Cheboygan Major Girls hammer Rogers City to earn District 13 softball crown
ROGERS CITY – The Cheboygan Little League Major League Girls (10-12) all-star softball team is going to the state tournament.
Fueled by a combination of strong pitching, hitting and defense, the Cheboygan All Stars booked their ticket to Grosse Pointe with a 22-1 thrashing at host Rogers City in the District 13 championship game on Thursday, June 30.
“It goes to show how much work the girls – these girls, especially – put in during the offseason with softball, because they do have the (Cheboygan) Chaos program, and (Cheboygan coach) Joe (Kosanke) has some time with those girls in the winter time, and a lot of the pitchers have put in a lot of time on their own to get to where they’re at,” said Cheboygan head coach Mark Schley. “When they do that at that level, it makes everything a lot easier.”
As was the case in its previous two victories, Cheboygan got off to a fast start, plating four runs in the first inning, then followed it up with nine runs in the third and eight in the fourth to take complete control and seal the title.
The pitching was terrific from Cheboygan, which received a stellar showing from Diem Schley, who earned the win by striking out 11, walking five and allowing just one hit in four innings of work.
Leading Cheboygan's offense was Lydia Kosanke, who finished with a double and a single, Schley, who laced two singles, and Abby Schulz, who tripled. Aubrey Smith, Nataleigh Blaisdell and Bailey Blaskowski chipped in with a single apiece.
“They just love the game,” Schley said of his team. “They love the game, they spend time on their own working on their craft, getting better on their own time. They don’t just say, ‘Ok, it’s little league season, I’m going to pick up my glove, and then it’s done and it’s going to go right back in my closet.’ They do it longer. They do it in the fall, they start in the winter, they love the sport, they want to be good, and they want to compete.”
Next up for Cheboygan (3-0) is the state tournament, which begins in Grosse Pointe on Saturday, July 9. Cheboygan faces Negaunee in its first pool play game on Saturday at 10:15 a.m., then meets Saint Clair at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 10. Cheboygan finishes off pool play with a 10 a.m. clash against Taylor North on Monday, July 11.
“You don’t want to make your goals big necessarily, and because of the COVID year, these girls have gone (to the state tournament) as nine, 11 and 12 year olds, and they haven’t been able to win a game there,” Schley said. “So, in my opinion, a basic goal would be to win one game at states. An even better goal would be making it through pool play, because when you go down there you play three games, you’re in pool play, and basically the top two teams out of the four teams in your pool, and there’s six teams total, and they get to move on to single elimination bracket play, and basically you have to win two games for the most part.”
Members of the 2022 Cheboygan Major Girls All Stars include Jazmin Cearlock, Teagan Wheelock, Emma Maxwell, Diem Schley, Nataleigh Blaisdell, Lydia Kosanke, Abby Schulz, Lucy Coleman, Audrina Johnson, Aubrey Smith, Bailey Blaskowski and Charlotte Diamond. Cheboygan is coached by Mark Schley, Joe Kosanke and Jamie Wheelock.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan Major Girls hammer Rogers City to earn District 13 softball crown
