Holton’s historic softball season ends with loss in Division 4 title game to state powerhouse

By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

EAST LANSING – The greatest softball season in Holton history – and the longest run ever made by a Muskegon County softball team – came to an end at the hands of a state powerhouse on Saturday.

Unionville-Sebewaing scored three runs in the first inning and six more in the fourth inning, flexing its muscles in an 11-1 win in six innings in the Division 4 Finals at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium.

But that didn’t overshadow the fact that tiny Holton was one of the last two state teams standing in Division 4.

Holton’s Emma Monette makes a catch in right field. Photo/Jason Goorman

“Looking out there and seeing this massive sea of red from Holton in the state championship game is something that I will never forget,” said senior shortstop Abbie Fowler, who was also a starter on the 2021 Holton team which made it to the state semifinals.

This year’s team improved steadily throughout the season, tested itself against great competition, then put together a tournament run for the ages.

USA, which was ranked No. 1 and won its fifth-consecutive Division 4 state title (tying a state record set by Kalamazoo Christian from 1996 to 2000), put the pressure on the Red Devils from the start – using two hits and two Holton errors to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning.

Holton, which entered the postseason ranked No. 5 in Division 4 and finished 29-13-1, did not make another error after that inning.

“We struggled a little bit in the beginning, but after that we cleaned it up,” said 10th-year Holton coach Kirk Younts. “It’s painful to lose, of course. But I’m telling you, getting to coach the seniors on this team for four years was a gift.”

The Patriots put the game away with six runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Ella Neumann and a monstrous, two-run homer over the centerfield fence by senior all-state catcher Gabby Crumm.

Abbie Fowler is congratulated by coach Kirk Younts after reaching third base and driving in a run for the Red Devils. Photo/Jason Goorman

USA ended the game on a run-scoring double from Green, which actually hit the top of the fence and bounced back into play, bringing in the game-ending run.

Holton, which showed off its bats in an 8-0 win over Hillman in Friday’s semifinals, managed just three hits on Saturday against USA sophomore Olivia Green.

“She threw a very good rise ball and we struggled with that,” said Younts, whose team had an uncharacteristic 10 strikeouts on Saturday. “We tried to prepare for it, but that’s hard to do in one day.”

Holton’s historic run was keyed by the leadership of its seniors, notably Ryann Robins (50 home runs in her career) and Fowler, who belted a long triple to left field on Saturday to drive in Chloe McKee with the Red Devils’ lone run.

Other seniors for Holton were outfielders Sydney McCormick, Emma Monette and Cindel Shaw.

Fowler and Robins ended both their freshman and senior years at MSU’s Secchia Stadium – the ultimate goal of every softball team in the state.

In 2021, that run ended in heartbreaking fashion in the semifinals, squandering a seven-run lead before losing to Rudyard. This year, the Red Devils couldn’t match up in the title game against one of the state’s softball juggernauts.

“Both kinds of losses sting, that’s for sure,” said Fowler. “We gave it 100 percent, but they just straight-up beat us today. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”