Onekama falls to MCE

Onekama’s Kaylan Fitch slides safely in to third on Friday. (Dylan Savela/News Advocate)

ONEKAMA — There’s not necessarily a good day for the bats to go cold, but Friday was a better time than most for Onekama.

“The good news is these aren’t (West Michigan D) League games,” said Portagers coach Rob Johnson of being swept by Mason County Eastern. “MCE has improved, and I’d like to think we have too, but our bats were flat.”

Onekama, which is currently tied for second with the Cardinals in the standings, fell 6-3 in the opener and 4-2 in the nightcap. The Portagers swept an earlier-season series from the reigning league champions, but didn’t have the offense to do so again in their regular season finale.

 “We’ve got to get some pep back in our bats, because right now we’re swinging to make contact and not to hit it aggressively somewhere,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a week to get it worked out before districts.”

Portagers ace Emily Bergren took the loss in the opener, while Ashley Kubiskey was charged with one in the nightcap. Additional statistics were unavailable at time of press.

Onekama will next see the field a week from today in a Division 4 district tournament.

In the meantime, the Portagers will hope to get some help from Friday’s opposition when MCE meets league-leader Manistee Catholic Central for a doubleheader next Wednesday.

“We had a stretch this season that we put everything together,” Johnson said. “You could depend on this, that, and the other, but we’ve fallen back from that a bit.

“Their hearts and attitudes are here, but it’s just an aggressiveness we need at the plate that we don’t have right now,” he added. “You’ll get that with a young team. Our goal is to get it back for districts.”

A split or a Cardinal sweep will give Onekama a share of its first league title.

In practice, however, the Portagers will focus on gearing up for the postseason.

The Onekama softball team was also part of a team effort Friday in rallying around fourth grader Jake Petrosky, who is battling lymphoblastic leukemia. The Portagers wore specialized “Team Jake” jerseys and surrounded the baseball diamond’s fence when Petrosky threw the ceremonial first pitch in Friday’s baseball series. 
(Article Posted by Dylan Savela, News Advocate on-line)
GIRLS SOFTBALL ROSTER

# 11 Bergren, Elizabeth (12)
# 6 Bergren, Emily (12)
# 5 Fitch, Kaylan (12)
# 8 Karlsdottor, Martina (12)
#27 Roider, Jessica (12)
# 3 Humes, Brittany (11)
# 9 Kubiskey, Kaitlin (11)
# 1 Warner, Sierra (11)
#13 Bowers, Kirsten (10)
#10 DeWitt, Kaylor (10)
#34 Gilbert, Hanah (10)
# 4 Kott, Hailey (10)

 ROSTER, CONTINUED

# 7 Kott, Tawny (10)
# 0 Smeltzer, Madeline (10)
# 2 Solis, Daniella (10)
#12 Clarke, Alyssan (9)
# 22 Kubiskey, Ashley (9)
# 14 LeSarge, Courtney (9)
# 15 Gramza, Keegan (9)
# 23 Welch, Alexa (9)

Coach: Rob Johnson
Assistant Coach: Shelli Johnson
and Amber Silk
Manager: Mikayla Spearman

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