Teams from Oakland County have ensured the area is frequently represented deep in the softball postseason in recent years.
Seven programs have made at least the quarterfinals over the past decade, combining for 16 appearances over nine seasons when the absence of 2020 is factored in.
That makes it a solid bet that one, if not another team or two will be right on the doorstep of punching a ticket to Secchia Stadium this spring. And yet, with four other programs ranked top-10 in the MHSSCA Division 1 Preseason Poll, it’s Lake Orion, who reached the semifinals last year, that finds itself on the outside looking in at the rankings.
“Some thrive off that, being ranked,” Dragons head coach Joe Woityra said. “We were honorable mention at the end of last year before the tournament started … It doesn’t really matter to us.”
He’s been at the helm since the start of the 2010s, and last year wasn’t his first time taking a Lake Orion team deep into June. In 2016, the Dragons made it to the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual winner, Farmington Hills Mercy.
Unlike last time, Woityra’s team is built for another run. “We’re very fortunate all our starters are back but our catcher,” he said. “She’s gonna be hard to replace, obviously, but everybody else’s kind of settled into their spots. We’ve got, I think, four new girls, one freshman and three juniors, and they were up with us last year for the run and they know what to expect.”
The ace of the Dragons’ staff returns in junior Rylee Limberger, who allowed just one run in the regional championship against Dakota and tossed a four-hit shutout to Utica Ford in the quarterfinals.
Limberger is good at the plate, while she’ll be surrounded by plenty of top-of-the-order infield talent between Sydney Bell, Ellie Britt and Anna Gardner.
Still Woityra knows even talent doesn’t always equate to a long run. “You’ve got to get in, get hot and get lucky,” he said.
Here’s a few other teams from around the county hoping to do some combination of those and go far this spring:
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
This will be the team that’s likely to thwart Lake Orion’s hopes, with only one team able to emerge from the same district. The Cougars handed the Dragons their only two OAA Red losses when they met last season.
“We lost the first game (last season) 1-0 on a home run,” Woityra said. “I’m sure both (pitchers) will be better. It’ll come down to that doubleheader (for the division again), I’d guess. It’s the last doubleheader of the league season. Hopefully we’re both undefeated going in.”
Stoney, ranked eighth in the early poll, will again depend on senior hurler Erin Flynn (Detroit Mercy), who posted a 1.30 ERA and won 19 of her 21 starts last year. Flynn can swing it almost as well as junior shortstop Kate Stephens, a Maryland commit who hit .531 with 29 stolen bases in 2023.
Farmington Hills Mercy
The Marlins are No. 1 in the preseason poll for plenty of reasons, beginning with Kaitlyn Pallozzi (Alabama).
Mercy’s junior ace made an instant impact as a freshman, striking out 21 batters in a perfect game, and has rarely been short of unhittable since. That alone makes the Marlins a tough out, but they’re formidable when Sophia Paluk is on the hill, too.
While one of Mercy’s all-staters, Izzy Chaput, has graduated, Kat Burras, who will join Chaput next season at Sacred Heart (Chaput signed for hockey), has one more year left to try and get the Marlins past regionals, where they fell last season to eventual champion Hartland.
South Lyon
The Lions also had their season ended last spring by Hartland. They managed to get three runs off all-state pitcher Kylie Swierkos, but that wasn’t quite enough in a 5-3 defeat to the Eagles in the regional semifinals.
Ranked fifth in the polls, South Lyon, a Division 1 Champion in 2021, will turn to some younger players with the graduation of some of its best talent from recent teams, Grace Watlers and Cece Dudek. There’s talent returning in the arms department, though, including Ava Bradshaw, who battled a knee injury in ’23 after winning Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophom*ore. That opened up opportunities for others like Havanna Bissett, who was called up to varsity early in her freshman campaign last spring and will likely continue to take on a bigger role after already gaining valuable postseason innings.
Walled Lake Northern
Northern beat a lot of good teams last season, and its losses were quality, too. Among the results, the Knights lost to Gaylord, last year’s Division 2 winner, but split with Grand Blanc, a Division 1 semifinalist.
The Knights lost 10-2 in regional semis last season to Mercy, but they could be in good position to make it back this year and beyond thanks to sophom*ore Lyla Turmell, who tossed a no-hitter in districts last season.
Other reasons for Northern earning its No. 9 ranking in the early poll include the return of Turmell’s sister, Kayla. She’s part of a talented senior class that also includes second baseman Lauren Fox (Syracuse). They form a tough top of the order for any pitcher to navigate.
