Top-ranked matchups looming for Gaylord, Johannesburg-Lewiston in softball districts
GAYLORD ― The spring sports season is beginning to come to a close for area high school teams, but at least a couple of local teams are hoping to delay the end of their seasons by a couple of weeks.
The collection of softball teams in the Otsego area is as good as any in the state, with both Gaylord and Johannesburg-Lewiston spending most of the year among the top-ranked teams in their respective divisions while the Blue Devils currently occupy the top spot in Divison 2.
With the MHSAA softball playoffs set to begin on Tuesday, May 30, it's time to take a look at how each team is looking heading into their district matchups.
Gaylord
Division 2, District 33
Host: Gaylord
Round one, Tuesday, May 30
Sault Ste Marie vs. Kingsford, 4 p.m.; Gaylord vs. Petoskey, 6:30 p.m.
Semifinals and Finals, Saturday, June 3
Cheboygan vs. Sault Ste Marie/Kingsford, 11 a.m.; Escanaba vs. Gaylord/Petoskey, 1 p.m.
Semifinals winners play at 3 p.m.
Outlook: Gaylord has been among the most dominant teams in Michigan for the past three seasons, wrapping up three straight Big North Conference titles, back-to-back undefeated conference records and won district titles in 2021 and 2022.
They also won a regional title back in 2021, advancing all the way to the MHAA D2 state semifinals before falling in a one-run heartbreaker to Owosso. It looked like they would make it back-to-back regional titles in 2022, but the Blue Devils suffered a stunning loss to the hands of Escanaba on their home field, sending Gaylord home much earlier than they anticipated.
This year, they will likely have their chance to avenge that loss in quite possibly the biggest district softball matchup.
Figuring they take care of business, the Blue Devils will meet Escanaba in the district semifinals on Saturday, June 3, pitting the No.1 and No. 2 ranked teams against each other in the tournament's opening weekend.
The Blue Devils and Eskymos have already met this season, with Gaylord taking a 9-0 victory in the championship game of the Freeland Quad back in early April. Not only did the Blue Devils show the ability to beat a tough Eskymos team, but their offense found some answers to Grayson LaMarche, putting up eight hits, nine runs and three home runs on the pitcher that held them to just two runs in the 2022 regional final matchup.
They will likely need to find those answers again if and when the two teams match up in the district semifinals.
Johannesburg-Lewiston/Gaylord St. Mary
Division 4, District 104
Host: Hillman
Round one, Tuesday, May 30
Gaylord St. Mary vs. Atlanta
Semifinals and Finals, Saturday, June 3
Hillman vs. Gaylord St. Mary/Atlanta, 10 a.m.; Johannesburg-Lewiston vs. Wolverine, 12 p.m.
Semifinals winners play at 2 p.m.
Outlook: Even if you won't be in Gaylord for the top-ranked D2, you still may be able to catch a top-ranked D4 matchup in Hillman if the stars align.
Hillman (No. 5) and Johannesburg-Lewiston (honorable mention) could potentially meet in the District 104 finals if both teams take care of business, with Hillman taking on the winner of Gaylord St. Mary and Atlanta and JoBurg set to take on Wolverine, the winner of each advancing to the finals.
JoBurg has gone 21-2-1 to this point in the season while Hillman is sitting at 26-5-1. That lone tie on both team's records came in a matchup with each other, ending a tightly contested game in a 1-1 tie back on May 19. In that game, both teams turned to their aces in the circle and both delivered, with a solo home run being the only hit allowed by JL's Jayden Marlatt while Hillman's Nicole Barbeau held the Cardinals to one run on three hits.
Look for those two names to be key factors in who wins this district; Marlatt has a 13-1 record this year in the circle, putting up a 1.31 earned run average with 165 strikeouts through 80 innings pitched. She also has a .648 batting average with 42 runs batted in and eight home runs.
Meanwhile, Barbeau has a 15-2 record with a 1.74 ERA and 161 strikeouts from the circle while hitting .422 with 42 RBI and eight home runs.
St. Mary's is faced with a tough matchup in the first round in Atlanta, a team that is currently 14-2 and looking to make their own run to the district final.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Top-ranked matchups looming for Gaylord, Johannesburg-Lewiston in softball districts
