EAST LANSING ― The Nature Boy Ric Flair used to say, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”
Mendon is hoping the third time is the charm.
The Mendon softball team has put itself in the position once again to try and accomplish that goal. On Friday afternoon, June 13, the third-ranked Hornets came back from an early 2-0 deficit to beat Hillman 4-2 in the MHSAA Division 4 state semifinals. The game was played at Secchia Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
Mendon (35-2) is no stranger to the stadium. The Hornets have played there three seasons in a row but have come up short in each of the first two opportunities. On Saturday afternoon, Mendon will once again take on Unionville-Sebewaing (21-15), which knocked the Hornets out the past two seasons. USA beat Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary 4-1 in the game played before Mendon’s victory.
USA, as the squad is well known, has won each of the last five D4 state championships. The Patriots are the top of the mountain, and Mendon has been able to see what that looks like. Saturday’s game is the title matchup many expected throughout the season.
“It’s awesome, man, it’s great. The amount of work these girls have put in, since 8-9 (year olds) all the way up, they have played together and worked together,” Mendon coach Steve Butler said following Friday’s win. “We know we’re going to have to come out and perform tomorrow. We can’t make errors. But we’re also battle-tested. Over the past three years we have been in holes and dug ourselves out. We’ve scratched and clawed our way back here, so we will be ready for tomorrow.”
In Friday’s game, which was delayed a little over an hour because of a rain delay earlier, Mendon found itself in a bit of a hole after a shaky first inning. A couple of errors in the first stanza allowed Hillman to take a 2-0 lead, but the Hornets knew they would have opportunities to get back into the game.
“I think that gives us more grit, the thought of know we didn’t want to lose today,” Mendon junior shortstop Jadyn Samson said. “We got it together and went from there. We wanted to be in the finals. They’ve (USA) beaten us twice in a row, but we wanted to play for the trophy again this year. It means everything to be back here with another chance.”
Down 2-0 entering the third inning, Mendon was able to put three runs on the board. It started with a bunt base hit by senior Abby Butler.
“When I got that bunt down, it helped me get back into it from with my confidence. We knew we were down, but it was only the first inning,” she said. “Our team boosts each other up so much and I think that helped start us up.”
Samson tripled behind her to score Butler. Two hitters later, Kaidee Gonser connected with a ball that allowed both Samson and Rowan Allen to score, putting the Hornets ahead.
That was the boost, as Butler said, which helped Allen get back to work inside the circle.
“I know I have a defense behind me, I knew I had to come out and pitch the best I could for the team,” Allen said.
For the final four innings, Hillman had just one hit and had a pair of runners reach second base on some Hornet miscues, but never threatened to score a run.
Mendon put a run across in the bottom of the fifth. Allen walked and moved to second and eventually third with one out. Then, Taya Bingaman put down a squeeze bunt while allowed Allen to score and make the game 4-2.
“I wouldn’t say I’m nervous, we all wanted to be back here,” Allen said about playing in the finals once again. “We are going to be ready to play.”
The Hornets are still without a state championship in softball. They’ve finished in the Final Four each of the past two seasons and were the runners-up to USA two years ago. The Patriots beat Mendon 6-5 last year and 5-4 in the 2023 title tilt.
“It’s our third time here and it’s still nerve-wracking. But people expected us to be here. It’s not like the first year when we were young freshmen and sophomores,” Butler said. “This year we’re juniors and seniors and everyone was prepared to see us here. It’s nice to be playing for the title again.”
In Friday’s game, Cienna Nightingale had two hits to lead the way. Samson had the run-scoring triple while Gonser was credited with two RBIs. Bingaman had one RBI. Elise Allen and Butler both finished with a base hit.
Allen struck out 12 in seven innings of work.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Mendon softball team will play for D4 state title on Saturday afternoon
Reporting by Brandon Watson, Sturgis Journal / Sturgis Journal
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