Lake Leelanau St. Mary softball will be looking to continue its momentum as the Eagles enter 2024 coming off of a historic 2023 season.
“We have a tight infield and got hitters. Just one game at a time as always is the focus,” St. Mary coach Melanie Dashner said.
St. Mary began the season with a 16-0 win over Suttons Bay on Tuesday.
The Eagles will be relying on a younger team, freshman and eighth graders, after graduating four seniors from last season.
St. Mary is coming off of winning the first regional championship in school history as the Eagles defeated East Jordan and Holton in the semifinals and finals. The Eagles are defending district champions for the third time in a row and are looking for the fourth.
St. Mary will have 12 athletes on the diamond this year, which is the lowest number coach Dashner has ever had. The Eagles will be returning dream team nominees Cathryn Mikowski and Delana Kirt to get the bats rolling, for St. Mary.
Mikowski caught the final out to win a regional title against Holton last season. Mikowski will also be counted on from the mound as she went 9-1 on the season. Mikowski had a .384 batting average on the season with 38 hits and four home runs, and 44 RBI.
The Eagles will have to replace Amelia Dunham, Audrey Smith, and Lindsay Watkoski.
“About the eighth graders having to step in and fill a role We’ve been doing a lot of skill work and talking about situations and what do I do when this happens,” Dashner said.
The Eagles returning seniors include Leah Fleis, Della Bunek, Delena Kirt, and Elena Grant.
“I’ve had them since they were in middle school, so they’re pretty special to me ... they have a really great leadership and skills and I’m pretty proud of them,” Dashner said.
Fleis, the Eagles power hitter, is simply excited to get back outside again.
“I know that we have a fairly young team. We have low numbers, but we also have very experienced players and everyone’s just coming together and everyone’s putting their best foot forward and making sacrifi ces,” Fleis said. “We got to stay vocal and remember that we were in their shoes once.”
Bunek will be leaving it all on the diamond as she switches to third base for the 2024 softball season.
“We’ve worked very hard throughout our few years. This is the end of it, so we’re gonna do our best,” Della Bunek said. “It’s gonna take a lot of talking. We have a lot of new girls this year, new to the sport completely, so it’s a lot of teaching in the dugout, whether we’re telling ‘em what to do on base or how to, who to throw the ball to at times.”
