DeWitt vs. Holt – – Hall of Fame Softball Classic Quarterfinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 19, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, the BleacherDenizenMobile and the Bleacher Denizen are headed off to Ranney Park near Frandor, where the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame is hosting its 45th annual softball classic. As yesterday’s games were rained out, these are the first games of the 2026 tournament. In today’s first game, the Holt Rams will compete with the Panthers from DeWitt.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this original tune, “A Man Like Me” which is about an office worker having Walter Mitty fantasies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Here are the starting lineups. Holt will be the visiting team and DeWitt will bat first.

DEWITT

Ruby Puck ss

Tess Rypstra rf

Ellery Harshman cf

Madeline Torrence ss

Emily Agnew 3b

Kiley Zatkin dp

Mikayla Kent c

Caroline Chumbley 1b

Mayah Walker rf

Kaydence Ballinger will pitch, but will not bat.

HOLT

Eeva Luoma cf

Ady Staley rf

Grace Atkinson c

Marile Rehm 1b

Julianna Sowards 3b

Paeton Vandlen ss

Anna Macqueen dp

Layla Binkley lf

Harper Vandlen 2b

Abby Fields will pitch, but will not bat.

Your Bleacher Denizen sang the National Anthem and it was time for the game to begin!

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat open eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen whose softball career never got off to much of a start. However, he was truly treasured by the opposing catchers and umpires who delighted in the cooling breezes generated by the Bleacher Denizen’s flailing attempts to hit softballs!

Ruby Puck grounded a single up the middle to lead off the top of the first inning for Holt. Holt Catcher Grace Atkinson fired the ball to first base to pick the runner off; she was caught in a rundown. Holt Pitcher Abby Fields retired the next two Panther hitters on a grounder to first base and a fly to right field.

DeWitt Pitcheer Kaydence Ballinger retired the first two Holt batters on a grounder to third base and a fly to center field. Grace Atkinson singled to right field and took second base when Marlie Rehm was hit by a pitch. The Rams made their third out on a fly to third base.

Madeline Torrence singled to left field to lead off the top of the second inning for DeWitt. Holt Right Fielder Ady Straley alertly backed up first base to prevent an overthrow on a pickoff from turning into a base advanced. Abby Fields struck out the next Panther hitter. Kiley Zatkin walked and Madeline Torrence advanced to second base. Ram Left Fielder Layla Binkley made a nice catch running back to catch a fly ball for the second out. Abby Fields retired the next Panther batter on a grounder to the shortstop to end the inning.

Kaydence Ballinger retired the three Holt batters in the bottom of the second inning on a fly to third base, a fly to center field and a line drive to third base.

With two innings in the books, the game is tied at 0-0.

Abby Fields retired the first two DeWitt batters in the top of the third inning on a grounder to shortstop and a fly to center field. Tess Rypstra lined a single to left field and advanced to second base on a single to right field by Ellery Harshman. Tess Rypstra advanced to third base and Ellery Harshman to second base when Madeline Torrence walked. Emily Agnew hit a hard shot, but it went right to Holt Shortstop Paeton Vandlen for the third out.

Harper Vandlen singled to right field to lead off the bottom of the third inning for Holt. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Ram batter on a fly to the shortstop. Harper Vandlen advanced to second base when Ady Straley was safe at first base when an error was made on her sacrifice bunt. Holt made its second out when DeWitt Left Fielder Mayah Walker made a fine running catch and its third out on a fly to left field.

Kiley Zatkin beat out a squibbed bouncer to third base to lead off the top of the fourth inning for DeWitt and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Mikayla Kent. London Montgomery went to second base to run for Kiley Zatkin. Abby Fields struck out the next Panther batter and got the third out on a fantastic diving catch by Ram Left Fielder Layla Binkley.

Kaydence Ballinger retired the three Holt batters in the bottom of the fourth inning on a liner to third base, a strikeout and a grounder to third base.

After four full innings, the game was still tied 0-0.

Abby Fields retired DeWitt’s leadoff batter in the top of the fifth inning on a fly to left field. Tess Rypstra blasted a double off the right field fence. Tess Rypstra went to third base on a single to center field by Ellery Harshman. Holt Left Fielder Layla Binkley made a great catch running back into deep left field to catch a fly by Madeline Torrence. Tess Rypstra tagged at third base and scored on the sacrifice fly. Abby Fields got the third out on a grounder to second base.

DeWitt scored one run in the top of the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Layla Binkley beat out a squib single to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for Holt. Harper Vandlen was safe at first base when an error was made on her sacrifice bunt. Layla Binkley was able to scramble all the way to third base. Every one was safe when DeWitt tried to get the out at home on Eva Luoma’s sacrifice bunt. DeWitt Catcher Mikalaya Kent made a fine throw to third base to catch the runner trying to advance from first base.

Ady Straley was safe at first base and Eva Luoma advanced all the way to third base when an error was made on a sacrifice bunt. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Ram hitter on a fly to center field. Ruby Puck made a fantastic catch running back into center field to grab a bloop by Marlie Rehm for the third Ram out. (Had Ruby Puck not made that play, Holt would have scored at least one run and very possibly two.)

Holt scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1.

Abby Fields retired the first two Panther hitters in the top of the sixth inning on a fly to right field and a strikeout. Caroline Chumbley singled to left field. DeWitt made its third out on a fly to center field.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kaydence Ballinger retired Holt’s leadoff batter on a popup to second base. Paeton Vandlen singled to left field. Holt made its second and third outs on a fly to the shortstop and a grounder to the shortstop.

We are heading into the seventh inning tied at 1-1.

Ruby Puck led off the top of the seventh inning by booming a double to deep right field. Tess Rypstra doubled to center field and drove Ruby Puck home with the go-ahead run. Ellery Harshman was safe at first base and Tess Rypstra out at third on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. Tess Rypstra got into a rundown that Ellery Harshman the time to run to second base. Abby Fields struck out the next Panther hitter.

Emily Agnew belted a double to right field to drive Ellery Harshman home. Kiley Zatkin singled to left field and Emily Agnew went to third base. The bases were loaded when Mikayla Kent was hit by a pitch. Abby Fields retired the next DeWitt batter on a fly to right field to end the inning.

DeWitt scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead.

Harper Vandlen lined a single to center field to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning for Holt. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Ram hitter on a fly to center field. Harper Vandlen advanced to third base when Ady Straley was safe at second base on an error. Harper Vandlen scored and Ady Straley advanced to third base on a sacrifice fly by Grace Atkinson. Kaydence Ballinger retired the next Ram hitter on a grounder to second base to end the game.

Holt scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning to trim the DeWitt lead to 2-1.

DeWitt won this quarterfinal game and will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Lansing Catholic and Fowler in the semifinal.

Harper Vandlen had two singles for Holt. Layla Binkley, Paeton Vandlen and Grace Atkinson each had one single.

Abby Fields pitched the complete game for Holt. She gave up three runs and struck out four DeWitt batters.

Tess Rypstra had two doubles, one single and one RBI for DeWitt. Ruby Puck had a double and a single. Ellery Harshman and Kiley Zatkin each had two singles. Emily Agnew had a double and one RBI. Madeline Torrence had a single and one RBI. Caroline Chumbley had one single.

Kaydence Ballinger pitched the complete game for DeWitt and gave up only one run while striking out one batter.

I am also going to cover the next semifinal game between Fowler and Lansing Catholic tonight. Here is the play by play of that game!! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/05/20/lansing-catholic-vs-fowler-hall-of-fame-softball-classic-quarterfinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-19-2026-by-chuck-krafft/