Richmond softball's luck runs out in Division 2 state semifinal

EAST LANSING — Some good luck had helped the Richmond softball team get to this point. But bad luck denied it from going any further.

The Blue Devils lost to Vicksburg, 4-2, in a Division 2 state semifinal at Secchia Stadium on Thursday. They finished the season at 28-9.

"We've been lucky, but today we weren't so lucky," Richmond coach Howard Stuart said. "I told the team, 'If I told you at the first of the season you were going to lose in the state semifinals, you'd take it.' Of course they're upset now. But they'll realize that it was special."

"Both teams played great," said senior Piper Clark. "It was just a matter of the softball gods. They were on (Vicksburg's) side today. There's always some things you can do better, but I think we played great."

The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, a groundball to short scored a runner from third on a fielder's choice.

Richmond responded quickly in the third inning, first on an RBI triple from Clark that drilled the right-field wall. Ashley Stafford followed with a single to send Clark home that gave the Blue Devils a 2-1 edge.

That score held until the sixth inning, when Vicksburg regained the lead on a three-run homer to left. It disrupted an otherwise solid outing from sophomore pitcher Katie Shuboy.

Richmond's offense couldn't recover and went 1-2-3 in the seventh.

It was a bitter end to the Blue Devils' remarkable postseason run, which featured three walk-off victories courtesy of Clark's heroics.

"I just told myself that this was my last time ever playing in high school," said Clark, who is also the team's lone senior. "So I knew I had nothing to lose. It worked out in my favor."

Thursday was the final chapter of the shortstop's extraordinary career. During her tenure, Clark helped Richmond win three district titles, three regional titles and one state championship in 2021.

"She was great," Stuart said. "She put the team on her shoulders and said, 'We're going to keep going. We're going to keep winning.' Her goal was to get everybody to a state championship (this year). We didn't make it, but she tried to pull (us there). You can't ask for much more than that."

"It's meant everything to me," Clark said of representing the Richmond community. "Softball has been my life through high school and I've had all the support in the world. I'm going to miss this a lot."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.