Allen Park powerhouse will take 74-game winning streak to the next level in 2008; Reading now on the map after baseball state title.
By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Cabrini Catholic of Allen Park is no ordinary Division 4 state softball champion in Michigan.
The Monarchs were one of four state softball champions crowned in Battle Creek June 16 with a 10-0 victory over Frankfort.
Cabrini Catholic finished the season at 35-0 for its second straight state title and kept alive its 74-game winning streak.
Even more impressive is that the club ended the season allowing just one run - eclipsing a national record. According to the National High School Sports Record Book, published by the National Federation of High School Associations, Southington (Conn.) High School had the previous season record of allowing the fewest runs in a season, giving up two in 2004.
Katie Osborn had a no-hit peformance while striking out 12 batters against Frankfort (38-6). Osburn also helped her cause with a home run over the center field fence in the first inning. The champs also had a seven-run fourth inning.
The Monarchs will move to the Division 3 ranks in 2008.
"I'm looking foward to getting a third state title next year. That will be good for us. It will give us better competition and tougher games," junior catcher Amanda Chidester said.
"We had awesome chemistry this year," coach Deb Norman said. "Everyone stepped up at different times. Katie's pitching was great. Everyone contributed."
Norman said it was hard to compare her two state championship teams.
"Each team is different. This team has taken significiant steps to get here," she said.
"We challenged Frankfort to make the plays," Chidester said. "The other team has to make the plays to get you out."
Cabrini Catholic's playoff run included 10-0 and 15-0 wins in the regionals over Southfield Christian and Taylor Baptist Park. They whipped New Lothrop, 12-0, in the quarterfinals and Bay City All Saints 1-0 in the semifinals.
"We wanted to keep focused on winning and make it to the championship game," Norman said, downnplaying the significance of the runs record. "I didn't really know about the record that we were establishing."
Looking ahead to next spring, Norman isn't concerned about extending win streaks or chasing national records.
"Our goal for next year since we'll be in Division 3, is to win our conference games and any tournament we get into. We want to be competitive," Norman said.
Other softball state champs are Harper Woods Regina in Division 1, Tecumseh in Division 2 and Unionville-Sebewaingin Division 3.
Division 4 Baseball
Reading is a perfect name for a high school. Reading, Mich., wasn't perfect in baseball this season but was still good enough to win the Division 4 state title with a 10-4 victory over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist on June 16.
Both teams ended their seasons with eight losses, but Reading wound up with 23 victories while Baptist had 20 wins.
The Allen Park team took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, sparked by an Alex Wheeling two-run single.
Ryan Sigler had an RBI triple for Reading in the first inning to get the Rangers back in the game. Max Crawford had a two-run double in a big six-run second inning. He was also the winning pitcher.
"I'm really pleased. I'm happy for the guys," said Reading Coach Rick Bailey, who has a 15-year coaching record of 260-106. "We've been able to hit the ball all year long. We have some great kids. I'm thrilled for them. It's difficult to put into words."
So where exactly is Reading, Mich.?
"Where Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana come together on Michigan's southern border, we're eight miles into Michigan," Bailey said.
Reading pitcher Bob Blythe was solid on the mound all season, sporting a 9-0 record and helping the squad to a 6-3 win over Rudyard in the state semifinals.
"The big game for us was beating Climax-Scotts in the semifinals," Baptist coach Bob Radu said. "But Reading hit the ball well. We made some errors early in the game and didn't come back from that."
But Radu still has pleasant thoughts of the season and of his program.
"We have only 99 kids in our entire school," Radu said. "We have 34 boys in the entire school and our baseball team has 18 of them. And we beat the No. 1, 3 and 5 ranked teams in the state to get here. It doesn't get much better than that. We didn't win but we are pleased.
"We get a lot of support from our fans. I've been coaching for many years and I never had a following like that."
Other Michigan baseball champs were Lake Orion in Division 1, Mount Pleasant in Division 2 and Hillsdale in Division 3.
Division 4 Girls Soccer
Kalamazoo Christian blanked Ann Arbor Greenhills, 4-0, to capture the state's Division 4 soccer title June 16 in Troy.
Kalamazoo Christian ended its season at 19-3 and clinched the school's third state title since the 2003 season.
Liz Myers scored 1:40 into the contest for Christian while Liz Ruimvels, Maegan Smith and Heather Jazayeri also scored for the winners.
Kalamazoo Christian's Mandy Engbers had two saves in goal. Madeline Hutchinson had five saves for Greenhills (10-7-3).
"We thought we had a pretty good team coming into the season, especially in our division," Kalamazoo Christian coach Ron Smilanich said. "We have another tough rival right within our own city, Kalamazoo Hacket. We were 2-0 against them this season including 1-0 in the playoffs. That gave the team an emotional charge."
Also winning state soccer titles were Novi in Division 1, Forest Hills Central in Division 2 and Hudsonville Unity Christian in Division 3.
