Essexville Garber was down to its final inning, its final out and its final hope.
But it never got to its final strike.
The Dukes were going to keep hitting until they could hit no more.
Facing the ultimate backs-to-the wall situation – trailing No. 10-ranked Ogemaw Heights by two runs with two outs and nobody on base in the seventh inning – Garber blasted its way back for a jaw-dropping 7-5 victory in the Division 2 district softball championship.
I looked at the Ogemaw side and their fans were on their feet and their coaches and players were getting ready to celebrate,” Garber coach Chris Kokaly said. “Then I looked in our dugout and saw tears.
“I’ve never gone from tears in the dugout and down two runs to being up by two runs by the time the inning was over. It was just incredible.”
The stunning comeback and upset of a state-ranked foe seemed to give this Garber team – one year after graduating eight starters from a powerhouse squad – its own place in the Garber softball tradition. Now it takes the next step by facing No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Gaylord in the Cadillac regional.
“We have a good team and we have 29 wins, but we’re used to bigger things here. And we’ve been fighting it all year,” Kokaly said. “But today was a game that told me ‘This is a new team, but it’s still Garber softball, and this is who we are.’”
There would have been no shame in bowing out to Ogemaw. The Falcons delivered one of their most successful seasons, going 27-4 with a lineup that features four college-bound players. And they took two from Garber during their regular season matchup.
So when Ogemaw downed John Glenn 13-2 and Garber defeated Gladwin 9-1 in the semifinals, the Dukes knew they had their work cut out in their quest for a fourth straight district title.
Ogemaw took a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning and, after retiring the first two batters, sat one out away from its first district crown in five years. But the Dukes never stopped hitting.
“I told them all to take a strike,” Kokaly said. “’I said ‘We need baserunners, we can do this, but everybody take a strike.’ Then Grace Zwetzig goes up there and hits the first pitch for a home run.
“I guess if she hits it like that, it’s OK not to take a strike.”
The blast seemed to change the vibe. Ava Wagner followed with a blooper that fell in the middle of converging Ogemaw fielders and J.J. Shooltz promptly knocked an RBI double to dramatically tie the game. One batter later, Meredith Krauseneck also roped an RBI double, then Alexa Bowman laced an RBI single and Garber was suddenly and somehow up 7-5.
“Every at-bat that inning was their last at-bat of the season,” Kokaly said. “And they all stepped up and racked the ball… and it was great.”
The job wasn’t done, however, as Ogemaw loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. But Kara Kotenko struck out the next two batters and the Dukes danced off with the championship.
Shooltz and Krauseneck each finished with two hits and two RBIs for Garber while Kotenko struck out eight.
Ogemaw got two hits apiece from Aubrey Evans, Taylor Illig and Alaina Neubecker, who slammed a fourth-inning home run. Hannah White struck out six in the circle for the Falcons.
Garber got home runs from Wagner and Shooltz in the 9-1 win over Gladwin while Kotenko knocked three hits and pitched a two-hitter with 10 Ks.