EAST LANSING, MI – Macey Fegan wasn’t looking to put the bat on the ball, just put it in play or push the runner along.
She went up there hacking.
Like the entire Standish-Sterling softball community fully expected, Fegan came through with crunch-time flair, bashing a walk-off double that scored Lexi Mielke all the way from first base with the biggest run in program history.
After managing one hit through six innings, the Panthers pulled it off in the bottom of the seventh, downing perennial power Ottawa Lake Whiteford 1-0 for the Division 3 state championship.
“I wanted to drive one. I didn’t want no dinky hit,” Fegan said. “I was going for contact and a big hit.
“I was looking for a pitch up in the zone. I got it and sent it.”
The dramatic win caps a historic season for Standish-Sterling (38-7), which set a program record for wins en route to the first team state title in any sport in school history. It was fitting that Fegan provided the exclamation-point finish.
A whirlwind basketball star who shattered every school scoring record – including an eye-popping 2,276 points in a career – she is bound for the University of Toledo women’s hoops program. In fact, she was scheduled to make the move to college on Saturday.
“When they told me I needed to move in on the 17th or 18th, I immediately looked at the (state finals) schedule and said ‘That could be an issue,’” she said.
Fegan and the No. 10-ranked Panthers believed early on that they have what it takes to win it all. They put together a stunning postseason that included wins over No. 1-ranked Evart and No. 5 Gladstone. But they had one last hurdle to clear in Whiteford, owner of three state championships and the 2022 state runner-up in Division 4.
Whiteford ace Unity Nelson entered the state final with a 22-0 record and a 0.43 ERA, then showed how she got those numbers with a dominant performance on the grand stage of Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium.
Nelson rung up 12 batters on strikes and finished with a two-hitter. She allowed leadoff walk to Keeley Peace – who was then caught stealing for the first time this season after 51 consecutive swipes – in the first inning and a single to Peace in the fourth. No other batters reached base through six innings.
But Standish-Sterling’s Devri Jennings was bulldog tough, striking out seven while tossing a five-hitter. Jennings had to battle with runners on base in four of the first five innings, each time rising to the occasion to keep the game scoreless into the bottom of the seventh.
When Mielke started the final at-bats by getting hit by pitch, it set the stage for Fegan. A two-time All-Stater in softball as well as a four-timer in basketball, she is no stranger to pressure situations.
And, needing a big hit, she clearly had no interest in knocking a single, taking two massive cuts before connecting on the third. She tomahawked the ball beyond the left-fielder’s reach and brought the crowd to its feet.
“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Standish-Sterling coach Rich Sullivan coach said. “(Nelson) is a riseball pitcher and we kept telling everybody to stay off anything up – and Macey is one who likes to go for those high pitches. When she swung out of her shoes on the first pitch, I just knew she was going to find a way to make this happen.”
Mielke was off to the races as the ball found the grass, chugging around the bases representing the run that would make her team legendary.
“When I saw the ball up in the air, I knew I had to tag or make that trip around the bases,” Mielke said while wiping tears of ecstasy. “As soon as I saw it go, I was going for home for sure.”
Sullivan was of the same mindset in the third-base coaching box, waving his arms like a windmill while nearly dancing all the way to the plate himself.
“Lexi was getting a big lead and I was thinking ‘If this ball goes in the gap, she’s scoring from first.’ I knew as soon as she hit it, I was going to be waving her home,” said the ninth-year coach.
“I’m flying high with emotions right now. My wildest dream in coaching was to win the last game — and it just happened.”
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