Pitching has carried Ravenna’s Division 3 fifth-ranked softball team throughout the season.
In Saturday’s regional at Coloma, the Bulldogs put it all together and got contributions across the roster. Even the usual scorekeeper got into the act and played a key role.
Collectively, Ravenna captured a second straight regional championship with a pair of tight victories. The Bulldogs beat Kalamazoo Christian in the semifinals, 5-3, before they defeated Grandville Calvin Christian in the finals, 7-5.
For the second consecutive year, Ravenna (33-8) will face third-ranked Buchanan (34-5) in the state quarterfinals. The Bulldogs and Bucks will square off at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kalamazoo College softball field. In last season’s quarterfinals, Ravenna defeated Buchanan, 12-6, at Cornerstone University.
Ravenna sophomore Riley Homoly (Courtney Jimison | CatchMark)
Sophomore Riley Homoly was the story in the semifinal win over Kalamazoo Christian. The No. 5 hitter in Ravenna’s lineup went 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. She delivered a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead in the first inning and made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third. Her home run came in the fifth inning.
Sophomore Sophia Rosel, who typically runs the Game Changer account in-game for Ravenna, filled in as a courtesy runner for pitcher Addison Gillard during the Bulldogs’ two-run first inning and she scored a run.
Ravenna sophomore Sophia Rosel (Courtney Jimison | CatchMark)
Freshman Reese Herremans had a double for Ravenna against Kalamazoo Christian (20-14). Gillard picked up the pitching win for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs (two earned) in the sixth inning. The junior right-hander allowed six hits, struck out four, and walked one in five innings of work. Freshman Natalie Rosel picked up a save, striking out three, walking one, and allowing one hit and no runs in two innings.
Rosel got the start in the regional finals and she went all seven innings. The left-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
Offensively, leadoff Reese Herremans finished 3-for-4 with a double against Calvin Christian (21-14). Freshman Taylor Nutt, who bats seventh in the order, went 2-for-3 with a key RBI single and two runs scored. Sophomore Raelyn Olsen, who bats eighth, came through with a two-run double and she totaled three RBIs. Homoly also doubled in the finals.
Photos courtesy of Brandy Freeland
