Lakers Close Season at Home
The Lady Lakers were able to play through the crazy U.P. weather to close out the season at home. They hosted Northwood Thursday and Friday, and played a make-up game against Saginaw Valley State on Sunday. The Lakers lost 11-9 on Thursday in game one, but the second game was postponed due to sleet. Friday the girls played a triple-header against Northwood, dropping all three games 9-2, 4-0, 9-3. This was the best day weather wise, though, so nice to be able to see a few games in one day. The Lakers last game of the season was Sunday, losing to SVSU by the score of 14-4 in a make-up for a rain out on April 20. Seniors Ronlea Peterson (SS) and Nicole Cartensen (OF) played their last college game for the Lakers, and were honored after Fridays games. These girls work very hard every game, and under first year head coach Lori Shimasaki only good things will come to this program in the coming seasons. The team will be hosting some softball camps next month, and Lily will definatley be attending a few of those. Brian spent most of the game playing in the mud puddles. Such is life with a three year old.
Photos property of M.I.B.
Lakers Sweep Rare Homestand
The Lake Superior State Laker girls softball team was able to beat the nasty weather on Friday and sweep Ohio Dominican. They won the first game 9-8 in extra innings and pounded their oponents 18-8 in game two. The Laker double-headers on Saturday and Sunday were rained and snowed out, so I guess we were lucky to see at least a couple of games. Lily knows many of the girls from their softball camps, so she was able to get plenty of autographs and they took the kids into the dugout. It’s also fun to talk with the parents and get their take on things. A lot of positive comments on new head coach Lori Shimasaki and how she’s building a solid softball culture at Lake Superior. The team is scheduled to play some more games, so hoping the weather hold up for them.
Photos property of M.I.B.
Slap-Stick Softball
This past weekend was the Lake Superior State Laker softball team’s annual ‘Take me out to the Ballgame’ dinner to raise money for their trip to Florida to kick off the 2011 season. This has become a tradition for us over the last few years, and the kids have a fun time. This years dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers was actually on campus this year, which is a change brought on by the new head coach. Door prizes, raffles, and silent auctions also took place to help the team raise money needed for the long trip. Lily’s favoite new thing this year was her opportunity to throw a pie in the face of her favorite player. Her aim was true, and the girls got nice and messy. The boys were too busy eating to really notice any of this.
Good luck to the Lakers this season, and we’ll try to make it what few home games they have if the weather holds up.
Photos property of M.I.B.
Learning from the Lakers
The Lake Superior State women’s softball team has been busy in the community teaching young players about the game. They hosted weekly hitting and pitching clinics in the weeks before Thanksgiving, and just completed a weekend camp which incorporated all aspects of the game. I was lucky enough to get my daughter to most of the clinics and the camp, in fact, I recieved a call from first year head coach Lori Shimasaki inviting her to join the clinics. She’s become a favorite among the college girls, even hanging out with them for awhile at the local hockey games. She’s having a lot of fun and this will hopefully inspire her to keep playing. She’s been playing baseball since she was 5, but next summer will be her first shot at softball if she decides to play. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, because she’s a good player and this could open up some doors for her in the future. Sorry about the low quality of the pics, but they were taken with my phone. The (ex)wife got the camera in the settlement.
Property of M.I.B.
Laker Softball Coach Calls It Quits
After 21 long seasons, veteran coach Don Myers finally calls it quits. Myers coached 915 games for the Lake Superior State Lakers and was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1991. Coach Myers was also very intrumental in establishing the Bud Cooper Golf Classic, which help increase scholarships for LSSU women’s athletics, increasing fund-raising revenue for Laker softball and running a successfull winter skills clinic. He was only the third coach in the history of the softball program.
“If we were the first school to play softball in the Upper Penninsula, and I think we were, then I think we were on the front line of the sport in the U.P.” Myers stated to LSSU Sports Information. “That credit goes to Bud Cooper. He was a visionary and could see that softball was a good sport for women and growing fast. That was back in 1976, and I think they played 12 games back then.”
Now the Lakers play a tough 45-50 game schedule, mostly on the road, and spend their spring breaks touring Florida.
“The toughest challenge is recruiting. It’s difficult to sell and athlete to come as far north as they can to play a warm-weather sport. Our attempt has been to try to rectruit athletes and work them into positions. We havn’t had the luxury of recruiting by position like Grand Valley and Ashland does. We look for athletes, and our job is to mold them into position players where we need them the most.”
Myers has seen the GLIAC double in size in his two plus decades at the helm of the Lakers. He was a catcher at the University of Tulsa in his collegiate career. I want to thank him for all he’s done for Laker Athletics. He gets a lot of respect from the community, and it wasn’t an easy job.
Photo courtesy of Lake Superior State Athletics
Lakers host Softball Banquet
The Lake Superior State softball team kicked the season off this weekend hosting their annual ‘Take Me Out To the Ball Game’ dinner. We were served burgers and hot dogs by the Lady Lakers, and the kids enjoyed cookies and cake for dessert. We made a good donation to the team as all the proceeds help fund their 18 game schedule in Florida over Spring Break. Thier first double-header is against Tampa on Feb. 26th.
We didn’t get to stay very long, do to the fact that my two-year old pitching prospect decided to start showing off his arm by tossing pieces of hot dog all over the place. My daughter was able to get her picture taken with a couple of the seniors, and felt good that a many members of the team recognized her from the clinic they put on in December. You think they would have offered her a scholarship by now…
Photos property of MIB
Minoring In Baseball
