REMUS – Grandville Calvin Christian played a nearly perfect brand of softball Saturday, June 7, leading them to a dominant win over Hart in the regional semifinals at Chippewas Hills High School.
The Pirates showed a lot of fight early, even with the odds stacked against them. Calvin Christian had their bats working from the first swing, which comes as no surprise when the Squires had James Madison University commit Anna Zoet in the lead-off spot.
Zoet stepped up to the plate and eyed Kelsey Copenhaver in the circle. After watching a strike go by, Zoet took a big swing on Copenhaver’s second pitch and watched it sail over the left field fence for an immediate 1-0 lead for the Squires.
Copenhaver battled back with a strikeout on the next Calvin Christian at-bat, but that wasn’t enough to hold off the opposing offense. The Squires had a four batter sequence that featured a double, single and a walk to load the bases. Copenhaver hit a batter with a pitch, pushing Calvin Christian to a 2-0 lead before the initial top half inning ending with a pair of strikeouts.
“As coaches, (that fight) is what we want,” Hart Head Coach Dean DeVries said. “There have been plenty of games this year where we’re down and we’re resilient and battle back. The energy didn’t stop and they were still cheering in the dugout for their teammates.”
Mackenna Carrier did it all for Hart in their first plate appearance. Carrier put a ball in play for a single from her lead-off spot, before advancing to second on a wild pitch and then stealing third. Caydence Bateson and Copenhaver tried to advance Carrier, but couldn’t get it done, sitting down on strikeouts. With Reese Smith up to bat, Carrier took matters into her own hands and stole home to cut into the lead. Smith ended up striking out, leaving the Pirates down, but not out.
“At the plate, I felt like we didn’t have as great of discipline as we normally do,” DeVries said. “We just couldn’t get that key hit. We threatened in that second inning and I thought that’s when we were going to break it open, but we just got unlucky.”
Hart seemed to be in prime position to shut down the Squires in the second inning. Copenhaver made a fantastic juggling catch on a line drive straight to the pitching circle to leave the bases cleared for Zoet’s second at-bat. Zoet stepped up and cranked another long ball to the center field fence, but it was within reach of Nora Chickering.
In a déjà vu moment of the 2024 regional finals against Evart, the Pirates watched the ball land in the glove of an outfielder and promptly bounce over the fence. Zoet rounded the bases for her second home run of the day, pushing the score to 3-1. A pair of errors for Hart allowed the Squires to add another run, but still Hart trailed by an obtainable three run deficit.
With Leah Walker managing a single and Maryn Klotz earning a walk to follow, Hart faltered on offense. The Pirates hit into a double play at the next at bat, stifling a scoring opportunity and leaving Calvin Christian on top 4-1.
That’s where the Squires took firm control of the game. Calvin Christian turned eight base hits over the next three innings into an additional 12 runs. A pair of errors and a runner who reached on a dropped third strike only compounded the problems for the Pirates’ defense.
“Last year’s team got 27 wins and it’s hard to continue that growth,” DeVries said. “This team did that up until the last day and they did the little things necessary to win close ball games. I really thought we were prepared and ready for this game, but unfortunately we just didn’t bring it defensively. When you make a few errors in the field and give a team an extra out or two, they’re really going to make you pay at this level.”
Walker, Carrier and Chickering were the only Pirates to record base hits in the loss. Copenhaver lasted four innings in the circle, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Smith pitched one inning in relief, allowing one earned run on three hits and two strikeouts.
The Pirates finished their season at 24-10 overall and will lose three seniors in Copenhaver, Klotz and Chickering.
“It’s going to be hard to replace all of our seniors,” DeVries said. “They all put good swings on the ball for us. Every year you look at your seniors and say ‘man, I don’t want that one to go,’ but the core of this team is going to be back next year.”
