DETROIT — One would be hard-pressed to find two teams more battle-tested over the course of this season than Farmington Hills Mercy and Allen Park. So it seemed appropriate that the pair of top-10 teams collided for a third time this season in a Division 1 softball state quarterfinal matchup down at Wayne State University on Tuesday.
Beefing up the schedule and quality of competition has been a concerted effort particularly on the side of Mercy.
“From (my) freshman to sophom*ore year, we didn’t play as tough of a schedule,” junior Kaitlyn Pallozzi said. “Going into this year, we knew were going to be facing the best in the state. So coming into this game, we knew we had to battle and do what we can to win.”
Pallozzi and Mercy once more found themselves locked up in a low-scoring pitcher’s duel. And with no margin for error and no tomorrow guaranteed, the junior standout took matters into her own hands on Tuesday.
Behind a dominant pitching effort on the mound coupled with some late-game heroics at the dish, Pallozzi guided Mercy to a 3-0 victory over the No. 7-ranked Jags, sending the top-ranked Marlins to the state semifinal round for the eighth time in program history and the first since 2021.
PHOTO GALLERY: Softball State Quarterfinals – Farmington Hills Mercy vs Allen Park
Tuesday was the third time in four years that Allen Park and Mercy had met in the postseason. The former won each of the two prior matchups, including an 11-3 victory in this round of the 2022 playoffs en route to their first-ever state championship.
Albeit two years later, Mercy ends up getting some revenge on the Jags.
"It was great to watch," Mercy head coach Corey Burras said after the win. "Allen Park is such a well-coached team with wonderful talent. They've been there before and won it all so it was a huge stepping stone for us.
"(Allen Park pitcher Melody Filipiak) is outstanding for them," Burras added. "It was a great pitcher's duel."
To say that the game's two hurlers -- Pallozzi for Mercy and Filipiak for Allen Park -- stole the show would be an understatement. In fact, it was a scoreless game through six innings with there being only a combined three hits and six total baserunners between the two teams.
"I'm just so proud," Allen Park head coach Michael Kish said. "These girls bust their butts and work so hard and make big plays all over. You have to give Pallozzi credit, she is everything they talk about. And she beat us, that's it."
The first real bit of potential scoring threat in the game came in the top of the fourth when Mercy had runners at the corners with one out. But all three outs in that inning came via balls put in the air, one of which was off the bat of Pallozzi to deep center.
Pallozzi meanwhile was doing her job in the circle in putting up zeroes on the board. The University of Alabama commit not only allowed just three hits all evening, all but two of her outs recorded in her complete game effort were via the strikeout.
"She showed a lot of intensity," Burras said. "And she's still smiling in the seventh inning. Her mentality is great and she is ready to take that next step and being a superstar."
The junior was candid in her thoughts on being in a game that unfolds in the manner that it did on Tuesday.
"Not going to lie, it is really stressful," Pallozzi said. "The pressure can be a lot. But you just have to know that you're playing for the seniors and playing for the team and that is what can get you through it."
The only time that consecutive baserunners reached base safely in the game on Tuesday was in the seventh inning when Mercy finally broke the scoring seal. And perhaps fittingly, the big blow came via a two-run home run to right-center off the bat of Pallozzi. The blast plated Evelyn Miller, who led off the inning with a base hit up the middle.
The Fish tacked on one more insurance run in the form of a one-out RBI knock from Carmella Crane. Although it did not amount to more offense, Burras was encouraged by his team's commitment to their hitting approach against Filipiak.
"We have a hitting plan and have worked at it," Burras said. "We're going to fight off some of those good pitches. But we aren't going to compromise, we're going to stick to pitches that we can drive.
"We showed a lot of discipline to stick to the plan."
The seventh-inning rally was the lone blemish fo an otherwise equally strong effort from Filipiak, who finished with eight strikeouts and zero walks issued in her seven innings of work.
"She pitched her (expletive) off," Kish said of Filipiak. "The growth from when we first played (Mercy) to now is unbelievable. She did everything and more than we could have asked today. She has grown so much."
Mallory Hool was responsible for two of Allen Park's three hits in the contest, both of which were singles to lead off the second and seventh innings. The Jags also saw Bailey McCalister draw a leadoff walk in the fifth and Kiley Carr reach on a one-out single in the sixth.
The loss wraps up what was another outstanding season on the diamond for an Allen Park (32-6) team that will graduate just four seniors, McCalister being one of them. But the Jags in recent history have had a tendency of unloading and reloading talent.
And with the likes of Filipiak, Hool, Carr, and a host of others returning in 2025, look for Kish and company to once again be a statewide threat in softball.
"We always say 'we don't lose, we learn," Kish said. "We lost (former Miss Softball Award winner Madi Ramey) before and we were okay. So we got a good thing going right now. I can't put my thumb on it but it's exciting to think about."
UP NEXT
The quest towards a second-ever state championship for Mercy (38-1) will continue when they battle undefeated and No. 2-ranked Hudsonville (36-0) on Thursday, June 13 at Secchia Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing (12:30p).
"I don't think anyone has played a tougher schedule than us," Burras. "We've prepared the whole season for games like this so it's great to see everybody have the confidence of knowing we can do it."
While nothing new for Burras, the semifinals appearance will be a new experience for Pallozzi and a host of other players on a Mercy team that has just two seniors.
"It feels amazing," Pallozzi said. "I've been working so hard since my freshman year. Just being able to get here with this team is amazing."
