Ravenna unleashes complete arsenal in capturing first regional softball title since 2005

Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark

NEWAYGO — Anybody who has watched Ravenna’s softball team this season knows that the Bulldogs can hit and pitch with the best of them.

They did both of those things throughout the course of the day Saturday in Newaygo.

Very few realized how the ‘Dogs could change a game with their small-ball approach, however, until they did just that in an 8-1 Division 3 regional championship victory over Grandville Calvin Christian.

In avenging last year’s 1-0 regional finals loss to Calvin Christian, Ravenna captured its first regional title since 2005.

Ravenna (35-5) advances to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. state quarterfinal at Cornerstone University against perennially strong Buchanan (38-4), which is batting .401 as a team, averaging 9.2 runs per game and finished as Division 3 state runner-up two years ago.

The Bucks’ numbers are impressive, but the Bulldogs are no slouches themselves. They put the full arsenal on display Saturday.

Ravenna opened the day with a 14-hit attack during a 16-0, three-inning regional semifinal victory over Remus Chippewa Hills. The Bulldogs erupted for 13 first-inning runs on 10 hits, four of them for extra bases, as they sent 17 hitters to plate. Meanwhile, sophomore right-hander Addison Gillard fired a 32-pitch perfect game with six strikeouts.

In the final against Calvin Christian (34-7), Ravenna fell into an early 1-0 hole on a home run by the Squires’ Grace Walcott in the second inning. The Bulldogs evened the score in the third when junior Kendra Denhof’s suicide-squeeze bunt scored sophomore Emma Herremans.

Ravenna took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth, sparked by freshman No. 9 hitter Emily Postema, who led off with her first varsity home run and set off a wild celebration at home plate.

The Bulldogs put the game away with five runs in the sixth as they kept applying pressure to the Squires with their small-ball approach.

Meanwhile, Ravenna senior right-hander Emma Gillard kept the Calvin Christian lineup at bay. Gillard scattered five hits, struck out three and walked none.

Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark

Here are more details and notables from Ravenna’s regional games Saturday at Newaygo and their upcoming quarterfinal at Cornerstone:

• Ravenna has taken a liking to Newaygo’s field. In four games played there this season, the Bulldogs outscored opponents by a combined 51-1 margin. On May 19, Ravenna swept a nonleague doubleheader against Newaygo, 16-0 and 11-0.
• In the win over district Cinderella Chippewa Hills (10-22), Herremans went 3-for-3 with a double, triple, three RBIs and three runs scored.
• Emma Gillard also finished 3-for-3 for the Bulldogs in the regional semis, including a double, RBI and three runs scored.
• Denhof had two hits, four RBIs and a run scored against Chippewa Hills.
• Ravenna freshman Riley Homoly hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs against Chippewa Hills.
• Emily Postema doubled against Chippewa Hills.

• In the final against Calvin Christian, Herremans again went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI.
• The Bulldogs’ Addison Gillard was 3-for-4 with a double off the fence against the Squires. She added three RBIs and scored a run.
• Ravenna sophomore Amelia Porter went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs against Calvin Christian.
• Emily Postema was 2-for-3 against the Squires with two runs scored.
• Ravenna fans showed up in droves Saturday. They were loud and proud throughout the day. Several fans set up canopies beyond the outfield fence in what some term “Tent City.” Prior to the championship game, those in Tent City got the wave going. After the game, Bulldogs players ran the regional trophy out to their supportive fans in Tent City and shared in the moment.
• In the other semifinal Saturday, Calvin Christian outslugged Delton Kellogg, 14-8. The Squires outhit the Panthers, 18-11. The teams combined for six home runs, three for each squad. Delton committed six errors, while Calvin Christian had three.
• Elsewhere, Buchanan won its second regional title in three years. At the Watervliet regional, the Bucks beat Coloma 13-0 in the semifinals and Kalamazoo Christian 7-1 in the finals.
• Cornerstone University’s softball field features synthetic turf. The dimensions are 205 feet down each line and 220 to straight-away center field. Ravenna senior catcher/center fielder Kara Postema is a Cornerstone softball signee.
• The winner of the Ravenna-Buchanan game advances to the state semifinals at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium, where it would face the winner of the quarterfinal between Gladstone and Standish-Stering. The semifinal game would take place at 3 p.m. Friday.