Refuse to lose attitude gives Bronson first regional title since 2015

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CENTREVILLE — As darkness continued to creep in on the Centreville softball field Saturday night, the regional finals went on uninterrupted.

Bronson senior Roni Bir had been struggling at the plate all day. But as the sunlight dwindled and a pitch was thrown in her final at bat, a sparkle in her eyes lit up and she swung. The ball flew to right-center field and took off through the sky, eventually landing over the fence for a grand slam that gave Bronson an improbable lead.

“All day I was struggling at the plate and I knew this could be my last at-bat, so I wanted to go out swinging and it really worked in my favor,” Bir said. “I love hitting low balls and when the pitch came as a low ball, I was praying I hit it hard enough.”

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Bronson beat Kalamazoo Christian 10-9 in the regional final. The regional title is Bronson’s first since the 2015 season and puts it into the Division 3 state quarterfinals. Becky Gray was the coach for that 2015 Viking team and she’s experienced a lot of softball in her life.

Saturday’s contest might have been the wildest seven innings she can remember.

“Absolutely wild. That’s probably the craziest game I’ve been a part of,” she said. “We’ve been in some close games this year and had to come back, but nothing like this.”

Bronson trailed 6-3 late in the game. Then, the Vikings exploded for six runs in the top half of the seventh. There was darkness. Weather forced the regionals to start considerably later in the day. Then, even after Bronson took a 10-6 lead heading into the final frame, Kalamazoo Christian was able to score three times and make it a one-run game. The game ended after 9:30 p.m.

The drama was palpable. But in the end, it was victory for Bronson.

“I knew our group of girls could go far, out of all the teams in the area, I feel like we have the most grit to win,” senior Ashlynn Harris said following the game, teammates and parents using the flashlights on their cell phones to be able to see. “We just refuse to lose, you know? I just have so much confidence in this team and we’re there to pick each other up.”

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Harris started the seventh inning pitching, but ultimately Madison Shaw came in to shut the door. Gray said it was a calculated risk, but one where the Vikings felt comfortable.

“We wanted to give them a different look there late. Maddy has thrown well for us all year so we thought ‘why not’ and it worked out,” she said.

Harris said she was “totally fine” with Shaw coming in at the end.

“I knew Maddy had worked so hard to get us here, I knew she had it covered for us,” she said.

Shaw started the game and closed it out as well. Harris also pitched and the duo combined to strike out five.

Bronson collected 10 hits in the game, highlighted by Bir’s grand slam and a solo homer from Lydia Wells in the first inning. Bir totaled three hits with five runs driven in, Harris, Wells and Braelyn Gimenez each had two hits and drove in one. Audrey Shierry also doubled.

The Vikings (35-5) will play Ravenna (37-1) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Kalamazoo College.

In Saturday’s first game, Bronson beat Buchanan 4-2. Wells smacked two home runs in that game for the Vikings, totalling four RBIs on three hits.

Bir did not register a hit in that one, but said she knew her team was in a good spot.

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“We’ve worked really hard for this, our first mission today was to beat Buchanan, my whole career we haven’t beaten them,” she said. “Worked hard all day. We flat out didn’t want to lose.”

Gimenez and Hermosa Gonzalez each had two hits in that game. Harris, Delanee Carpenter, Shiery and Harper Ratkowski each logged a hit as well.

Harris and Shaw combined to strike out just two, but limited Buchanan to only five hits.

“We’re enjoying the right now,” Gray said. “The seniors lead well and everyone is pulling for the same thing.”

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Bronson Vikings win regional softball title late on Saturday