‘Culture carriers’ leaving Mercy Softball in bright spot

FARMINGTON HILLS — Full-circle moments always make for great stories, and Farmington Hills Mercy seniors Kat Burras and Sophia Paluk were at the forefront of one of those very moments.

The two lone seniors for the Marlins’ 2024 softball squad have been anchors throughout their four years in the program, becoming immediate impact players their freshman season en route to a trip to the state semifinals.

A loss to Allen Park in the semis wasn’t how the young ballplayers hoped their first year on varsity would end, but the leadership from their fellow seniors was all senior Sophia Paluk could think about when reminiscing on the season.

“We learned a lot from the seniors Kathryn and I had our freshman year, like Grace Nieto and Maggie Murphy, and we learned about how they led,” Paluk said. “That’s kind of the style we wanted to take this year.”

Three years later, Paluk, who controlled left field, and Burras, the savvy, veteran leader behind the plate who runs the infield, would be the two seniors the rest of Mercy would be looking up to as an example on how to represent the Mercy culture and run a successful softball program with three regional titles in their four seasons of work.

In perfect full-circle fashion, Paluk, a Northwood University commit, and Burras, a Sacred Heart University commit, would lead their squad to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state semifinals against Hudsonville June 13 at Secchia Stadium in East Lansing.

Similar to freshman year, a 10-0 loss to the eventual MHSAA Division 1 state champions wouldn’t be the ending the senior team captain duo hoped for, but they both set an example for everything the underclassmen and soon-to-be seniors hope to carry on next year and for years to come.

“Imagine such a big roster with such high expectations, and we work hard,” Mercy head coach Corey Burras said. “To have these freshmen, for the most part, coming into our program that are drinking from a fire hose, there’s a lot thrown at them. There’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of things that our senior captains had to do to lead this team, especially with such a young team. They did a great job implementing our culture, explaining our culture and how things are done, and helping ease our young kids into the pace and into the heaviness of our practice. They did a phenomenal job. They’ve been the culture carriers the last four years.”

Burras, a two-time all-State honoree, solidified an incredible high school career with a first team all-State worthy season at the plate, leading the Marlins in average (.500), doubles (11), homeruns (12), RBIs (43), walks (20), on-base percentage (.576), slugging (.961), and on-base plus slugging (1.537). She also led the team in putouts with 416 at the catcher position.

Paluk was as steady as they come in the corner outfield spot, hitting .279 and recording 12 assists. Paluk also posted a 9-0 record and a 1.83 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 53 innings of work in the circle.

Junior Kaitlyn Pallozzi, a two-time all-State selection already, handled the bulk of the innings for Mercy while working on perfecting her changeup and locating pitches more efficiently.

Anyone who looked at her stats would say it paid off as Pallozzi posted a 29-2 record and a 0.53 ERA in 186 innings of work, punching out 430 batters.

Pallozzi knew she was going to be the arm relied on this season and said she was more than prepared for the challenge.

“It (my innings) was definitely a lot more,” Pallozzi said. “My innings doubled, but pitching is my favorite thing. Going out there every game, mostly every game, and knowing that I’m pitching, it makes the game fun.”

The key returners in 2025 for the Marlins put on a show this year as junior Charlie Lambert (SS), sophomore Sophia Chaput (CF), junior Evelyn Miller (1B), junior Meg Kowalyk (3B), and junior Carmella Crane (RF) all got it done on both sides of the field.

Chaput led the group with a .441 average, 53 runs, 20 walks, and 18 stolen bases, while Lambert led the team in hits (54) and singles (34), and Evelyn Miller drove in 42 RBIs.

“We had Carmella Crane, who actually had a breakout season,” Burras said. “She didn’t get many innings last year. She was in right field, and she battled for that spot, won that spot, and worked hard for that spot. Sophia Paluk stepped up and took over left field and really was the core. Sophia Chaput, she was our sophomore that led the outfield. Izzy Chaput was out center fielder last year, and she passed the reins to her sister Sophia, and she took over the outfield. We had consistent production across the board. Charlie Lambert stepped up and took over the shortstop position from her sister Gage, who moved onto Northwood as well.”

Mercy also received contributions from junior Lauren Miller, sophomore Darla Sherry, freshman Taylor Selimi and freshman Anna McGavin, who is poised to take over crucial innings for Mercy in 2025.

It was only a small sample size for McGavin on the mound this year, but with Paluk graduating, the soon-to-be sophomore will be called upon to become the second arm in the rotation.

“Anna McGavin is going to be a great contributor to Mercy softball, and she gets to learn from Kaitlyn next year on how things are done. I’m very optimistic that Anna is going to accept that challenge and learn what she can from a wonderful pitcher ahead of her.”

Motivated by a rough showing in the state finals and with a strong leadership group at the helm next year, Mercy has all the makings of a team prepared to make another run in the state tournament.

Mercy has always prided itself on playing for each other, and team camaraderie is the focal point of hard work. Paluk said she expects the team to embrace the same things she did throughout her four years.

“I learned a lot about how I wanted to lead and what the program was about,” Paluk said. “I would say the biggest thing I learned was how to be resilient and compete really, really hard, like fighting for a spot on the field. Resilience is something I’ve taken out of the program, but in the best way possible. The girls I was around for four years pushed me to compete and be better, and I would say I’m the athlete I am now because we pushed each other.”