HOLTON – The Holton softball team has been a big winner for years, so it’s no surprise that the Red Devils are making another run in the Division 4 state tournament.

But ironically, this year’s success was inspired by a painful loss.

Holton was stunned by Pentwater 4-0 in last year’s district finals and ended its season without any sort of postseason title for the first time since 2015.

“Last year is a touchy subject,” said standout junior first baseman Ryann Robins. “It hurt. All I can remember after is that I was hugging Abby Fowler and crying the entire time. We had two seniors on that team, and I knew it would be the last time playing with them. They mean so much to me, and even just thinking about it now, it hurts.”

While most teams try to put disappointing losses behind them, the Red Devils did the opposite.

During last Friday’s district semifinals and finals, they all wore tape on their wrists displaying that painful 4-0 score that ended their 2022 season far too early.

“I talked about last year when it was done,” said veteran Holton coach Kirk Younts. “I let them know it wasn’t acceptable. Then we talked about it again this season and the kids didn’t like how it felt. This last week they wore athletic tape and wrote 4-0 on it to remind them.”

That reminder obviously helped, because the Red Devils were on fire in last week’s district tournament, defeating Hesperia 15-0 in the semifinals and Mason County Eastern 22-0 in the finals to regain a district title in impressive fashion.

“That was first priority,” Younts said about regaining the championship. “We needed to get back to playing in the postseason like we’re accustomed to. We want to make a run after districts.”

Now Holton is headed to regionals at Okenama High School on Saturday, hoping to keep their season alive.

The Red Devils will play Onekama in the semifinal game, and the winner will advance to play either East Jordan or Lake Leelanau St. Mary in the finals later in the day.

The regional champion will advance to next week’s Division 4 state quarterfinals.

Deep runs into the tournament have been the norm for Holton. Under Coach Younts, the Red Devils have won seven district championships and five regional titles and have played in the state semifinals twice – most recently in 2021 when they lost to Rudyard in extra innings.

While that’s definitely a record to be proud of, Younts and the Devils would love to take the next step by advancing to the state finals and perhaps bringing home the biggest championship of all.

“I like our chances,” Younts said. “We have a good team and we’ve been playing good. We would love to get to the finals and who knows what happens from there. We take it one game at a time. If we win four more we will be in the state finals.”

Some might wonder if this year’s Holton team, while plenty good, has what it takes to make a run for a state title.

While the Red Devils have won 29 games, they have also lost nine and tied one. They weren’t able to win a conference title, finishing second to a very good Ravenna team in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division.

But a lot of the nine losses can be attributed to a tough schedule that Holton purposefully plays to toughen up for the long haul. Losses to other great teams may sting, but the experience pays off later.

That’s obvious this season, because most of the Red Devils’ losses came earlier in the season, and they head into regionals with a 16-game winning streak.

“We played very well against top competition, but we probably have two or three losses that we shouldn’t have,” Younts said. “I’d say probably six of our losses we were flat out beaten. Three or four of the losses we were tied in the fifth or sixth inning, then just had a bad inning. These girls can play with anyone if they want to.”

All of the winning over the years has brought a lot of support from the Holton community, according to Younts. It’s also brought its share of pressure, because the fans are accustomed to success and expect more every season.

That’s a good type of pressure, according to Younts, a 1990 Holton graduate who naturally wants his team to perform well for the community.

“The community expects us to win,” Younts said. “Some pressure comes with that, and everyone wants to know what happened when you don’t win. It’s an honor, though. It’s interesting at our games, because the support is like no other. We’ve been at state semifinal games, and I’ll walk across the field to see our half of the stadium packed. Everyone wants to be a part of winning.

“I’m honored to be able to lead it. This is where I went to school and it’s an alumni thing for me. I’m happy to give back and it’s exciting to see the kids win another district and get excited.”