Freshmen Making Big Waves for Lake Fenton Softball

In many cases, it’s the upperclassmen who make the difference in the postseason.

However, the softball team has received a boost from a group of freshmen as well.

The squad has five freshmen on the team, four of whom are starters, and all of them made big contributions in .

Lake Fenton will take on Montrose at 10 a.m. Saturday in the regional semifinal at Millington High School. The Blue Devils swept the Rams in a doubleheader on May 5. The winner of the contest will advance to the regional final at 3 p.m. against the Frankenmuth vs. Sandusky winner.

With the Blue Devils trailing Byron 5-4 in the top of the seventh inning Saturday, freshman Kayla Ward delivered an RBI single to tie the game. Fellow freshmen Taylor Sheyachich followed with a two-RBI single that gave the Blue Devils a 7-5 lead and sent them to victory.

Sheyachich said at the beginning of the season, she was a little nervous joining the varsity squad. But she said the transition went smoothly.

“Being a freshmen on the team, there was a lot of pressure going into it, but these girls just welcomed me right in. It’s a great honor to be up here with them,” Sheyachich said.

Freshman Paula Valacak had a big day on Saturday as well. She struck out four and surrendered six hits on the mound in the semifinal game to claim a . She then pitched five innings of the final, giving up five runs before leaving the game because of heat exhaustion. Freshman Alexis Melton made a big contribution defensively at shortstop throughout the day, and classmate Jessica Keller also received playing time and helped out the squad.

“It’s absolutely helped having other freshmen on the team. It has been awesome having friends,” Ward said. “It has been great. It’s a real honor to be on varsity with all these great players. It’s really nice to be on the team.”

The freshmen’s success has been no surprise to Lake Fenton coach Amos Rinks.

“They are really good players. I brought them up at the beginning of the year. They have experience playing travel ball," Rinks said. “They have no fear. They get in there and do the job. They’ve been impressive."

Senior , who has won four district titles with the squad, has been glad to get the help of her younger classmates.

“The freshmen have done great,” she said. “It’s been really good. We have a really good group, and they have been progressively getting better and better throughout the season. They are going to do good next year.”