Portagers make progress as program

by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate

With league and district titles up for grabs annually, the main objective for softball teams in the area is to stay competitive.

Though those prizes have eluded Onekama of late, the Portagers plan to keep improving as a program.

The 2012 season was another stride in the right direction.

Under first-year coach Rob Johnson, Onekama went 12-16 overall despite a sporadic start to the schedule where weather caused long layovers between games. The Portagers won a district quarterfinal against county rival Bear Lake before being ousted by eventual district champion Frankfort in the semifinal round.

“At the beginning of the season we talked about playing good, strong fundamental softball,” Johnson explained. “The other thing we talked about was to be in every game. We wanted to avoid the blowouts, wanted to compete. Except for maybe one or two games this year, we did that.

“We played fundamental softball — might have made a few young mistakes which are to be expected from a young team — but we were there in almost every game in the sixth inning,” he added. “A couple things here or there would have made the difference. But that’s what we’re building — we’re building the future.”

The Portagers were strikingly young this year with the exception of a small but solid core of senior leadership. Onekama graduates Jennica Mathieu, Nicki Slater and Mikayla Johnson leave behind some big cleats to fill.

“We had good leadership from our seniors; I can’t really say enough about Jennica Mathieu and the way she kept the team together,” Rob Johnson said. “Anytime you’ve got to fill shoes like that, it might take time.

“These girls who are trying out to play first (in place of Mathieu) and shortstop (in place of Slater) are finding out how good those two were at those spots.

“We talked all year about having a positive attitude and Mikayla Johnson was a huge supporter of that and really made sure everyone understood what that meant. But we’ve got some young players coming back that are going to be really tough next year. It’s a little early to look too far ahead, but we’re excited.”

Onekama’s Kaitlin Kubiskey swings at a pitch in a district semifinal against Frankfort. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)

Leading the way will be Emily and Elizabeth Bergren, the Portagers’ ace and a versatile utility player, respectively.

“They’re ready to work through the summer and come back as strong senior leaders,” Johnson said.

With a bright future ahead, however, the Portagers plan to look back at the 2012 campaign as a good start.

“I think we (made strides),” Johnson said. “If you stop and look at what we wanted to accomplish and what we did accomplish, and all the games with good teams that we were in, our record might not indicate what we want to call successful, but for me, I was excited about what we did this year.

“And I know the younger players are excited to come back and play for a good softball team.”

June 19, 2012

   
     
   
     
 

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