After winning its first-ever regional championship, Milan softball advanced to the state quarterfinal to face Grand Rapids South Christian.  Chelsea was still the host school, but the game was played at a site more suitable to the special occasion: the University of Michigan’s Alumni Field.

As you might expect, the players were looking forward to playing in a facility like that.  However, their excitement may have been exceeded by that of their coach, who played softball for Michigan and who was thrilled about being able to come back as a coach.

Early in the game there was a rough play at home plate.  A Milan baserunner approached home with a full head of steam and collided with the catcher, who was standing at home looking for the ball.

The ball arrived late, and the catcher reached over the runner as she touched home plate.

The catcher then collapsed in great pain.

Because of the way the runner had collided into the catcher’s knee, we in the dugout thought she’d injured her knee.  But after watching her interaction with the trainer, and after looking through the photos, we realized she’d hurt her left shoulder as she’d reached over the runner.

Fortunately, the injury was mild enough to allow her to remain in the game.

It was a beautiful day for a softball game.

Milan was expected to be considerably stronger than Grand Rapids South Christian, and that became reality when the Big Reds scored five runs in each of the first two innings to build a 10-0 lead.

That huge lead prompted a loose, cheerful mood in the Milan dugout.

When the mercy rule-shortened game ended, the Big Reds were ready to celebrate their first-ever trip to Battle Creek.