EAST LANSING — For the second straight June, the Grass Lake Warriors girls softball team punched their ticket to the MHSAA Division 3 state championship game at Secchia Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. And for the second straight June, they made the entire Warrior Nation stand up and cheer.
Finishing the season at a remarkable 36-6, Grass Lake brought home the program's first-ever state runner-up trophy — a milestone that cements this group as one of the most accomplished teams in school history.
A Semifinal for the Ages
On Friday, June 12, the Warriors took the field against a gritty Evart squad in a Division 3 semifinal that had everything you could want from postseason softball. The game stayed tight inning after inning, and with the score knotted in the fifth, senior catcher Chloe Hollifield stepped into the box and delivered the go-ahead run that put Grass Lake in front for good.
The Warriors held on for a 3-2 victory, sending the team — and a sea of black and gold from Grass Lake — into the championship game for the second consecutive season.
The Championship Game
Saturday, June 14, brought a championship matchup with Ravenna under the lights at Secchia Stadium. The Warriors trailed early but refused to flinch. In a moment that captured the heart of this team, senior pitcher Morgan Conrad — the same arm that carried Grass Lake through the tournament — stepped into the batter's box and laced an RBI double to put the Warriors on the board.
Hollifield struck again in the seventh, driving in Grass Lake's second run and giving the Warriors faithful one more reason to believe. But Ravenna's senior ace Natalie Rosel slammed the door, finishing the game with a strikeout to seal a 4-2 win for the Bulldogs.
A Coach, A Program, A Standard
Head coach Roger Cook has now led his program to back-to-back appearances on the biggest stage in Michigan high school softball — a feat that doesn't happen by accident. The Warriors' culture of disciplined fundamentals, relentless effort, and unshakable belief in one another has turned Grass Lake into a destination program in Division 3.
"This group of seniors set a standard that's going to live on," Cook has said all season about a class that played in two state title games. Conrad and Hollifield both leave the program with their names etched into Warrior history.
Community Pride
For a town the size of Grass Lake, watching local kids play for a state championship is nothing short of magical. Parents, students, alumni, and lifelong residents made the trip up I-69 in waves, packing the stands in black and gold and reminding the whole state what hometown pride looks like.
This wasn't just a softball team. This was Grass Lake — together, loud, and proud.
The 36-6 record. The semifinal heroics. The grit in the championship game. The trophy hoisted by three seniors at the front of the team photo. All of it adds up to a season Warriors fans won't soon forget.
Congratulations to Coach Cook, the seniors, and every single player on the 2026 Grass Lake Warriors softball team. You made your community proud.
Go Warriors.