Ernest Seaholm High School - Piper Yearbook (Birmingham, MI)

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Senior Laurie Michelson shows off her batting stance in the game against Hazel Park. Michelson added more than just power to the team with her never ending team spirit. photo by M.ke Raflerty Listening to the advice of her coach. Junior Karen Marshall displays her get ready position. Marshall pays close attention to the next batter, the star from Troy. pholo by Mike Rallerly • « .1 . jAt 1 FRONT ROW- Jenny Buesser. Lauren Mirro. Chris Laurie Michelson, Cindy Hunter. THIRD ROW: ff f ' 7 1 ' ;; ,7 W drnan Kelly Hayes, Jackie Loomis. SECOND Coach Gary Chamberlain, Karen Marshall, Sarah inmng Hayes oustand.ngsk.ll brought her up to ROW Sarah Holslngton Mara Simich, Julie Marshall Yntema, Beth W.tt. Sarah York. the vars.ty as only a sophomor. GIRLS ' VARSITY SOFTBALL 243

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hHj This team had Its highs m and lows. but th ey always B played up to th eir poten- ]m tial. COACH GARY f 1 CHAMBERLAIN VARSITY SOFTBALL OPPONENT SHS OPP Troy 24-15 9-8 W. Bloomfield 22-11 4-6 Hazel Park 18-4 8-2 Andover 2-9 11-12 Farmington 1-6 12-6 Kimball 4-2 1-2 Berkley 3-2 7-4 Groves 3-4 2-9 Ferndale 5-10 3-4 Harrison 11-1 11-9 Southfield 11-10 18-1 Berkley 13-2 Mumford 7-0 Ferndale 14-17 Seaholm Sluggers Hit Em Home Power hitter Jackie Loomis gets another hit to pull the Maples ahead for their second win against Hazel Park- Loomis added strength to the line up photo by Mike Rafferty Sophomore sensation Mara Simich demonstrates her outstanding pitching technique. Simich ' s con- sistent pitching made her one of varsity ' s starting pitchers. photo by Mike Raflerty Saturday afternoons were spent at the ballfield, prom night created conflicts, homework often times was neglected and the pressure never seem- ed to end, but still Softball always came first. For the first time in three years. Mother Nature decided to cooperate with the Varsity Girls ' Softball Team. The three hour practices Monday through Friday not only enhanced the team ' s skills, but it deepened their tans as well. With six players returning from the previous year, the Maples ' exper- ience paid off. Both offensive and defensive plays were executed with greater precision than in preceding years. Not only did the team have veterans to show the newcomers a good example, the rookies themselves added a lot of needed fresh, new talent. Despite the team ' s many assets, the SMA proved to be a tough league. According to their coach, Gary Cham- berlain, the team ' s greatest challenge was to be defensively sound. After getting off to a promising start by easily winning their first three games, the Maples suffered from a short slump before their efforts started paying off again. The girls ' league record of 9-5 proved good enough to earn them a second place in the league. A tough loss to Ferndale in the bottom of the seventh inning by only one run, and another to Andover, again only by one run, hinder- ed their chances of capturing the cov- eted SMA title. The team ' s toughest defeat, howev- er, came in the semi-final round of district play. After jumping out to an early 10-1 lead and hanging on to a 10- 3 lead after four innings, the Maples let the game slip away. The final score of Ferndale 17 and Seaholm 14 knocked them out of the tournament and sent them packing up the bats and balls until the next year ' s season. Although they ' ve lost many key players, the returning players hope that, with the players moving up from the J.V. team, along with a lot of hard work, they can do just as well next year. by Stacey Springer 242 GIRLS ' VARSITY SOFTBALL

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imv i All the girls on the team arc so dedicated and give their one hundred per- cent effort. COACH BOB GORALCZYK JV SOFTBALL OPPONENT SHS OPP Troy 18-0 West Bloomfield 42-31 West Bloomfield 18-8 Hazel Park 14-0 Andover 14-2 Rochester 11-10 Kimball 10-13 Berkley 16-1 Berkley 19-1 Groves 11-4 Ferndale 10-7 Ferndale 8-8 Troy 13-14 Hazel Park 13-1 Andover 9-6 Southfield 13-1 Kimball 17-2 Andover 14-4 Kimball 8-3 Southfield 11-1 Southfield 21-6 Consistency and Depth Distinguish • JV ' Rowdies The home team is at bat, a girl is at the plate, and her twelve team- mates are on the bench doing the wave with their legs. After completing going through the batting order, the captain gives the signal. Instantaneously, the entire team turns their hats inside-out and shouts, rally! in unison. This may appear to be a side show at the circus, but in reality it is a typical game during the 1985 JV Softball season. It wasn ' t goofing off that gave the team a tremendous 18-2 record, but hard work, dedication and loads of talent. Becky Lojek agreed, saying, I have never worked harder to improve, and to keep up with the rest of the team. Precision pitching by Mara Simich (who later moved to varsity) and Becky Lojek acted as a foundation while strong fielding ability made the key plays adding strength and support to the pitchers. Although batting was only consid- ered sufficient by Katie Buesser, the team succeeded in romping on most of their opponents. No stars emerged from by Katy Andreae the team and as Julie Jolliffe explained, We could always depend on a few different people each game. Even though the players were dependable in most games. Mother Nature was not. During a double-header with Ferndale after school, the game ran so long that the last batter struck out because it was so dark, said Jolliffe. If we had played the extra inning, we would have won the league. The game ended in a tie and Seaholm placed second behind Kimball. Most Valuable Player Award was given to Jan Ravish; Jolliffe received The Most Improved Player Award; and Katie Buesser received The Sportsman- ship Award. The team ' s spirit and unity was best demonstrated by the rally cheer, which was originated on Happy Days. As Jolliffe explained, You twirl your fingers in a circle in the air and say ' rally ' and it would get everyone pepped up. It ' s no wonder that Buesser proudly announced, We were the rowdiest team in the SMA! In the home opener, Katie Buesser whips the ball to first base. Later in the first inning. Buesser broke he: finger keeping her off of the field for the season. photo bv Mike Raflerty 244 GIRLS ' JV SOFTBALL