Lumberjacks move into first place with big games on tap
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ALPENA -- The Alpena Community College softball team is gaining momentum at the right time.
With one weekend of regular season softball left, the Lumberjacks are in a good spot with a 14-10 overall record and an 11-6 record in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Northern Division standings.
That's good enough for first place after ACC won six of its last seven games.
The Lumberjacks have played solid team ball, but the leadership of third-year sophomore Jade Schultz has proven beneficial too.
"Jade (Schultz) has been amazing for us as a leader and a player for this team. Not only has she just been awesome on the mound, but she has been even better at the plate," ACC coach Christin Sobeck said after defeating Bay College last weekend.
Schultz's success this season hasn't gone unnoticed at the national level. She's currently ranked among the top Division 2 community college players in hitting. In 23 games, she's batting .513 with five home runs, 26 RBI, 40 hits and 27 runs scored.
In the circle, Schultz is 10-4 with a 3.34 earned run average and 108 strikeouts against just 24 walks.
Just a year ago as a sophomore, Schultz stood out as an outstanding pitcher and hitter. Despite the fact that last year ACC's record didn't pan out exactly as expected, Schultz made a name for herself on the mound with her dominant pitching, along with her power at the plate.
One reason for ACC's success this season was its ability to capitalize on its first home series. The Lumberjacks took on Bay College in five conference games and ended up winning all five games. During the weekend, ACC proved it could win high-scoring games, close games, come from behind to win and overwhelm its opponent.
These wins, along with a split against Delta on Wednesday, propelled the Lumberjacks into first place and boosted its momentum going into another home series this weekend against Mid Michigan College.
ACC understands this will be a tough challenge as the Lakers (20-21, 11-8 Northern Division) are currently ranked third in the conference standings and have a chance to clinch the conference with a few wins.