Lake Leelanau St. Mary softball is heading into another spring with excitement and hope as the Eagles compete for a fifth straight district championship this season.
St. Mary graduated five players from last year’s team and will have to replace that production with senior leadership and fresh first-year students.
“They stood up well last year in the district with a really smart ball, so they became outstanding leaders,” St. Mary coach Melanie Dashner said.
The Eagles will rely on seniors Lizzie Leggett and Cathryn Mikowski, along with multitude of underclassmen, including Lydia Bramer and Alison Duperon, who starred as eighth graders last season.
“I just hope they have a really good senior season and have a lot of fun. They’re good kids,” Dashner said. “(Bring with them) last year’s determination, they never gave up. We came from behind several games last year.”
Mikowski is returning as last year’s dream team MVP.
She went 11-7 with 111 strikeouts last season, with 41 hits, 20 RBIs, and three home runs.
“I think this year is just about trying our best, having fun, working on new things, and teaching the younger girls everything we know,” Mikowski said. “Last year, the seniors left a big impression on having fun in the dugout when we’d be behind in some games. It’s really important to have that positive attitude, as well as just rebuilding our infield and just focusing on fundamentals and mechanics.”
St. Mary softball went into a June MHSAA Div. 4 softball tournament last year as an underdog, facing the No. 1-seed Buckley Bears in the district semifinal.
Despite the odds, the Eagles came out victorious to win its fourth district championship in a row, 4-2. The Eagles lost to Frankfort in the regional semifi nals.
For Leggett, the biggest part is having fun with the team and sharing the love of softball.
“Coach (Dashner) always says that we play better when we’re having fun, so that just bringing that same energy is also really important too … We’re all gonna make mistakes and let’s just pick ourselves back up and do better next time,” Leggett said.
