Mourning Those Who Contributed Much

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.”

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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.

Click for the full box score.

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.