Playing in the top-heavy Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Saint Mary’s softball went 10-22 this season, finishing seventh in the nine-team conference with a 5-11 record in league play. Even in a streaky season that opened with eight straight losses away from home, head coach and former Belles center fielder Cassie Young saw development in her team.
“I think we did a lot better than our record necessarily showed. And I think all year long we kept growing and growing and growing as a better team — and just honestly as people,” Young said. “The girls became really close.”
After starting the season with 10 games (nine of them losses) in six days in Florida, Saint Mary’s found its comfort zone in the middle of April. Less than a week into league play, the Belles rattled off six consecutive victories, winning one game against Olivet by a 22-1 score. Even though an eight-game losing skid directly followed the prosperous run, Young and the team still point back to the mentality they carried in mid-April.
“We had a couple [of] things go on that felt like they brought us all together, just behind the scenes as a team,” Young recalled. “We fought hard, and we fought together as a team. We all came together very well during that stretch.”
Pitching certainly gave the Belles an edge during the win streak, allowing one run or less in four of the six games. Senior right-handers Libby Bierbaum and Caitlin Traxler gave Saint Mary’s chances to win all season and each threw multiple complete games during the unbeaten run. Bierbaum finished the year with a 4.18 earned run average in 92 innings, while Traxler ended with a 3.97 mark in 60 frames pitched.
“Libby always did what she was asked to do,” Young said. “She was always willing to take the ball when I needed [it], even if she had already thrown that day, and Cait [Traxler’s] the same way. Cait — when she steps in the circle — just has a winning mentality.”
Bierbaum and Traxler factored into a valuable class of graduating Saint Mary’s seniors. Outfielder McKenna Shoupe brought intellect and accountability to the diamond — not to mention a team-high eight stolen bases. Shortstop McKenna Myers, despite injury problems in the middle part of the season, offered quality leadership. And infielder Rylee Hershberger, the team’s leader in extra-base hits, made sizable defensive strides.
Hershberger’s .317 batting average, however, placed second on the team to dynamic shortstop and pitcher Mary Charniak. The freshman garnered All-MIAA Second Team honors by hitting .356 with the Belles’ only home run.
“She’s very consistent,” Young said of Charniak. “Every time she stepped in the box, there was never a time that I thought she was gonna make an out. I could always count on her to at least put the ball in play [and] and make contact with it. She had a great year.”
The Belles won’t have an easy time replacing their senior class next season, but Charniak provides a solid foundation.
