Livonia Franklin erased a three-run deficit, and Madison Jaskolski’s sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the sixth inning scored Riley Kirk for the winning run in a 7-3 victory in a Kensington Lakes Activities Association crossover softball game April 13 at Plymouth.
One at-bat later, Savana Mullen’s line drive scored Lily Ruhl for insurance.
As Kinlee Goldman stepped into the batter’s box with Mullen and Serenity Delaney on second and third base, Patriots coach Paul Newitt started hollering instructions on what to do when the next ball was put in play.
Goldman singled, the Wildcats’ defense couldn’t corral the ball and Newitt’s two veteran base runners scored the team’s seventh unanswered run, a master class in setting up his players for success on the base paths.
The Patriots went on to beat Plymouth 9-8 in Game 2, improving to 10-0, counting an earlier 4-0 start in KLAA-East play, where they sit in first place in the standings.
Yeah, it’s safe to say they sure missed that guy last year.
Newitt is back after sitting out 2025 with pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP), a very rare chronic inflammatory skin disorder similar to psoriasis. He said he was shedding skin 10 times faster than the average person, so much so that his wife chased him around their home with a vacuum and broom to catch the flakes.
He described the pain as an “awful, awful experience,” which makes sense. Not only did it take time to find a specialist to determine what was wrong, but it also cost him an entire season of coaching and 60 days of teaching at Franklin.
“It was like being a unicorn because I didn’t know how I got it or what to do about it,” Newitt said. “During my first diagnosis, I walked in, and the doctor said, ‘You’re the worst case of this I’ve ever seen in my life.’ It was crazy.”
Newitt didn’t return to his classroom until early May, and his condition kept him from attending any games in person, including Franklin’s “Newitt Strong Game” held in his honor.
Fortunately, he watched every Patriots game live on GameChanger except one — he admitted he fell asleep before their game against rival Churchill.
That time away was soul-crushing on multiple fronts. For one, it snapped his streak of coaching at Livonia Public Schools for 30 straight years, as he’s coached everything from baseball and basketball at the high school level to flag football at Emerson Middle School.
For another, he wasn’t there to send off the seniors who were integral to arguably one of Franklin’s best seasons in school history. The 2024 squad upset Churchill for the first time in nine seasons, then went on to claim its first district championship since 2009. The Patriots played at a level fans hadn’t seen since they played for three state championships from 1985-90.
Key to that season were pitcher McKenna Moore (Madonna), catcher Grace Wonfor and infielder Claire Galatis. Newitt wasn’t there to send those seniors off at the end of their Franklin careers.
“I got to see them in school a little bit when I got back to teaching, and they had the signing day, so I was able to make it to that,” Newitt said. “And I fortunately was healthy enough to go to their banquet and be part of it.”
But he also wasn’t there to see his current players step into new roles, develop as starters and become the new face of Franklin’s program. Chief among them is Mullen, a starting shortstop committed to Oakland University as an outfielder.
She was just a freshman when Newitt guided them on their regional run, but she said he was incredibly missed her sophomore season. Now a junior captain, she has done her best to help Newitt get acclimated with some of the new underclassmen.
“It was a struggle for our team last year without him,” Mullen said. “Now that he’s back, I think he’s really brought our team together, and it’s made playing super enjoyable this year.”
That’s not to say interim coach Sarah Iler did a bad job last season. As a former Newitt assistant, she did well leading the program.
But what makes Newitt’s leadership difficult to replace is how laid back he is. Nothing is life or death with him. He likes to crack jokes and keep things lighthearted with his players. That’s why it’s easier for them to rise to the occasion in stressful moments.
His demeanor has been described as that of a laid-back California surfer dude.
“It’s really important to have him back because he brings a sense of calm,” Mullen added. “We are obviously all our own worst critics and get down on ourselves. Knowing that he is our biggest supporter, no matter what, and wants to see us succeed, it really makes it easier for us to do what we do.”
And what the Patriots are doing right now is winning, despite needing the preseason for Newitt to get develop bonds with their returning players he didn’t get to know last spring because he was focused on his health.
They should be in contention with Dearborn, Churchill and Stevenson, their other rival, for the division title and a berth in the KLAA tournament. That shouldn’t be surprising considering how integral he’s been to the team’s success over the past eight seasons he’s been able to stand at third base and coach.
“They’re doing great,” Newitt said. “The kids are really hard-working. Everybody has put in a lot of time on their own before they’ve even gotten to me, and they’ve had a lot of repetition and are really doing well. If we hold up at a couple of different positions, we’re going to have a really good year.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: With Newitt back, Livonia Franklin softball is already 10-0
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
