MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer has been a good program for some years now, but Rocket coach Sarah Bayle said there's a different mood among the team in 2025 after earning the program's first-ever regional win last spring. That attitude was on display Saturday as R-P rolled to a repeat GMAA Tier 1 championship with lopsided wins over Mona Shores (12-0 in five innings), Fruitport (11-1 in five innings) and Ravenna (8-2).
"There's a confidence
around Reeths-Puffer softball now that there really hasn't been before," Bayle said. "For a long time, eyes were only on districts, and I don't
think people really believed that we could get further than that. Last year, that historic run that we had, people are bought in from the top
down. Kindergarten through 12th grade, we have a lot of really cool people in our community and in this program that are
really making it something special."
The Rockets (14-1) scored at least once in six of the seven innings of the title game against Ravenna, spearheaded by senior shortstop Abbie Critchett. Critchett came around to score on a single by Mady Snyder in the first inning and smashed a three-run inside-the-park home run in the second - running through Bayle's stop signs at third base each time. Critchett capped her outstanding offensive day by blasting a home run over the left field fence in the fourth. Her teammates placed a crown on top of her helmet after her second home run when they greeted her at the plate.
Critchett also went 3-for-4 against Mona Shores in the team's first game of the day, including a line-drive triple.
Reeths-Puffer's Abbie Critchett (12) races past Ravenna catcher Emily Postema to score a run during Saturday's GMAA Tier 1 finals at R-P. Critchett had three hits, two of them home runs, in the Rockets' 8-2 win.
"She's been a big stick (all season)
for sure, but she's been even more consistent within the last week,
especially all day today," Bayle said of Critchett. "Almost every single at-bat, she had a
hit."
Critchett is the leadoff hitter, but the Rockets' top four in the lineup stands as one of the most effective groups in the state. Lainey McDaniel hits second, Tessa Ross third and Mady Snyder fourth, and all are imposing bats; McDaniel and Snyder each bashed a couple of hits and had one RBI in the Ravenna game.
"Lainey's
awesome," Critchett smiled. "Knowing that she's batting after me, I know I'm going to get around, and I know I have a very high
chance of scoring."
McDaniel, an excellent slap hitter, is best known for her work in the circle, and there she was terrific against Ravenna as well. She allowed only four hits, and neither run against her was earned due to five Rocket errors. She also struck out five in two spotless innings of relief against Fruitport.
The five errors were uncharacteristic of the Rockets, but Bayle said she was pleased with her team's response to them.
"Obviously, we had some errors in that game, but (they) had all the
confidence in the world that their teammates were going to have each other's
backs, and I think that has made all the difference," Bayle said.
Olivia Ambler also had a big game for the Rockets against Ravenna, collecting three hits, one of them a double.
Reeths-Puffer's Tessa Ross connects on a pitch during Saturday's GMAA Tier 1 finals against Ravenna. The Rockets won the game, 8-2.
Critchett, McDaniel and Snyder each got three hits in the first game of the day against Mona Shores, and McDaniel drove in four runs. Kyleigh Bilek added two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Snyder picked up the win in the circle, allowing only four hits and striking out six.
R-P then rode a seven-run second-inning explosion to the win over Fruitport. Ross' two-run single was the big hit in the inning. Bilek and Ambler each got two hits, and Snyder again earned the win, allowing just one hit and an unearned run in three innings, with four strikeouts.
The Rockets made it 10 consecutive wins with their GMAA title heading into a big-time showdown with No. 5-ranked Byron Center Tuesday; the only loss was in a doubleheader split with Grand Haven, which like R-P is honorable mention in Division 1.
The Byron Center games will go a long way to determining the O-K Green Conference champion. The Bulldogs will surely be seeking revenge after R-P's regional win last June, but the Rockets just hope to keep getting better with every test they face.
"I think that seeing big competition is awesome," Critchett said. "I
like it. It's more exciting. It gets everyone
going. It shows everyone's true potential."
