The ladies from Finnish Coat are all smiles as they pose with the Holly McCullah championship trophy Wednesday at the Boneyard in Lake Linden. They defeated Northern Wishes to win this year's softball title. Pictured are Lena Myhren, Clea Ollenketo, Brynn Arko, Ryleigh Johnson, Josie Switzer, Ashlee Johnson, Kia Markham, Josie Hembroff, and Ann Hardin. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

LAKE LINDEN — The Copper Country Women’s Fastpitch softball league wrapped up the 2025 season on Wednesday at the Boneyard with the title game on the line. It featured the second-seeded Finnish Coat against the underdogs from Northern Wishes.

The ladies from Finnish Coat jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. This one ended at 14-4 and an inning early, due to the 10-run mercy rule.

With the win, the Finnish Coat lineup raised the Holly McCullah championship trophy with pride.

“We played a complete game–maybe our best all season,” noted Finnish Coat’s player-coach Brynn Arko. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. We played great defense. Nothing got by us, and we hit the ball hard.”

Not only did the ladies in black hit the ball hard, but they scored runs in each and every inning. It started in the first frame with three runs. Walks to Lena Myhren and Ryleigh Johnson from Northern Wishes starting pitcher Larissa Peterson led to two runs. Arko got on with a single and scored as well.

In the second frame, back-to-back doubles by Clea Ollenketo and Ann Hardin added three more runs. Meanwhile, Finnish Coat’s starter Josie Switzer threw strikes and had seven strong fielders backing her up.

The three-run theme continued in the third. A lead-off walk to Switzer and Ashlee Johnson put them on and Kia Markham brought them home on a hard hit double off the fence in left center. Markham then scored run number nine thanks to an Ollenketo RBI.

Arko summed up the key to victory best.

“Offense was on tonight,” she said. “Game ball goes to Ann Hardin. Her home run was huge.”

Hardin’s home run was a three-run blast in the fifth over the fence in left field. That made it a 13-4 game going into the sixth.

Northern Wishes’ runs came in the fourth and the fifth frames where they scored two apiece. In the fourth, walks to Meg Ruohonen and Morgan Erkkila led to them scoring.

In a similar style, a walk to Naomi Frahm led to the team’s third run in the fifth, and Theresa Anderson also crossed home that inning as well.

At that point, it was a 13-4 Finnish Coat lead headed into the sixth, and that is where they put the final touches on Northern Wishes and left them out to dry.

After reaching on a walk and making her way to third on an error, Ashlee Johnson touched home to win the game at 14-4.

“It capped off a great season,” concluded Arko, after the trophy ceremony.

Despite the loss, Northern Wishes’ player-coach Kim Aho echoed a similar sentiment.

“It was a fun season,” she stated. “This one didn’t end like we had hoped. We battled. They (Finnish Coat) have a lot of good players.”

Finnish Coat’s Ann Hardin is mobbed at home plate after hitting a three-run homer on Wednesday against Northern Wishes at the Boneyard in Lake Linden. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)