Lake Orion’s Rylee Limberger (No. 1) and Ellie Britt embrace after the final period of the Dragons’ 5-0 loss to Hudsonville in the Division 1 championship game at Michigan State University on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (TIMOTHY ARRICK – For MediaNews Group)
EAST LANSING – Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to be afraid.
Hudsonville’s Autumn Dennis admitted she didn’t feel comfortable pitching with the bases loaded in the first inning of Saturday’s Division 1 softball championship game against Lake Orion at Secchia Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
“I was just looking for a pitch to hit. Honestly, I was really scared,” Dennis said after hitting a two-run single to highlight a three-run first inning for the Eagles in a 5-0 win that capped off Hudsonville’s perfect season.
“It’s nerve-racking to be up there with the bases loaded and knowing that everything depends on me. This is probably the biggest hit I’ve ever had.”
Dennis’ hit and an RBI single by freshman Lauren Luchies made life easier for pitcher Ava Snip as she stepped into the circle for the bottom of the first inning.
“The fact that I scored three runs at the beginning made me less nervous because I was really nervous at the beginning,” said the veteran left-hander, who allowed just one hit and made eight strikeouts.
“After the three runs, the nervousness had disappeared.”
The 0-3 deficit after the first inning was a shock for the Dragons, but they did not let it discourage them.
“We’ve fought back before,” manager Joe Woityra said. “I told them we had 21 outs left. We were ready to play, but it all turned into a real slugfest very quickly in the first inning. We couldn’t fight back like we had before.”
“We had a great season and played some really good teams to get here. Hudsonville obviously has a great team and their pitcher knocked us out. Not many pitchers have done that this year.”
Rylee Limberger ended Snip’s no-hit attempt with a bloop single to left that narrowly evaded Dennis’ attempted pike catch but was taken out of play on a double play.
Lake Orion finished the year 38-6.
“It’s been a great season,” said second baseman Sydney Bell, who along with shortstop Ellie Britt provided excellent defense for the Dragons in the middle. “It’s disappointing right now, but we’ve accomplished a lot of our goals. We knew at the beginning of the season that we would have a good team.”
Bell and Britt are among six senior starters who completed their high school careers in Saturday’s game. The others are catcher Madi Eckert, third baseman Anna Gardner, first baseman Alexis Hazen and center fielder Grace Luby.
The undefeated season was a success, but not Hudsonville’s goal.
“We felt like we had unfinished business. Two years ago we were in the semifinals and didn’t quite finish. We lost 2-1 (to Dakota),” said Eagles coach Tom Vruggink, who finished his 44th season as coach and is two wins away from 1,200 in his career. “This team has been unbelievable all year. They’ve held up under the pressure of an undefeated season. Not only are they good athletes, but they’re the best academic team in the state in Division 1 and they’re good guys.”
Vruggink was not expecting a perfect season when he traveled with the team to Panama City for spring break.
“We didn’t play very well,” he said. “It was kind of ugly and we wondered what we were going to have when we got home. It all came together. Our pitchers don’t like throwing to their teammates. Our pitching has carried us all year.”
The Eagles scored three runs in the first inning, two of which came on Dennis’ single and the other on Lauren Luchies’ single.
Hudsonville had all bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning, but Limberger saved the situation with a strikeout and a ground ball.
The Eagles scored another run in the sixth inning. Megan Beemer singled with two outs and scored on Tessa Heffelbower’s double down the left field line. Britt prevented further damage by deftly fielding Ava Gardner’s sharp grounder to shortstop.
Claire VanderWeele scored Hudsonville’s final run with a two-out single in the seventh inning.
Photo gallery from the D1 softball state championship game Lake Orion vs. Hudsonville
“It’s always important to get off to a good start, and that’s what this team did,” Vruggink said. “I think (leadoff hitter) Megan Beemer scored in the first inning in 34 or 35 of our 42 games. That was critical for us.”
Vruggink downplayed the first perfect season in school history. He was more concerned with the Eagles’ fourth state championship.
“You never imagine that you will go undefeated in a high school season that you play in.
40 games,” he said. “That was never a goal. This is exactly the goal.”
