“So close, so close, and yet so far.” — Frankie Valli, “My Eyes Adored You,” 1975

“I coulda been a contenda.” — Marlon Brando, in “On the Waterfront.”

When I heard the news Saturday that Owosso won the Division 2 state softball championship, I became painfully aware, as I’m sure all Wildcats and fans, just how close Wayland came to winning its third state title.

It wasn’t just because the Lady Wildcats lost only 5-4 in extra innings in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions. It was also because Wayland had Owosso on the ropes 4-1 in the seventh and final inning before giving up three Trojan runs to tie the score and send the game into the eighth.

I learned this because Police Chief Mark Garnsey, apparently one of the newest rabid Wayland softball fans, gave a blow-by-blow description of what was happening at Bailey Park in Battle Creek. Judging by his commentary, he was every bit as excited as anyone else with the girls’ prospects.

Some people involved with this story probably will have sleepless nights over what could have been. But they shouldn’t overlook what has been accomplished in this awful year under awful circumstances.

If Wayland High School had anything to feel good about over the last six months, it was the surprising and eerily similar exploits of the girls’ basketball and girls’ softball teams.

Girls’ basketball as of five years ago had fallen on hard times and the usually reliable supply of quality talent had dried up. Indeed, coach Wes Hudson had to suffer through a season with just one victory and the ‘Cats had not more than a handful in the next two seasons.

But then they came up with 14 wins in 2020 and despite suffering depleted ranks because of Covid-19, they captured the O-K Gold Conference, district and regional championships before bowing in the state quarterfinals to state finalist Newaygo.

Then came softball, a sport in which coach Cheri Ritz was on a mission to reverse fortunes from a rare losing season (17-19) in 2019. They didn’t even play in 2020 because of the pandemic.

No one really knew how good they were when they went 3-2 in their first five games. But then they tore up the league and recaptured the Gold crown and won more than 20 games in a row.

Despite stumbling to Three Rivers and its home run record-setter, they raised more than a few eyebrows by dealing Muskegon Oakridge, ranked second in the state, a doubleheader loss, beat No. 9 Otsego in the district finals and then scored a pair of 3-1 victories over Coldwater and Edwardsburg in the regionals.

That set the stage for the seriously heart-breaking defeat in extra innings to Owosso.

Ritz and more than a few Wildcat team members expressed their emotions on Facebook in responding to Owosso’s victories: “Wish we were there.”

Word.