Sez MEE: A missed season for Cami ends with bittersweet hardware
Cami Trost was the starting left fielder for the Pontiac Indians in 2019. She was a freshman who was good enough to crack the lineup of a team that reached the Class 3A supersectional after winning regional and sectional titles.
Like all other high school softball (and baseball) players, the 2020 season was wiped out by the COVID pandemic.
In 2021, Trost was a junior last year when she collected a base hit in the regional final against U-High, a PTHS loss that ended the season. Unknown at the time, that was Trost's final base knock as a high school player.
Misfortune hit the amiable senior a matter of weeks before the start of the 2022 season. During an open gym, Trost made a move during a drill, there was a “pop” and she fell to the ground. It turned out to be an ACL injury and Trost was out for the season.
“I still feel a part of the team but I was just not able to be out there and helping them out,” Trost said after the Indians placed fourth at the Class 2A state softball tournament last weekend. “I feel like I'm kind of useless on the field. But I can still help them from the dugout.
“I mainly just sat in the dugout cheering them on, hoping the best for them.”
Because of the injury, head coach Nicole Hayner and her staff — Sara Solberg, Jake Krause and Brian Masching — had to come up with something new that now did not include Trost contributing on the field.
It worked out well enough as the Indians made a run to the final four, something that was anticipated in 2019 and likely in 2020 but did not happen.
And, after speaking with Hayner, getting to the state finals was not expected this season. And why should it have been? The 2020 season was knocked out, thus making all those then-freshmen seem like another group of freshmen in 2021, which was a bit of a different season itself with the altered and tight scheduling.
Pontiac's hopes for a deep postseason run entering the 2022 season, before the Trost injury, had to be rather tame because of the youth involved. With Trost, the Tribe was looking at probably starting four seniors, two juniors three sophomores and a freshman. There was some experience to lean on as the Tribe developed during the course of the campaign.
Keep in mind that the juniors this year were really like sophomores because they did not have a freshman season and last year was kind of short. And, one of the seniors was in her first season of playing prep ball.
Without Trost, that lineup got a lot younger as sophomore Adriann Sutton became the regular left fielder.
Still, the Indians got in a groove down the stretch and reeled off five postseason wins before running into the defending — and eventually repeating — state champions in the state semifinals.
For the three senior starters — Brooke Fox, Sam Johns, Rylee Zimmerman — finishing with a state medal and trophy was a nice way to cap a career. For Trost, there was a bit of enjoyment even though she couldn't take part on the field.
“It still means something to me because I worked hard the other years to reach here, it's just not the same as if I was out there,” Trost said. “It's still meaningful because they are like my second family. I'm happy for them.”
STATE STARS: Pontiac's star of the state tournament might have been Bailey Masching, the sophomore shortstop. Masching had four base hits and four runs batted in combined in the supersectional and state finals contests.
Maddie Gourley also had four base knocks and scored four times in those three games. Elena Krause had four hits and two RBIs while scoring twice.
In the circle, Krause struck out 31 batters in 16 2/3 innings. She walked five and allowed 12 hits.
FUTURE PROSPECTS: Pontiac will not be looking to rest on the laurels of 2022. In fact, there is a bright future after having achieved something that might not have been expected for another year or two. Barring any misfortunes, the Indians will be bringing back starters in six positions with a group of underclassmen looking to fill the other spots and contribute as quality reserves.
Pitching will be a strong point with Krause and Makayla Metz having a full season of success to build on. It will help as the Tribe will look to keep learning from this season, which finished with a 27-9-1 record.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Erich Murphy Sez MEE column on Cami Trost, Pontiac Indians
