“They say that all good things must end someday. Autumn leaves must fall.” — Chad & Jeremy, 1964, “Summer Song.”
The Wayland varsity softball season came to an eerily similar end to that of the girls’ basketball team last March — in the state quarterfinals.
The Lady Wildcats lost an extra-inning heart-breaker 5-4 to Owosso, a team that entered the ballgame in Battle Creek with a 34-3 record. Just like the Wayland girls’ basketball team, they had defeated Edwardsburg for the regional championship before falling in the quarterfinals.
The Trojans, who move on to the semifinal round Thursday, needed eight innings to come from behind to win after falling behind 3-1 after three frames. The biggest blow for the ‘Cats came from the bat of freshman Hannah Rairigh, who homered.
The Wildcats finished with a 33-4 overall record, and despite coach Cheri Ritz’s reputation for a lengthy successful career that has included two state championships, they sort of crept up on the pundits and observers who did not rank them among the top 10 in Division 2. One loss was to Division 1 Anchor Bay (No. 7), another to Division 1 Byron Center (honorable mention) and another to Three Rivers, which featured Kali Heivilin, the all-time home run champion in Michigan. Victories have include conquests of No. 2 Muskegon Oakridge in Division 2 and No. 9 Otsego.
