By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Grass Lake — When the 2016 regular season came to a close in the MHSAA for softball, Meghan Beaubien was the ace of a Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central squad many pegged to repeat as state champs in Division 3.
Then, shortly before the playoffs started, Beaubien was named Gatorade Softball Player of the Year for the second time in as many springs.
Other than that, the Grass Lake squad has very little to worry about heading into Saturday’s 11:30 a.m. regional semifinal at Adrian Madison.
“They are going to have one of the top pitchers in Michigan,” Grass Lake coach Roger Cook said simply. “We saw her last year. A lot of coaches have helped me get ready for her this year. We’ve been practicing at a high speed, and we have to.”
Beaubien ended the regular season with an 18-1 record, 286 strikeouts and a 0.36 earned-run average.
“She has a very good rise ball, an excellent change up and can hit the low-to-mid 60’s,” Cook added.
The key, he added, will be his girls shortening up their swings while in the box.
“It’s important to take one pitch at a time,” Cook added. “And when we get the chance, we have to move girls around the bases.”
The Warriors aren’t exactly treading into unfamiliar territory Saturday. This past weekend in the district final, they went up against Napoleon’s dominant pitcher Sydney Coe.
Napoleon swept a doubleheader during the regular season, but Grass Lake earned a spot in the regional round with an 11-8 victory.
“We have a very confident group,” Cook said of his squad, which is 32-3 entering the regional round. “We hit off a real good pitcher from Napoleon. As a team, this is confident group.”
And if nothing else, one looking forward to the challenge of facing one of the top pitchers in the state and having the chance to dethrone the defending champs.
“You have to look forward to this,” Cook said. Grass Lake is seeking its first regional title since 2005. “I thought we faced one of the toughest teams in the state with Napoleon, and we found a way to move on.”
Grass Lake scored 27 runs in the district round, including a 16-0 victory over East Jackson.
“Probably not going to get that many this weekend,” Cook laughed. “But we’ll take a couple and see what happens.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.
Visit http://lovedefinedbook.weebly.com for more information.
