By Dylan Savela
Manistee News Advocate
Sports Writer
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011
ONEKAMA — A commemorative softball, pink in
color and laden with Portagers’ signatures, will be showcased in
Onekama’s trophy case after Thursday’s program-first “Pink Game” to
remember the successful venture.
The memory of Onekama’s 15-1 loss at the hands of Manistee High
School’s junior varsity team will eventually fade. But the fact the
losing club raised $245 to be donated to Manistee County Relay For
Life is a much more meaningful number for the players and coaches
involved to hang their hats on.
“It was fun,” Onekama softball coach Phil Sedelmaier said of the
effort, in which the Portagers played in pink jerseys and the
visiting Chippewas donned pink socks. “The girls had fun, and I
think everyone here had fun.
“I was just telling someone, I think we should change the uniforms
to pink all the time,” he added with a laugh. “It’s kind of neat to
look out on the field and see some color out there.” Outside of the
fundraising endeavors, there was still a softball game to be played.
And in it, Manistee's big bats proved to make the difference.
“We hit the ball rather well,” said John
Schimke who will take over the head coaching reigns for the
remainder of the JV’s season. “This was the first real nice day
we’ve had to play, so the girls were ready. They were very patient
at the plate and the one thing I wanted to do today was be
aggressive on the base paths — get the girls running, get them on
the bases.”
The Chippewas did just that early and often, plating four runs in
the top of the first and five in the second for an early 9-0
advantage.
Jamee Fugere picked up the win on the mound for Manistee, throwing a
complete six innings and allowing just three hits with a trio of
strikeouts. Jamee pitched a phenomenal game as usual and our defense was pretty
strong,” Schimke said. “We fielded the ball really well.”
The Chippewas were paced at the plate by Valerie Urban who batted
2-for-2 while Nathalie Wilkosz and Stephanie Smogoleski each had a hit
with two RBIs, Lydia Schimke and Tyla Tarnowski each had a hit and an
RBI and Fugere knocked a triple.
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Emily Bergren,
Portager Pitcher in Pink, notched eight strikeouts for the Portagers while allowing
seven Manistee hits.
Sedelmaier agreed with the opposing coach.
“They are a very good defensive team,” he said of the Chippewas. “Our
girls kept playing, kept swinging and kept making contact, but they’ve
got a pretty solid infield that makes plays. And again, for us, we’ve got to catch the ball and throw the ball in
the field. We’ve got to clean up the errors we’ve been having.”
At the plate for Onekama, Bergren, Brooke Sedelmaier and Kaylan Fitch
each had a hit.
At game’s end, Bergren was awarded a similar pink ball for being the
Portagers’ player of the game, while a third was auctioned off in a
fundraising effort. |
