Boyne City softball overcomes Gladstone history for first-ever D3 regional title

CHEBOYGAN — There’s always more than meets the eye.

The end result for the Boyne City softball team Saturday might have come after a collection of two games and 12 innings in a Cheboygan hosted Division 3 regional tournament, but those 12 innings were years in the making.

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Decades even.

It began when Boyne City head coach Josh Bush first started engraving the sport into much of his current varsity team. It continued through years of girls working on their craft and through years of past Boyne teams meeting that same Saturday regional moment and coming up short.

It took all of that to get through 12 innings that would deliver the Ramblers their first-ever regional championship in a 5-4 title game win over Gladstone.

It’s a Rambler team loaded with young talent, not scarred by the past, though with enough veteran leadership to get through tough times.

“This is my team,” Bush said. “These are the girls that I’ve brought up through t-ball and kind of introduced to travel ball. So I’ve really been looking forward to it. They’re young, but then again, they’re not. They’ve been around and I know their softball IQ and I know their talent. I know they’ve got it in them.”

Boyne had it in them enough Saturday to earn a rare mercy-rule win in a regional semifinal, topping Calumet in a 14-0 five-inning game. Then, came the Braves.

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While he’s only led Boyne City since 2023, Bush knows the regional history of Gladstone and Boyne well and made sure his team did, as well.

“We’ve been talking about it,” Bush said. “I’ve been letting them know the history of it. They were ready and I think this is the first time that Boyne’s beat Gladstone.”

He's probably right about that last part.

Since 2013 alone, the Braves have knocked Boyne City out in seven of their last nine trips into the regional round, including twice in regional final games.

Learning history is one thing, but Boyne City players like Sadie Bush were more so focused on making history.

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“I didn’t know much, but I thought we definitely had it in us to get by them,” Sadie said.

It was another masterful day for the sophomore Bush, putting together four hits, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored at the plate, to go with calling two great games for her sister, Sidney, in the circle.

She helped Sidney go five shutout innings in the opener with just three hits allowed and nine strikeouts. Sidney then went all seven against the Braves, striking out nine again with eight hits given up.

“It’s just like practice,” Sadie said. “I’ve been catching her for so long, I know what’s working and I know what’s not working. She’ll shake me off if she’s having any issues with it.”

Josh again saw Sidney get stronger as the day went on against tougher competition, sticking with pitches that weren’t there early against Gladstone, though came through late.

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“It’s a mentality thing,” he said. “You’ve just got to keep going because the more you throw, the more confident you get with it. She came in during the fifth inning and she said, ‘Dad, it’s working.’ Kudos to her. That’s tough and that’s a long day.”

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Boyne combined for 21 hits between both games, with Addy Stanek doubling in each game, while driving in two. Riley Thiel went 4-for-7 with a double and five RBIs, Sidney went 3-for-3 with an RBI in the opener, then Lily Payton combined or three hits and a pair of RBIs.

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Though freshmen like Bella Jewett and Lucy Joyce and sophomores like Sadie, Thiel and Payton all start, the Ramblers never seem to show their age.

For Sadie, that comes from all that they’ve gone through before those 12 innings Saturday.

“My Dad has done a really great job of building our softball IQ to beyond how old we all are,” she said.

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Now, a rematch with a 40-0 Evart team awaits the Ramblers in the Division 3 quarterfinal round at Ferris State University in Big Rapids at 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 9. The two met in early May, with the Wildcats taking a 9-5 game.

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For Sadie, it’ll again be about ignoring the history and playing for each other.

“I think just trust in each other and trust that if one of us messes up, we’ll have each other’s backs,” she said.

Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City softball earns first regional title by beating Gladstone