By Alexandria Webb
Grand Rapids Community College softball improved their season record as they defeated Bay College with an overall season record of 36-8 (21-2) conference record. GRCC softball was also named Conference Champions for the third time in just four years, earning its seventh conference title.
The Raiders filled the field with freshmen in their first game, resulting in a 17-0 victory, and in the second game, the sophomores wrapped up the night with a final score of 5-2.
Assistant Coach Steve Roersma, who acted as Head Coach while Chuck White was out of state for his daughter’s wedding, shared his thoughts about the games.
“It was good to win two games. I thought the freshman played outstanding. I think there was a lot of emotion with the sophomores in the second game, which prevented them from being their best,” Roersma said. “I’m glad they overcame and still put us in an opportunity to win.”
Sophomore Night was full of emotions, from the cheers that echoed on the field to the silent tears shared among the team. Sophomore Centerfielder Evelyn McEachen expressed her feelings about the night.
“Super sad, but I’m also happy, because I love all of them so much,” McEachen said.
McEachen explained her thoughts about how the sophomore team played.
“We were just a little nervous, but we felt good after that. I mean, sometimes when we face slower pitchers, we start to pop it up and get into our bad habits,” McEachen said.
Despite the nervousness, defensively, the sophomore team was able to contribute 21 putouts.
“But towards the end, we started cheering louder, and our defense was good. I’m happy about our defense,” McEachen said.
Sophomore Catcher Kalani Stowe agreed that the sophomore team was off from their usual gameplay, but it didn’t stop them.
“I felt like we could have done a lot better, but I feel like we were all kind of just waiting for it to be the end of the game, to be honest,” Stowe said. “We all came together at the end and finished strong.”
There was a short ceremony at the end of the games where the sophomore players received accolades to recognize their participation in the team. Roersma shared a short speech about each sophomore, acknowledging what each player contributed to the team, as well as his appreciation for the sophomores and their time playing for GRCC.
“I think this is a super talented group of ladies, and these ladies allowed us an opportunity to grow the culture that we have right now,” Roersma said. “Where we have a chance to win every day that we play. These girls…helped and developed and brought that culture to GRCC.”
Roersma further explained what kind of culture this group of Raiders helped build.
“The culture is about doing it (winning) the right way, and if we do it the right way with the talent level of the girls that we have come in and we recruit, the winning will come naturally off of that,” Roersma said.
It was a big night for the sophomores, but also the freshman as well. As they earned 17 runs in just five innings while holding the opponents to zero. Especially as Freshman Pitcher Tia Schone held batters with seven strikeouts. Offensively, Freshman Left fielder Abbie Crichett led the team with four runs. Freshman Shortstop Kenady O’Leary and Freshman Catcher Ella Showers tied with four runners batted in.
Stowe and McEachen share similar advice to future athletes as they look back on their memories at GRCC.
“Make the most out of it that you can in the two years, because it goes by very quickly,” Stowe said.
“Cherish it, because it goes really fast,” McEachen said.
The Raiders will be back on their home field on Saturday, May 2, against Bay College to end the series. The double header will begin at 1 p.m.
