Fenton won the 1978 and 1979 state Class B softball championships with one of the most dominant pitchers in Michigan throwing heat.
But with the graduation of Barb Barclay following the second title, the Tigers had a massive void in the circle in their quest to become the first softball team to three-peat at the state finals.
Enter Deanne Moore, a future All-America infielder for Michigan State University who played first base for the Tigers as a junior.
“That was going to be the big thing,” said Moore, who had limited pitching experience. “She was just amazing. Who’s gonna fill in? That was the shocker that came out of the third year. Once they won the first year, so many of those team members were coming back. The second year was almost like, ‘How could they not win?’ But it was the third year, holy moly, you lose all those players. How could we win?”
The Tigers won again, in large part because Moore worked tirelessly over the winter of her senior year to provide Fenton with a strong enough presence in the circle to contend for another state championship.
It was a seamless transition, as Moore went 24-2 and pitched a two-hit 6-0 shutout against Grand Rapids Northview in the Class B championship game.
The three-peat was complete.
Since then, only five other programs have won at least three consecutive state championships. Only two are public schools,
Portage Northern (2000-02 in Division 1) and Unionville Sebewaing (2021-24 in Division 4).
Two members of the Fenton softball dynasty have previously been inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. Moore was enshrined in 1999 and coach Dave Lazar in 2011.
Now they are joined by the rest of a team that made Michigan softball history.
Fenton had an 81-11 overall record during those three seasons, going 39-1 in Flint Metro League play. In 28 seasons as the Tigers’ coach, Lazar’s teams had a record of 725-262. Lazar died in 2018.
“It all revolved around our coach, Dave Lazar,” Barclay said. “He spent many hours, so much time with us, in practices. He just knew his team, knew his girls. It was just outstanding to be there.
“I started pitching in February and he would catch me for hours on end. He would take me to softball clinics all over the state. He was so well-rounded and so focused with his team that when we went to the state finals, we just felt, ‘Hey, we’ve got this.’”
Barclay went 24-0 as a junior and was also a key to the offense, hitting a triple and single and scoring three runs in an 8-5 victory over South Haven in the 1978 state championship game. The Tigers rallied from a 4-2 fifth-inning deficit at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids in a game postponed until Monday because of rain on Saturday.
In a rematch the following season, Fenton won 10-4 at Ionia High School. Moore went 5-for-5 with five runs batted in and four runs in the championship game and Pat Witt hit a three-run homer. Barclay completed the season with a 25-2 record and her career with a 61-5 mark that included a 45-game winning streak and four no-hitters. She was mentioned in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” feature.
“We all basically lived in the same neighborhood,” Barclay said. “All summer long, we had a ball and a glove or a bat. It was always with us. We lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools. Eventually, it was going to come together.”
Moore could have been the only player on all three state championship teams, but she was at Lake Fenton through her sophomore year. She already had success in basketball and softball when she transferred to rival Fenton, but was unsure how she would be welcomed on a team that had already achieved the ultimate goal together.
“Any time you’re in high school at that age and changing schools, you wonder if you’re going to fit in,” Moore said. “I’m the outsider and I’m from a rival school district. I was a good athlete at Lake Fenton, so I’m going to displace somebody. How is that going to be received? It wasn’t in my heart to come in and take over. I was a team player. I wanted to play. What could I do to help maybe take all of us to the next level?
“I found I was being welcomed. It wasn’t adversarial at all. It wasn’t like Caitlyn Clark now in the WNBA, where they want to make it as difficult as possible for her. It wasn’t like Jackie Robinson coming into white baseball and getting thrashed. I was very well received. I’m grateful for coaches like LeRoy Decker the basketball coach and coach Lazar, because it really was about team. That was a big plus that mitigated any mean girl stuff.”
In the 1980 state championship game, Moore opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second inning. Sandy Thornton followed with a triple and scored on a single by Theresa Flynn.
Moore scored in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0 following sacrifices by Sue Mora and Flynn.
The Tigers pulled away in the fifth, scoring three runs on a two-run single by Thornton and a fielder’s choice by Lori Glass.
When he was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame, Lazar credited Fenton’s success to the players.
“Nothing is guaranteed as far as winning goes,” Lazar said. “There are a lot of factors that go into it. I always seemed to have good kids who dedicated their time.”
