CADILLAC — The celebration lasted about two minutes, and then the Gaylord Blue Devils shifted focus to the next step in their pursuit of a second straight state championship.
After inclement weather postponed Saturday’s Division 2 regional tournament in Cadillac to Sunday, the Blue Devils handled business with two blowout wins to capture their third regional title in four years — and earned a measure of revenge against the team that stopped it from being four in a row.
“We had full confidence that the girls would be ready for today. The break doesn’t hurt us any,” Gaylord head coach Ron Moeggenberg on Sunday. “We prepare for everything.”
Gaylord knocked off Essexville Garber in the regional semifinal, 9-1, and then rocked Escanaba — which ended the Blue Devils’ 2022 season in the regional — by a 12-2 final to claim a second consecutive regional championship.
“Our bats were on fire today, and we had a lot of timely hits when we had runners on base,” Moeggenberg said. “Some of our batters would get intentionally walked, and then the hitters behind them took advantage of that and made the other teams pay.”
In the regional semi against Essexville, the Blue Devils fell behind 1-0 in the top of the second before scoring two runs in the bottom half. They added one in the fourth, four in the fifth and two more in the sixth to win comfortably.
Jayden Jones went seven innings for the win, allowing one run on six hits with nine strikeouts.
Taylor Moeggenberg hit two home runs and drove in five. Jones had two triples with two runs scored and an RBI. Braleigh Miller, Alexis Shepherd and Kennedy Wangler each drove in a run.
In the regional final, Aubrey Jones hit a double and home run to drive in four while also picking up the win from the circle, going five innings and allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
Shepherd was 3 for 4 with three runs and two RBI. Miller and Makayla Kozlowski each had a hit, run and RBI. Jayden Jones was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs. Moeggenberg had a double with two RBI.
The Blue Devils have now won 19 straight games and have not suffered the bitter taste of defeat since April 9. They have no plans on experiencing that again for the rest of the 2024 season.
“Just being around these girls and watching their work ethic, that’s the fun part,” Coach Moeggenberg said. “They work so hard, and this season has been just a joy.”
Gaylord will take on either Muskegon Oakridge or Allendale in the state quarterfinals at Ferris State University on Tuesday. Oakridge and Allendale play Monday to decide that regional championship after Saturday’s game was also postponed because of rain.
“Playing in the quarterfinals, that’s something we’ve prepared for all year and so I know we’ll be ready for that,” Coach Moeggenberg said.
As the defending state champion, the Blue Devils have no doubt had the proverbial target on their back all season. Coach Moeggenberg said this team actually relishes that added pressure.
“It makes them play better,” he said. “They know everyone wants to knock them off, so they practice harder and play better. Everybody wants us. We’re everybody’s World Series. We’ve prepared for that all year, and these girls have responded every game.”
Coach Moeggenberg, who has been around the players on this year’s squad since they were 8 years old, said they’re “different” in the way they approach the game.
“They just work hard every day. They don’t take a practice off. They don’t take a play off. They don’t take an at-bat off,” he said. “They take everything we do with a purpose.”
The Blue Devils next purpose is the state quarterfinals with a first pitch at 4 p.m. in Big Rapids on Tuesday. The state semifinals take place Thursday at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium with the championship finals Saturday.
Trojans’ comeback attempt falls short in 5-4 loss to Midland
MOUNT PLEASANT — Although it was a history-making season for the Traverse City Central softball program, the Trojans would prefer to still be playing instead of seeing their 2024 campaign end as it did Sunday.
The championship game of the Division 1 regional was postponed as the Trojans trailed Midland, 5-3, but were knocking on the door with a runner on third base. Hayden Boonstra hit a sacrifice fly deep to left field Sunday to plate Madison Poortenga, but that is all the Trojans could push across the plate in a 5-4 loss.
“We let five (runs) go in the first two innings and then shut (Midland) down for the remainder,” Central head coach Nate Alger said. “We tried to get through that (Saturday) night, but the rain didn’t let up and it just didn’t happen.”
Alger said they probably should have finished the game Saturday night.
“I wanted to play. We had all of the momentum and things were going well for us, but everybody there wanted to come back (Sunday),” he said. “We definitely felt like we were the better team. Midland had a good two first innings, but we hit more and had more quality hits. They just made some good defensive plays, and you can’t spot a team like that five runs and dig out of that cellar.”
Reaching the regional championship final marks the deepest run in program history for Trojan softball, Alger said.
“We played a good game, and Midland played a good game,” Alger said. “The girls were in pretty good spirits, but it certainly is not the way you want to leave a season.”
Despite the loss Sunday, the Trojans put together an effort this season that showed a lot of heart.
“That’s a learned trait for some. For some, it comes naturally. For others, they have to learn it,” Alger said. “Some of our younger players watched that grit and that determination and that never-give-up attitude, and I hope that carries on to next year.”
The Trojans lose six seniors to graduation including Camryn Craig, Ava King, Daisie Brewer, Evie Nowicki, Hannah Fellows and Madison Poortenga.
“The good news is we have younger players in the ranks who can step up,” Alger said. “They’re not going to come in right away and jump into Cam Craig’s shoes or some of our other seniors like Evie and Hannah, so it’s probably going to take us some time to build back up. But we have some strong pitching coming back and coming up, and hopefully we can have a good year.”