The St. Louis varsity baseball and softball teams played their first games of the season against Houghton Lake High School April 5, 2024, at home.
The ladies were at the top of the conference last year and came into this season ready to compete. They blew the Bobcats out of the water, beating them in both games with the scores 11-1 and 16-0. Many performances contributed to these final scores. Freshman, and star pitcher, Paige Luneack had an outstanding night on the mound with 19 strikeouts. Not to mention, at the plate, Halle Hoyt went 5/5, Luneack 4/5, and Monika Borie 3/5.
The team’s talent is not just because of their skill, but also because of how cohesive they are. Luneack stated, “This team is super close with each other, and I think it will be a great season. We are always laughing but also working hard.” Although they recognized the fun parts of the game, Luneack was sure to mention what they could improve on. She mentioned, “Something I think we should do differently is bring more energy, after every strike out or every hit, no matter what it is, just to be louder.”
Unfortunately, the baseball team fell short of a victory against Houghton Lake, dropping both games. Luckily, the team is young, and they still have a lot of time to improve. A first-year varsity member is senior Curtis Brashaw. He was a manager on the team last year, but he took on a spot as a player this spring. He stated, “Even though we lost the double-header, everyone can agree it was a great game. We had some great fielding and even got some double plays (two outs in a play). We definitely embodied our team motto, ‘For Da Boys’ and had fun.” He went on to mention, “If we can stay on top of the pitch counts and put the ball into play, we could be a much more competitive team and score some more runs.”
Both teams will be back in action April 11, 2024, in hopes of taking home their first conference victory of the season against the Hemlock Huskies.
