The Senior League World Series Championship has been claimed— two students from Fenton High School (FHS) advanced to the Senior League Softball (SLS) World Series. The team included players from not just Fenton, but also from communities around Mid-Michigan, representing District Four. 

One of the players from Fenton, junior Lillian Tillier, pitched a five-inning complete game, only giving up two hits as she led the team to an eventual 14-0 win over Canada. Tillier also had a run batted in (RBI), scored a run, and walked in the game.

“I think I did good. We all got equal playing time, so you did your part when you got put in,” Tillier said, “but everyone was so talented that you could put anybody out there, and they were trusted.”

The other player from Fenton, senior Ally Turkowski, put on a show of her own. In the team’s 14-0 win over Canada, she went 2-2 with a walk and an RBI. 

“When I was doing well in that game, I just thought about my family that weren’t able to come and watch me play, in person and just having everyone there to support me while I was doing the thing I loved most,” Turkowski said. 

Overall, in the SLS Central Region Event, the Mid-Michigan team won all their games, outscoring their opponents by a staggering 59-0 margin, and went 4-0, thereby qualifying for the Senior Softball World Series. 

“We had so much fun,” Tillier said. “We were never nervous.”

After the SLS Central Region Event, the team got the chance to go and play in the Senior League Softball World Series from July 29 to Aug. 4 in Roxana, Delaware. In the single-elimination bracket, Tillier, Turkowski, and their team representing the “Central” won their first game 10-0 over Latin America, keeping the momentum from their previous games on their side. 

“It was kinda crazy, we never really thought we would actually get all the way to the World Series,” Tillier said. “Getting there was so cool because [the opponents are] from everywhere across the world. So getting there was a surreal experience; it was really rewarding.”

On Aug. 2, the Central team geared up and defeated Asia-Pacific 13-3 to move on to the championship game. 

“When we were playing more of the teams from other countries [like] the Philippines, and then Puerto Rico, it was cool because it’s not a usual thing.” Turkowski said, “because usually would just feel like a regular tournament, so I feel like that’s kinda when it felt different,”  

In the Championship Game on Aug. 3, Central finished off their historic run by beating Delaware, the hosts of the event, 10-0. It was the first time ever that a team from Central Michigan won the tournament. 

“The whole entire experience was just great,” Turkowski said, “because all the people I was on a team with I’ve been friends with for a long time, and so I knew everybody, and so it just felt really special.” 

With how well the District Four players from Michigan did this summer, it sets up the future for softball in Michigan.