Building toward success
Ten-game win streak begins what Oliver hopes is another solid year for Western By Mike Moore Staff Writer Parma — Scott Oliver admits he got caught up counting victories last spring, mainly because the way they were adding up came at somewhat of a surprise. “I wondered how good we were, and the next thing I realize, we were on the verge of winning 30 games,” Oliver, the Western baseball coach, said earlier this week. In the end, the Panthers went 29-7 before being upset in the opening round of the district tournament. “I think we looked ahead a little bit,” Oliver said. “That cost us.” Still, a 29-win season is nothing to scoff at, and the lessons learned from that campaign are certainly fueling this year’s team. “We have kids who are workers, kids who were part of a successful team last year,” Oliver said of his 2016 group. “I’ve coached a lot of these guys growing up. They know the system. They know the expectations we have.” Seven players are back from last year, but the offensive firepower has altered greatly. “We’re playing a different kind of baseball,” Oliver…
Teammates for four more
Fairbanks and Leutz set to sign on with Albion College basketball team By Mike Moore Staff Writer Napoleon — High school teammates for four seasons on the hardwood, Brittany Leutz and Mackenzie Fairbanks helped guide the Napoleon girls basketball program to new heights. Now, the long-time friends are going from Pirates to Britons, but teammates all over again. On Friday, Leutz and Fairbanks will officially seal their college commitment, signing on to play at Albion College. Fairbanks is actually signing to play basketball and softball. “Very excited,” she said. “I’m glad I get to continue to play both sports. Playing in college has always been a goal, but I always thought it would just be softball. But the more I played basketball, it became No. 1 for me.” “This is pretty cool,” Leutz said. “I’ve loved basketball my whole life. To have four more years is something a lot of people don’t get.” Fairbanks and Leutz helped guide the Pirates to a 24-1 record this season, ending in the Class C regional final. They had played together since fifth grade, but the loss in March more or less signaled the end…
Thursday, April 21
Phil Tripp, Candidate for State Representative, 64th District; Becky Spencer & Brian Frawley, YMCA Storer Camps; Sarah Hashimoto, Jackson District Library, Summit Branch Manager; Genesis Terrell, Famous at the Forks; Andrew Sargeant, Jackson Recreation Department; General Materials BuilderWalk
East Jackson’s FIRST Robotics Team to Compete in World Championships
East Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics team, “BlueOps”, has qualified to compete at the 2016 FIRST Championship to be held April 27-30 in St. Louis, Missouri. At the event, 900 teams from 39 countries will compete head-to-head. This is the Super Bowl of robotics competitions and East Jackson qualifying to participate is a big deal. But to get there, the team needs YOUR help. They’ve launched a GoFundMe project to raise funds to help defray the cost of registration, travel and activity expenses related to the competition. They need to raise funds quickly since the competition starts next week! As the letter at their GoFundMe page explains, “we thought we would be all set for this year after receiving a State of Michigan grant that would cover our registration to the State Championship and World Championships if we were so lucky to qualify. We got the grant but a little over a month ago we received a letter that said that the grant was so successful that it ran out of money.” This is East Jackson High’s fifth year of fielding a FIRST Robotics team. Last year, they made it to the state championship. Now, they have a chance to…
Spring Arbor Softball splits twinbill with Grace
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – After claiming the opening game 2-0, the Spring Arbor University softball team came within four outs of sweeping Grace College, but the Lancers rallied late to defeat the Cougars 3-2 and salvage a split during Tuesday’s doubleheader. Spring Arbor moves to 27-19 overall – the most wins in a season since the 2010 campaign – and sits in fourth place in the Crossroads League standings with a mark of 10-6 in league play. Game one was a pitcher’s duel as Kaitlyn Sinclair (pictured) and GC’s Elaina McClellan and Chandler Elliott did not surrender a single run through the first five innings. The Cougars threatened in the top of the fourth inning, loading the bases with no one out, but the Lancers (22-18, 13-9 CL) got a pop out before inducing an inning-ending double play to escape the jam. Spring Arbor was finally able to breakthrough in the six, however, when Liz Campeau delivered a clutch, two-out single to bring home Megan Labut. The Cougars added an insurance run in the seventh when Sydney Taylor drove in Amanda Youngheim with a base hit to center field. That was plenty of support for Sinclair…