With a little time to heal – and a lot of mutual cooperation – Coleman’s softball team was at full strength on Friday. And it paid off tremendously for the Comets.
Three of Coleman’s key players are slated to compete in Saturday’s Division 4 state track and field finals, meaning they would have been unavailable to play softball if the district tournament at Beal City would’ve been contested on Saturday, as originally scheduled.
Instead, the tournament was moved to Friday, and the Comets won the championship with victories of 5-0 over Farwell and 7-5 over the host Aggies.
“This one was earned. Not today, not yesterday. This one was a few weeks in the making,” Coleman coach Chad Klopf said of the district title. “Once we knew we could only finish second in conference, we had to change our mindset to get ourselves ready for today.
“ … We have been nursing some sore arms, and then we were hit with two key injuries in the past 10 days, so over the last few weeks we have been resting pitching arms,” Klopf added. “ … The key was to be as strong as we could today. … We got our injured girls back last night, and away we went to see what we could do.”
Klopf said he was grateful to have his entire team available after the schools involved agreed to move the tournament to Friday.
“Without the help of all the schools in the district, Beal City administration, Coleman’s administration, and the MHSAA, it would have been all for naught,” he noted. “As of last Thursday, this district was still being hosted on Saturday. We have three players — Nevaeh Chaffee, Maddy Miller, and Ava Gross — who have all qualified for the state track meet tomorrow. Marion also has a couple of girls who qualified (for the state track finals). That could have meant two forfeits and no district title opportunity.
“I’m so glad that everyone worked together to do what’s best for the kids,” he added.
Miller threw a complete-game three-hit shutout to get the win against Farwell, walking three and striking out nine.
At the plate, Miller went 2-for-2 with a double and scored twice, while Elley Johnson doubled and had three runs batted in, Harley Lattimer had an RBI, and Gross doubled.
In the championship game against Beal City, the Comets scored three times in the first inning, once in the third, and three more times in the fourth to build a 7-0 lead before the Aggies countered with five in the sixth to make it close.
Miller went the distance to get the win, allowing three earned runs on 11 hits and four walks, while fanning eight.
Miller went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs, and three runs scored, while Gross went 3-for-3 with two walks and scored twice, and Johnson went 2-for-3 with a home run and drove in two runs.
Coleman improves to 20-14 and will face Lincoln Alcona in a 10 a.m. regional semifinal next Saturday at Carson City-Crystal.
“Our team showed up this morning, and I could see they just had a different swagger about them. Maddy Miller was tough all day on the mound … as well as at the plate. Our defense was as solid as it has been in years,” Klopf enthused. “Neveah Chaffee and Timeea Middleton were locked down at shortstop and second base, making plays and holding balls on the infield. Autumn Hess was a workhorse in the heat behind the plate, (and) having Ava Gross back in centerfield was huge, too. She covers ground, and that allows Harley Lattimer and Eliza Lewis to play their more natural corner outfield spots, and all three needed to make plays.
“Brooklynn Lattimer played her best games of her career at first base, (and) Elley Johnson came through huge at the plate every time we needed her to,” he added.
CBA SOCCER BLANKS TAWAS IN DISTRICT FINAL
Calvary Baptist Academy dominated Tawas in a Division 4 girls’ soccer district final on Friday, shutting out the visiting Braves 4-0.
The Kings improve to 11-4-2 and advance to a 7 p.m. regional semifinal on Wednesday against Harbor Springs at Big Rapids High School.
CBA outshot Tawas 26-3, and Kings’ goalkeeper Emma Schmidt had two saves to earn the shutout.
Ila Tomko scored in the 12th minute off of an assist from Caitlyn Dickerson, and Sadie Day added an unassisted goal in the 29th minute to give Calvary a 2-0 halftime lead.
Natalie Schmidt tallied in the 55th minute off of an assist from Tomko to make it 3-0, and Day added another unassisted goal in the 68th minute to seal it.
“Our girls came out ready to play tonight. We were able to dominate play, thanks to stellar defense,” said CBA coach Eric Lewis. “We worked hard and had several great chances, but we were unable to put a few of them away tonight.
“We move on to the regional semifinal, where we will need to bury any chances we get. I’m excited as we look ahead to the opportunity in regionals,” he added. “These girls have worked hard all season. It’s great to win the district championship, but we have more work to do.”
FREELAND SOFTBALL EDGES LANCERS IN DISTRICT FINAL
Freeland beat Swan Valley 4-1, then edged Bullock Creek 4-2 on Friday to win the Division 2 softball district tournament hosted by Alma.
The Falcons advance to next Saturday’s noon regional semifinal against Essexville Garber at Cadillac High School.
Isabel Cumper got the win against Swan Valley, going the distance and allowing five hits and one walk, while striking out 11.
Ashley Collier homered for the Falcons, while Zoe Markey had two hits with an RBI single, and Addie Steffen also had two hits.
In the title game against Creek, Freeland centerfielder Evelynn Rybicki threw out a runner at the plate in the first inning, and then the Falcons took an early lead on Collier’s homer in the second inning.
Freeland tacked on three more runs in the third inning, as Cumper had an RBI double in the rally.
Collier got the win, going the full seven innings and allowing four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts.
Jenna Kowalski had two hits for the Falcons.
Earlier in the day, Creek punched its ticket to the title game with a 10-0 six-inning win over Alma.
No statistics for the Lancers were provided as of this writing.
MUSTANGS FALL IN DISTRICT SEMI
Meridian’s softball season came to an end Friday with a 6-1 loss to Ithaca in a Division 3 district semifinal at St. Louis High School.
Kami Linton took the complete-game loss, allowing one earned run on eight hits and two walks, while striking out nine.
The Mustangs managed only five hits, including two apiece from Linton and Kendal Holzinger.
Meridian ends at 26-13.
FALCONS WIN SOCCER DISTRICT TITLE
Freeland scored once in each half Friday to beat Essexville Garber 2-0 in a Division 3 girls’ soccer district final at Standish-Sterling High School.
The Falcons improve to 15-5-1 and advance to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. regional semifinal against Big Rapids in Clare.
Megan Hemgesberg scored on a header off of a cross from Alli Maize in the 15th minute, and Freeland carried that 1-0 lead into halftime. Then, in the 60th minute, the Falcons added an insurance goal, as Hemgesberg scored off of an assist from Catherine Mueller.
Freshman goalkeeper Adelyn Senkowski earned the shutout in net.
“(We had) great defense from midfielders Paige Kloha, Myah Gleason, and Cessaly Fichtner (and from) defenders Macy Smith, Brooke Riffle, Kendal Ferchau, and Faith Kloha,” said Freeland coach Don Hemgesberg.
DOW TENNIS DONE AFTER DAY ONE AT STATE TOURNEY
Dow High’s girls’ tennis team failed to advance to the second day of competition in any flights at the Division 1 state tournament Friday in Holland. The Chargers were tied for 11th out of 26 teams with seven points, while Ann Arbor Pioneer led the field with 24 points heading into Saturday’s second round.
For the Chargers in singles, Dalton DeBoer beat Dearborn 6-0, 6-1, then lost to Macomb Dakota 6-1, 6-0 in the first flight; Saumya Somasi beat Livonia Stevenson 6-0, 6-1, then lost to Bloomfield Hills 6-3, 6-3 in the second flight; Ayesha Middha drew a bye, then beat Dearborn 6-2, 6-0 before losing to Pioneer 6-2, 6-0 in the third flight; and Tessa Wood beat Stevenson 6-2, 6-1, then lost to Pioneer 6-0, 6-1 in the fourth flight.
In doubles for Dow, Emelia Ingalla and Maggie Nelson lost 6-2, 6-3 to Clarkston in the first flight; Elisa Costeux and Norah Lacher drew a bye, then lost to Rockford 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the second flight; Lauren Yao and Sachi Togashi beat Rochester Adams 6-0, 7-6, then lost to Novi 6-1, 6-1 in the third flight; and Alexa Leiti and Evelyn Wang beat Port Huron Northern 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, then lost to Rockford 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth flight.
MIDLAND TENNIS CONCLUDES SEASON AT STAT TOURNEY
Midland High’s girls’ tennis team failed to advance to the second day of competition in any flights at the Division 2 state tournament held Friday at the Greater Midland Tennis Center. The Chemics were tied for 16th out of 26 teams with four points, while Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern led the field with 21 points heading into Saturday’s second round.
For the Chemics in singles, Riley Penwell beat Wyandotte Roosevelt 6-2, 6-4, then lost to Forest Hills Northern 6-1, 6-0 in the first flight; Brooklyn Moore drew a bye, then lost to Forest Hills Central 6-1, 6-0 in the second flight; Avery Miller beat South Lyon East by default, then lost to Forest Hills Northern 6-1, 6-0 in the third flight; and Tega Kamatoy beat Grosse Pointe North 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, then lost to Forest Hills Northern 6-0, 6-0 in the fourth flight.
In doubles for Midland, Emma Buschlen and Ale Brenes drew a bye, then lost to East Lansing 6-2, 6-3 in the first flight; Cheryl Fritz and Emily Northrup lost to North Farmington 6-1, 6-2 in the second flight; Chloe Nieto and Payton Palmer lost to East Lansing 7-6, 6-3 in the third flight; and Lauren Swanson and Lindsey Deckrow beat Roosevelt 6-0, 6-0, then lost to Forest Hills Central 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth flight.