2 Hartland and No. 3 Brighton. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, No. 2 in Division 2, also beat Hartland, along with Troy Athens and Division 2 No. 3 Ann Arbor Pioneer. (Grand Rapids Press)
Boys Golf
Upper hand, DCC: Detroit Catholic Central won what is one of the most competitive regular-season events every spring, claiming the Division 1 portion of the Traverse City Central Invitational by edging reigning champion Muskegon Mona Shores. Mona Shores finished third and DCC sixth at last season’s MHSAA Division 1 Final. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Baseball
Long time coming: Gladstone earned its first wins 4-3 and 5-0 over Negaunee on Friday, and those also happen to be the program’s first victories in more than a half century. The Escanaba Daily Press reports this as Gladstone’s first baseball team in 54 years. (Escanaba Daily Press)
East Lansing rises at Dow: East Lansing needed just about every one of its 16 runs over the final two games of Saturday’s Midland Dow Invitational, but came away with the championship after beating Division 3 No. 4 Saginaw Nouvel 8-7 in the final. East Lansing advanced with an 8-6 win over Dow. (Saginaw News)
Weisenberger throws no-no again: Sanford Meridian had three wins after Thursday, and two were no-hitters by pitcher Jonah Weisenberger. He threw his second in that night’s opener against Beaverton. (Midland Daily News)
Portage Northern rallies: The Huskies look like they could be an emerging force again from the Kalamazoo area, and moved to 5-2 by winning their home invitational Saturday. Portage Northern defeated Division 4 No. 2 Gobles in the championship game. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Track and Field
Hornets buzz: Williamston’s boys, who tied for ninth at last season MHSAA Division 2 Final, won the Spartan Classic at Michigan State University, finishing eight points ahead of Division 1 power Rockford. Reigning Division 1 girls champion Grosse Pointe South won its side of the meet by a much more significant 51 points. (Playmakers.com (full results), Lansing State Journal)
All-Battle Creek is all Lakeview: Battle Creek Lakeview continues to dominate its city’s track and field scene, and again won its all-city meets Friday. The girls won despite not running standout Sarita Dotson, who was out with an injury. (Battle Creek Enquirer).
Football
Stoney Creek celebrates Fisher: A Rochester Hills Stoney Creek football coach remembered Thursday how Eric Fisher was 6-foot-1 and 150 pounds as a high school freshman. That night, Fisher was selected first in the NFL draft out of Central Michigan University by the Kansas City Chiefs. (Detroit News)
Saline Finds Winning Formula to Finish 1st Finals Trip as Division 1 Champion
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING — The head coach hadn’t coached high school softball before last year, the ace pitcher is a junior who had never played on varsity before this spring, and the program itself had never advanced beyond the MHSAA Quarterfinal round over its long history.
Given all that, it certainly seemed like the definition of a stunning rise to the top for the Saline softball program, which captured its first Finals championship with a 5-2 victory over South Lyon in the Division 1 championship game Saturday at Secchia Stadium.
First, Saline head coach Rebecca Suiter hadn’t been a head coach in high school softball before being hired in December 2023. She has been a travel head coach, but her primary background was as an athletic trainer treating athletes, not coaching them.
“When I first got here, my goal was to get to know the girls and see where we were at,” said Suiter, who formerly was an athletic trainer at Brooklyn Columbia Central High School but is now a teacher at Saline. “Last year, they started to get to used to our philosophy. This year from the start, they bought in from the beginning. Each and every day they have put in the work to reach their goal. We would offer time for open hitting, and girls would be just showing up. This week, we were studying film and they were studying film on their own. They wanted it so bad.”
Junior ace Abby Curtis wasn’t even on varsity during Suiter’s first year, playing on the JV squad.
Committed to play next for Wayne State, Curtis went 20-0 this season and finished an incredible year by throwing a seven-hitter against South Lyon, striking out 13 and walking none.
“Our first practice, I had a feeling,” Curtis said. “There was an obvious chemistry and click we had from the get-go. We set high goals and reached them.”
Saline (40-3-2) reached the ultimate goal by avenging a loss to South Lyon in a Regional Semifinal last season.
Coming off a 5-4 win over 2025 champion Hudsonville in a Thursday Semifinal — a win that featured a 2-run rally in the top of the seventh inning — Saline’s offense was consistent throughout the championship game. The Hornets collected 10 hits and scored single runs in every inning except the fourth and the seventh.
Senior Ava Stripp broke a 1-1 tie in the second with a solo home run, and the Hornets took a 3-1 lead in the third inning on an RBI groundout by sophomore Gracelyn Waldrop. It was her second RBI of the day after she singled home the game’s first run.
In the fifth inning, Saline went up 4-1 on an RBI single with two outs by junior Madison Bellus. Saline got its final run in the sixth on an RBI double to the gap in left-center by Casey Griffin.
South Lyon scored a single run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by junior Ella Glowacki to make it 5-2, but couldn’t get closer.
South Lyon also scored in the first inning on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of sophomore Isabella Bracali.
As improbable as Saline’s rise to the top was, it might have been even more unlikely to see South Lyon get this far in 2025.
The Lions last spring graduated all-state pitcher Ava Bradshaw, who as a freshman pitched a shutout in the 2021 Division 1 championship game to lead the Lions to victory.
South Lyon (33-8) also had a new coach in Jerry Shippe and was unranked heading into the MHSAA Tournament, but went on another unforgettable run to reach championship weekend.
“We flew under the radar all year,” Shippe said. “We played our last games at Clio before the playoffs. I took the team and told them, ‘You can win a state championship.’ They looked at me like, ‘Yeah, this old man doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’ Hey, they almost did. A couple of hits here and there, and they are. I’m proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Saline players including Casey Griffin (3) celebrate during their Division 1 championship win Saturday. (Middle) Ashley Malinczak steps into her swing during an at bat for the Hornets.