Ravenna softball players hoist the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 1 Tournament trophy and celebrate after a 9-0 victory over Reeths-Puffer in the championship game on May 2 at Reeths-Puffer High School.
(Photo | Scott Robar)
By Scott DeCamp
LocalSportsJournal.com
In addition to her role as pitching ace for the Division 3 top-ranked Ravenna softball team, Natalie Rosel sets the table offensively for the Bulldogs as their leadoff hitter. The junior Central Michigan University commit did both extremely well but had plenty of help, too.
Behind dominant pitching and a relentless lineup, the ‘Dogs put on a clinic at Reeths-Puffer High School en route to winning the program’s first Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 1 Tournament title since 2023.
Rosel and Ravenna shut out two-time defending champ Reeths-Puffer in the title game, 9-0, to cap a day in which the Bulldogs outscored three opponents a combined 39-2 and moved their overall record to 20-0.
Rosel, for one, feels relieved to be on this team rather than thinking about what it would be like to have to face the ‘Dogs, who are No. 3 in State Champs Michigan’s Top 20 all-division rankings.
“I think I would hate it, honestly. (Ravenna’s opponents) never have a time where they can take a break and I think that’s really difficult to do,” Rosel said.
“When I pitch, I know where their weak spots in the lineup are and I just get a little relief when I’m throwing to them. With our lineup, you get no relief so it’s just pressure throughout the entire game, which is hard on a lot of teams.”
In the May 2 three games, Ravenna totaled 36 hits with 13 going for extra bases. The Bulldogs also stole 11 bases with the speedy Rosel accounting for five of them.
Conversely, the left-handed Rosel and freshman right-hander Sophie Robinson teamed up in the pitcher’s circle and surrendered only 10 hits (two for extra bases) on the day. Between them, they posted 15 shutout innings among the 16 they pitched.
A team can win a lot of games with that type of offensive and pitching prowess. Additionally, Ravenna had the GMAA circled on its schedule. The Bulldogs were plenty motivated after losing to the Rockets in GMAA championship games in 2024 and 2025.
“It’s a huge deal. That was one of the kids’ goals this year was winning the city tournament,” Ravenna coach Dave Sherman said. “We haven’t won it since the seniors that are there now were freshmen. They kind of wanted to go out as city champions the way they came in as city champions.”
Ravenna’s roster features only two seniors – Riley Homoly and Emily Postema – and both delivered in a big way on May 2.
Homoly finished 6-for-11 at the plate with two doubles, one triple, and six runs scored. In the final, the cleanup hitter was 3-for-4 and needed only a home run to complete the cycle.
Postema, the third hitter in the lineup, went 6-for-12 on the day with one double, two triples, four runs scored, and five RBIs.
“It felt really good to win it for our senior year and it’s been a goal that we set from the beginning of the year, so it’s like a really nice achievement,” Homoly said.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a team that can hit top to bottom. If our top four, top whatever, isn’t on we know we can always count on the bottom half to step up and just do their job.”
Against Reeths-Puffer (18-4), Ravenna’s Nos. 4-6 hitters (Homoly, Taylor Nutt, Sydney Morrissey) combined for six of the team’s nine hits.
Morrissey was 2-for-2 with a double, three RBIs, and two runs scored in the title game.
“It feels really calming knowing that anyone can step in at any time and show their roles that on most teams are reserved for seniors, but we have freshmen who can do it as well,” said Morrissey, a versatile junior and three-year starter.
In the pitcher’s circle, Rosel was firing on all cylinders against the Rockets. She allowed only one hit through the first four innings and her final stat line read: Four singles surrendered, 11 strikeouts, zero walks. On the season, Rosel now sports a 12-0 record and 0.318 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 66 innings.
Reeths-Puffer certainly did not help itself against Ravenna by committing five errors.
“Defense is what got us. We had five errors in the field that were really mental mistakes, like balls popping out of gloves on a fly ball. That kind of thing can’t happen if you want to win against a good team,” R-P coach Sarah Bayle said.
“I think Ravenna also, they’ve got it down. They’re a well-oiled machine now. They came and they played really tight ball and we didn’t. When you have those errors, that forces Lainey (McDaniel) to throw even more pitches.”
Against Ravenna, McDaniel allowed nine hits and five earned runs with two strikeouts and one walk. The Reeths-Puffer senior ace and leadoff batter, signed with Ferris State, led her team to pool-play wins over Fruitport (12-2 in five innings) and Mona Shores (9-7).
In its pool, Ravenna rolled past North Muskegon (13-2 in five) and Oakridge (17-0 in four).
In the opener against North Muskegon, Rosel allowed two earned runs on five hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. Taylor Nutt, a junior, doubled twice, scored two runs, and drove in one.
In the rout of Oakridge, Robinson allowed only one hit, struck out seven, and walked three. Postema finished 4-for-4 with a double and triple, two runs scored, and three RBIs, while Rosel went 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
“We’ve got 1 through 10 – you never know who’s going to be that person any given game right now. It’s awesome,” Sherman said.
While the GMAA checked off one box for Ravenna in its season goals, there are other championship goals: Conference, district, regional, and beyond.
The Bulldogs have won three straight regional titles and appeared in the state semifinals two of the past three seasons.
“I’m feeling really confident in our ability to make it all the way this year,” Homoly said. “Our hitting’s been on point and our pitching’s been really good – lights out.”
LocalSportsJournal.com
In addition to her role as pitching ace for the Division 3 top-ranked Ravenna softball team, Natalie Rosel sets the table offensively for the Bulldogs as their leadoff hitter. The junior Central Michigan University commit did both extremely well but had plenty of help, too.
Behind dominant pitching and a relentless lineup, the ‘Dogs put on a clinic at Reeths-Puffer High School en route to winning the program’s first Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 1 Tournament title since 2023.
Rosel and Ravenna shut out two-time defending champ Reeths-Puffer in the title game, 9-0, to cap a day in which the Bulldogs outscored three opponents a combined 39-2 and moved their overall record to 20-0.
Rosel, for one, feels relieved to be on this team rather than thinking about what it would be like to have to face the ‘Dogs, who are No. 3 in State Champs Michigan’s Top 20 all-division rankings.
“I think I would hate it, honestly. (Ravenna’s opponents) never have a time where they can take a break and I think that’s really difficult to do,” Rosel said.
“When I pitch, I know where their weak spots in the lineup are and I just get a little relief when I’m throwing to them. With our lineup, you get no relief so it’s just pressure throughout the entire game, which is hard on a lot of teams.”
In the May 2 three games, Ravenna totaled 36 hits with 13 going for extra bases. The Bulldogs also stole 11 bases with the speedy Rosel accounting for five of them.
Conversely, the left-handed Rosel and freshman right-hander Sophie Robinson teamed up in the pitcher’s circle and surrendered only 10 hits (two for extra bases) on the day. Between them, they posted 15 shutout innings among the 16 they pitched.
A team can win a lot of games with that type of offensive and pitching prowess. Additionally, Ravenna had the GMAA circled on its schedule. The Bulldogs were plenty motivated after losing to the Rockets in GMAA championship games in 2024 and 2025.
“It’s a huge deal. That was one of the kids’ goals this year was winning the city tournament,” Ravenna coach Dave Sherman said. “We haven’t won it since the seniors that are there now were freshmen. They kind of wanted to go out as city champions the way they came in as city champions.”
Ravenna’s roster features only two seniors – Riley Homoly and Emily Postema – and both delivered in a big way on May 2.
Homoly finished 6-for-11 at the plate with two doubles, one triple, and six runs scored. In the final, the cleanup hitter was 3-for-4 and needed only a home run to complete the cycle.
Postema, the third hitter in the lineup, went 6-for-12 on the day with one double, two triples, four runs scored, and five RBIs.
“It felt really good to win it for our senior year and it’s been a goal that we set from the beginning of the year, so it’s like a really nice achievement,” Homoly said.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a team that can hit top to bottom. If our top four, top whatever, isn’t on we know we can always count on the bottom half to step up and just do their job.”
Against Reeths-Puffer (18-4), Ravenna’s Nos. 4-6 hitters (Homoly, Taylor Nutt, Sydney Morrissey) combined for six of the team’s nine hits.
Morrissey was 2-for-2 with a double, three RBIs, and two runs scored in the title game.
“It feels really calming knowing that anyone can step in at any time and show their roles that on most teams are reserved for seniors, but we have freshmen who can do it as well,” said Morrissey, a versatile junior and three-year starter.
In the pitcher’s circle, Rosel was firing on all cylinders against the Rockets. She allowed only one hit through the first four innings and her final stat line read: Four singles surrendered, 11 strikeouts, zero walks. On the season, Rosel now sports a 12-0 record and 0.318 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 66 innings.
Reeths-Puffer certainly did not help itself against Ravenna by committing five errors.
“Defense is what got us. We had five errors in the field that were really mental mistakes, like balls popping out of gloves on a fly ball. That kind of thing can’t happen if you want to win against a good team,” R-P coach Sarah Bayle said.
“I think Ravenna also, they’ve got it down. They’re a well-oiled machine now. They came and they played really tight ball and we didn’t. When you have those errors, that forces Lainey (McDaniel) to throw even more pitches.”
Against Ravenna, McDaniel allowed nine hits and five earned runs with two strikeouts and one walk. The Reeths-Puffer senior ace and leadoff batter, signed with Ferris State, led her team to pool-play wins over Fruitport (12-2 in five innings) and Mona Shores (9-7).
In its pool, Ravenna rolled past North Muskegon (13-2 in five) and Oakridge (17-0 in four).
In the opener against North Muskegon, Rosel allowed two earned runs on five hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. Taylor Nutt, a junior, doubled twice, scored two runs, and drove in one.
In the rout of Oakridge, Robinson allowed only one hit, struck out seven, and walked three. Postema finished 4-for-4 with a double and triple, two runs scored, and three RBIs, while Rosel went 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
“We’ve got 1 through 10 – you never know who’s going to be that person any given game right now. It’s awesome,” Sherman said.
While the GMAA checked off one box for Ravenna in its season goals, there are other championship goals: Conference, district, regional, and beyond.
The Bulldogs have won three straight regional titles and appeared in the state semifinals two of the past three seasons.
“I’m feeling really confident in our ability to make it all the way this year,” Homoly said. “Our hitting’s been on point and our pitching’s been really good – lights out.”
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