Michigan high school softball: Gaylord tops Vicksburg in 8 to repeat as Division 2 champ

EAST LANSING — It’s hard enough to close out a championship softball game once, much less twice. But after Vicksburg tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, Gaylord hung tough in the first extra frame and defended its Division 2 state title, 3-2, in eight innings on Saturday.

Gaylord (38-4) led 2-1 and Aubrey Jones was just one pitch — one strike — away from getting the job done in the regulation seven innings.  But Maddison Diekman (a Central Michigan signee) kept Vicksburg’s hopes alive by battling to get a two-out single on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Emily Zemitans followed with a single, and a Gaylord throwing error allowed Diekman to tie the game.

“I was a little upset with myself because I let a pitch hang that I thought that shouldn’t have because I was ahead in the count, but I gave her one that was two good to hit,” said Jones, who’s verbally committed to Oklahoma State. “I’m super-proud of my team. Even though I was not my best, they have my back.”

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The Blue Devils supported their ace by responding in a similar manner to break the deadlock in the eighth.

Alexis Shepherd (Toledo) poked a one-out single to left field. Jayden Jones (Virgina Tech) followed with another single to right, and a throwing error prompted Jayden Jones to dash home with the go-ahead win.

Faced with a second chance, Aubrey Jones induced three quick outs in Vicksburg’s eighth, with two flyouts to rightfielder Hali Lenartowicz and a strikeout.

“It was definitely stressful,” Aubrey Jones said. “All post-season we hadn’t been this close to a team. I was just trying to do it the best I could for my team, and I knew that if I let them hit it, my team was going to make the play behind me.

“They did their job. They got one more run across for me on the board. I was just trying to do my job and finish it.”

First-year coach Ron Moeggenberg never doubted her ability to close out the game.

“That’s Aubrey,” he said. “I knew she was going to come out with a game-on-the-line mentality, and that’s what she does. She went out there and did what we know she could do.”

Gaylord took an early 2-0 lead with runs in each of the first two innings. In the first, Shepherd reached base on an infield hit, advancing to second on a throwing error. Jayden Jones then lined a 3-2 pitch into right to drive Shepherd home.

The Blue Devils got their only earned run in the next inning, after Kennedy Wangler doubled and was brought home by Lenartowicz’s single to right.

Vicksburg got one back by stringing together three consecutive hits in the bottom of the second. Audrie Dugan and Grace Zimmerman singled, and Dugan scored on a double down the rightfield line by Ella Luegge.

Saturday's game was a rematch of the 2023 final, which Gaylord won, 8-3. Last year’s team was noted for its power, hitting a state-record 72 home runs in a season. This year’s squad still blasted 68, and they entered the week with 399 RBIs, which will rank fourth in the MHSAA record books. However, Vicksburg’s Delaney Monroe kept the Blue Devils off-balance with her changeup.

“We couldn’t ask for more,” Vicksburg coach Paul Gephart said. “That’s the No. 1 team in the state all season long, and we were right there with them and had a chance to win. We never feel like it’s over, we just battle, we fight. We believe in each other, they believe in themselves and they believe in the team.”

Vicksburg (37-8) has now reached the championship game three times only to fall short in each.