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Lauren Kudwa slides into homeplate.
Lauren Kudwa slides into homeplate.
By Patrick Browne
Although the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) allowed for the start of softball practice on March 11, and the Forest Park Trojans have already been practicing for several weeks, the Lady Trojans officially opened their season on April 16 with a double header against Carney Nadeau. The Trojans looked strong behind third year coach Kimberly Pekarek as they easily defeated the Wolves 20 to 1 and 26 to 5. Opening the season with two impressive victories was exactly what the Trojans hoped to see as they took the first step to meeting their team goal of winning their conference.
Trojan center fielder Jessie Loehr, who hit an impressive in the park homerun and looked comfortable both at the plate and in the field, stated, “We have a lot of confidence we can put up the runs this year. We have a goal to win our conference and, although we know it will be difficult, if we stay focused we should be fine.”
Junior Kaidince Woollard pitched a near perfect opening game as she limited Carney to one run while striking out 10. Fellow junior Delaney Wagner followed up with a victory in the nightcap.
Coach Pekarek is excited to see the season unfold as almost the entire roster is returning and the team appears both stronger and more confident. The Trojan lineup is solid throughout and is gaining confidence. Pekarek sees confidence and focus as the keys to a winning season, “We want to focus ourselves on limiting errors and being aggressive early in the pitch count.”
“We played a really clean game defensively and our bats were hot all night. Offensively, Charlie Larson, Jessie (Loehr) and Tess Bartoszek stood out. Tess and Jessie both registered home runs. I’m extremely proud of our energy for the first double header of the season!”
While it’s a long way to the state championship on June 15, the Trojans are excited to have their first wins of the season. Weather permitting Forest Park will be playing twice a week double headers until the end of the regular season on May 21.
~ Photos by Kara Woollard ~