SAULT STE MARIE ― The Gaylord softball team has undergone some major changes over the past few seasons.
The Blue Devils team that entered the 2026 season looked very different than in years past: no Jayden Jones, no Aubrey Jones, no future Division 1 star and a fifth new head coach in six seasons. It seemed their reign as the team to beat in Northern Michigan had come and gone and, with a rising program like Petoskey (24-9) likely waiting in the district finals, many were just awaiting the official end of the season to put the final words in the Blue Devils’ eulogy.
And yet, here they stand, district champions once again.
Gaylord (23-12) saved perhaps its best performance of the season for the district finals on Thursday, May 28, taking down their rivals from Petoskey 8-5, earning the program’s sixth consecutive district title while continuing the Blue Devils softball tradition of adding hardware to the GHS trophy case.
The Blue Devils were able to save their ace, senior Nora Bethuy, to pitch the final game after throwing senior Makayla Kozlowski in a 19-3 win over Sault Ste. Marie in the semifinals. That strategy paid off; Bethuy, an Indiana Wesleyan commit, held a usually strong Petoskey offense to just five runs over seven innings while striking nine batters, helping GHS lead from the second inning onward.
Bethuy has been a leader both on the field and in the dugout for GHS this season, one of the last remaining holdouts from the back-to-back state championship-winning teams in 2023-24. She spoke earlier in the season about what it would take to live up to the reputation left by those elite teams.
“I tell the girls that even though we’re the Gaylord softball program, we’re not the teams that have been here before,” Bethuy said after a game with Boyne City on April 17. “We’re going to have to work hard for every single thing we get.”
On top of her performance in the circle, Bethuy was one of Gaylord’s top hitters throughout the day, going 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored against Sault and 1-for-4 with a run scored against Petoskey. Fellow senior Lily Ryckman-Hall homered in both district games, accounting for five RBIs and six runs scored.
Gaylord moves on to its sixth regional semifinal matchup in six seasons, now awaiting the winner of the Big Rapids district between Alma, Midland Bullock Creek, Remus Chippewa Hills and Shepherd.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord softball reigns once again, wins sixth straight district title
Reporting by Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
