Mendon softball earns the right to defend its D4 state title at MSU
· Yahoo Sports
BATTLE CREEK — Jadyn Samson's go-to for ice cream is Moose Tracks.
She's a big fan of chocolate and the crunch it brings, along with the salty-sweet combination. And on Tuesday evening, Samson and her teammates were able to enjoy some ice cream following a quarterfinal victory on the softball field. It was Mendon's fourth consecutive win in the Division 4 state quarterfinals, with the Hornets are once again headed back to Michigan State University for the Final Four.
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The top-ranked team in D4 beat Petersburg Summerfield 8-4 at Bailey Park on Tuesday, June 9. It was warm, rained a bit and stayed mostly cloudy for the length of the game.
"As seniors, in volleyball, basketball and now softball, we just give it our all," Samson said. "We do a good job of staying in the moment and understanding what's in front of us, but we have to stay in the moment."
Mendon is the defending D4 state champions in softball. This senior class has now led the Hornet program to four consecutive trips to Michigan State, an impressive feat.
"You know, I'm just extremely grateful for us being able to accomplish these four years in a row. We're MSU bound again," senior Taya Bingaman said. "Honestly, like I'm really lucky. I'm here with my best friends, and we're still playing. It's a blessing to be here."
The Hornets will play Hillman, which beat Norway 5-2 on Tuesday in another quarterfinal matchup. It will be a rematch of last year's semifinals, where Mendon won 4-2.
"The seniors, those five girls have been through some battles. When you have a group like that leading you, it helps a ton," Mendon co-coach Mike Smith said. "It helps take a lot of pressure off the younger girls, helps take it off the coaching staff as well."
The seniors have now registered 138 wins for the Mendon program in their four years. It hasn't always been easy, and there have been some frustrating losses, such as their freshmen and sophomore years that ended at the hands of Unionville-Sebewaing at the MHSAA finals. Both of those were one-run contests during the Patriots' impressive run of five state titles in a six-year span; the lone year where the Patriots did not win was the cancelled COVID year.
Mendon dethroned USA last year, 11-1, in the D4 finals. The seniors knew it would be tough to get back to MSU, but they still have dreams of being able to come out on top once again this year.
"We wanted this. We proved it Saturday having to come from behind in those two games," Bingaman said. "We fought so hard to get back here, and we have given everything we have, but we have to keep pushing. We know what it takes to get here, and it's not easy. It's hard. Now we have to keep pushing."
Senior Rowan Allen pitched the Hornets to the win on Tuesday. She said she's recovering nicely from a line drive that knocked her awhirl on Saturday and that everything is fine on her end.
She just wants to keep winning. But even as Mendon has enough of a swagger to help them through the tournament, Allen said they are clearly not taking any of it for granted. Their standard is to make it to MSU, and accomplishing that is a big deal, but they do not overlook opponents and know each game they have a chance to play the rest of the way will be difficult.
"It still hasn't registered. It's an unreal feeling to be honest," Allen said about making it back to MSU. "But we feel like we're ready to go. We want to be here. We know we've earned our spot to be here."
Tuesday's win marked the 30th of the season for Mendon. It's the fourth straight year they have reached that milestone, having won 36, 38 and 33 the previous three years as well.
The Hornets jumped out early in Tuesday's contest, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. They led 3-1 heading into the fifth before plating a couple more and adding three in the home half of the sixth to lead 8-1.
It helped, as Summerfield scored three times in the top of the seventh on a homer from Brea Olmstead. That home run was the high point for Summerfield in the game, but Mendon was able to keep any Bulldog rally limited.
Smith reminds his team daily about winning innings. The recipe for the Hornets during he and coach Steve Butler's tenure has been about winning more innings than the opposition.
"We gotta keep putting the pressure on; we need to continue to make the pitcher and catcher play under duress," he said. "We keep coming at you. When we win innings, we win the game. That's the motto we've been using since we've been coaching."
Allen struck out 14 Summerfield hitters in the game. She scattered five hits and walked a handful but did what was needed of her to help the Hornets claim victory.
Mendon recorded seven hits. Samson singled and doubled with a run driven in while Allen clubbed a double that scored two in the sixth inning. Bingaman had two singles, and Sabrina Monroy drove in a pair with a base hit as well. Maddie Rodgers added a base hit while Cienna Nightingale was credited with two runs driven in for the game.
The state semifinals against Hillman (33-9) are scheduled to be played at 3 p.m. Friday. Brown City (25-11) will play Fowler (27-8) in the other semifinal, which is played immediately following.
Mendon and Hillman finished as the top two ranked teams in D4 at the end of the season. Fowler ended as the eighth-ranked team while Brown City was ninth in the Michigan High School Softball Association's final poll.
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This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Mendon Hornets win quarterfinal matchup over Petersburg Summerfield