Get Prepped for a Fantastic Finale

May 24, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We love this time of year. And not just because school is nearly out for summer.

There’s little argument that the week ahead is the most exciting of each MHSAA school year. And you’ll want to set your bookmarks for MHSAA.com and Second Half for updated results and coverage not just next week – but through the rest of this spring season.

The MHSAA.com Score Center is our home for scores from all District softball, baseball and soccer games, which begin Tuesday. You also can view real-time brackets for every District by going to the “Sports” page for each, and updated brackets for lacrosse by visiting our girls and boys pages for that sport as well.

In the Lower Peninsula, we’ll have same day or next morning results as golf Districts are played, and first-day results from next weekend’s Girls Tennis Finals on May 31 – followed by final results at the conclusion of play June 1. We’ll post Finals results for Upper Peninsula golf and tennis as we receive them Wednesday and Thursday, and then results for all seven Lower and Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals as they come in June 1.

But results are only the start. As we have during the fall and winter, Second Half will provide coverage including photos from every MHSAA Final – beginning with Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals. Keep an eye on Second Half throughout the week, or follow the Second Half feed on the cover page of MHSAA.com.

Transfer rule clarification

We released Monday the actions our Representative Council took earlier this month at its Spring Meeting, including an addition to the athletics-related portion of our transfer rule. Based on some questions we’ve received and read, here’s some further explanation of what will be installed for 2014-15:

The longer period of ineligibility for athletes who transfer because of athletics is not new. This has previously existed for cases in which a school could prove that it lost a student to another school purely for sports-related reasons.

What’s new is what must be proven and by whom for the longer ineligibility period to take effect. Now, a school that lost a student does not have to file a report with the MHSAA for the case to be considered. As long as one of a set of offending activities can be verified – including practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff during summer or non-school sports activities or seasons – that student will have to sit 180 days instead of the usual period of roughly a semester. The 15 exemptions that allow a student to be eligible immediately – like making a full move to a new district or a student’s school closing – may still apply.

So, to conclude: The longer athletics-related ineligibility period is not new, just how athletics-related transfers are considered and reported. Click to read the full release.

Kickoff is coming

And that means we’re collecting varsity football schedules.

In fact, we have most of them thanks to our athletic directors, their secretaries, coaches and many others who chip in to help us keep complete and accurate information throughout the season.

But there are still plenty of steps in getting ready for August – and a huge one is locking down correct leagues for our teams this season, especially as schools continue to switch things up.

Check out your school’s schedule page by click on the “Schools” button in the menu bar at the top of MHSAA.com and searching for your school. Once on the school page, click the blue “Boys” button next to football. The schedule will appear in the middle of the page, with standings to the left.

See an error in a schedule or the standings? Email me at [email protected]. I thank you in advance.

Kramer’s words of wisdom

Long before Roy Kramer served as athletic director at Vanderbilt University, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and creator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for Division I college football, he coached multiple sports at East Lansing High School.

He recently was named winner of this year’s Duffy Daugherty Award, given in honor of the former Michigan State University coach to a valued coach or contributor to college football. The award, presented in East Lansing, is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.

Kramer finished his acceptance speech with a stirring endorsement of the sport that brought the crowd of more than 300 to its feet. If you’re a fan, former or current player or coach, see below.

PHOTO: Athletes race toward the finish of a relay during this spring's Alma College Invitational. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)

Vicksburg celebrates during its Division 2 Semifinal win Thursday at Secchia Stadium.

Softball

Vicksburg, Gaylord Thrive on Plate Power to Earn Saturday Return

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

June 15, 2023

EAST LANSING – Vicksburg’s Kennedy Davis didn’t get mad, she got even.

Davis ripped what looked like a three-run home run Thursday morning in the second inning, but it curved just foul on its way out of Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium.

No worries, as Davis connected on a nearly identical three-run bomb in the bottom of the sixth inning – this one a little farther right and clearly in the field of play – to erase a one-run deficit and lift the Bulldogs to a 4-2 victory over Richmond in a Division 2 Semifinal.

“It was the same pitch she threw me the first time, when I bombed it foul,” explained Davis, the only starting senior for Vicksburg, who also went the distance for the pitching win.

“I heard them call the same number as the first one, so I was ready. It was a meatball on the inside of the plate.”

Davis sent that “meatball” into the oak trees over the left field scoreboard and, in so doing, sent Vicksburg to its first softball championship game since 2016 – when it lost, ironically, to Richmond in the D2 Final.

Vicksburg (41-3-1) will face another big challenge in Saturday’s 10 a.m. Final against top-ranked Gaylord, which used three pitchers to hold off Dearborn Divine Child, 2-1, in Thursday’s second D2 Semifinal.

Vicksburg coach Paul Gephart, in his 10th season, sure remembers that Finals loss to Richmond seven years ago – and recalls Davis being a little girl watching from the bleachers.

The Bulldogs’ Peyton Smith readies to make a play. “Her cousin was on that team, and Kennedy was just a little girl in the stands,” Gephart recalled. “I reminded her about that this morning, and I could tell it motivated her.”

Davis’s home run was certainly the difference against a pesky Richmond team which entered the game unranked and playing just 16 hours after its Quarterfinal win Wednesday evening.

In spite of that, the Blue Devils took the lead Thursday by plating both of their runs in the top of the third inning.

Emma Hildreth singled and scored on a triple by returning all-stater Piper Clark, her 55^th RBI of the season. Clark then scored on a single by Ashley Stafford.

Richmond, which finished 29-10 in coach Howard Stuart’s 45th year, looked like it might win by that score behind the pitching of sophomore Katie Shuboy.

Shuboy allowed just five hits in six innings of work – two by second baseman Peyton Smith, then singles by Delaney Moore and Kayla Chisholm, before the pivotal three-run homer by Davis in the sixth.

“This team always seems to find a way,” said Gephart, whose other pitcher, junior Audrie Dugan, broke her hand sliding during Regionals. “We’ve certainly come back from bigger deficits, but that hit was huge in that situation, playing here.”

After ripping the game-winning homer, Davis went to the circle and retired the Blue Devils 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh inning. She allowed two earned runs on seven hits and one walk, with three strikeouts.

Click for the box score.

Gaylord 2, Dearborn Divine Child 1

Top-ranked Gaylord (38-2) used two solo home runs and three pitchers to stave off an upset bid by unranked Divine Child and advance to its first Final after previously reaching the Semifinals in 2021 with many of the same players.

Her team behind 1-0 after two innings, Abby Radulski led off the third with a home run and Alexis Kozlowski did the same thing one inning later, giving the Blue Devils all the scoring they would need.

It wasn’t easy, however, as Divine Child put multiple runners on base in the fifth and sixth innings, but was unable to bring another run home.

“They put tons of pressure on us, and we were fortunate to persevere,” said first-year Gaylord coach Tony Vaden. “Our girls have learned to stay calm, and they will take advantage whenever a pitcher makes a mistake.”

Gaylord’s Alexis Kozlowski rounds second base during her home run. The Falcons scored their lone run in the second inning on a single from senior Allison Surella. Isabella DePaulis led Divine Child (28-8) with two hits.

Gaylord was able to hold off the Falcons the rest of the way behind the pitching trio of junior Avery Parker, Radulski and sophomore Aubrey Jones.

Parker went the first three innings and allowed two hits and one run, Radulski allowed four hits in 2 2/3 innings, and Jones shut the door in relief – coming on with two on and two out in the top of the sixth and striking out three of the four batters she faced.

“I just wanted to come in and get the job done for my team,” explained Jones, the younger sister of junior standout Jayden Jones, who is out for the season with a broken wrist.

“It stinks that she can’t play right now, but she’s our biggest cheerleader. It just shows how many good players we have.”

Sophomore Jessica Nelson pitched a gem for Divine Child, allowing just five hits in six innings against the powerful Gaylord lineup. Nelson walked one and struck out four.