News File Photo Alpena Community College freshman Makayla Kamyszek readies herself at shortstop during a softball game in Ossineke earlier this spring. Kamyszek was one of four ACC players to earn all-conference honors last week for her play during the 2023 season.

ALPENA — The Alpena Community College softball team turned a lot of heads this season, beating some of the best teams in their conference, winning a division title, and qualifying for the playoffs.

That effort didn’t go unnoticed.

Four ACC players garnered all-conference honors after those teams were announced by the Michigan Community College Athletic Association last week.

Sophomore Jade Schultz was named to the Region XII all-region team, the all-MCCAA team, and first team all-Northern Conference. Sophomore Paige Wooden and freshmen Makayla Kamyszek and Abby Platt all earned second-team all-Northern Conference honors;

“It’s very, very cool. It was a super unique and fun year,” ACC coach Christin Sobeck said. “Not only did that win first place in the conference, those four kids represented quite well in the conference.”

Alpena finished the season 18-16 overall and 15-10 in the brand-new northern division to win the program’s first-ever conference title.

That achievement came after the Lumberjacks battled through a series of obstacles and overcame them, including playing on a brand new field, playing in a brand new division, and injuries.

But the Lumberjacks simply went out and played, with players filling whatever roles were needed. The wins and success followed.

“Kudos to them for making a new field their home and owning it,” Sobeck said. “We battled through some injuries and its a credit to the versatility of each of those athletes. We had athletes that didn’t play just one position. That’s a good message: Doing what your team needs is really important.”

The four all-conference honorees were among ACC’s season leaders in hits, runs scored; and batting average. During the season, Schultz ranked among the top Division 2 community college players in hitting.

“Jade and Paige have been such a unique experience for us, from a coaching perspective, it’s different,” Sobeck said. “Our freshman stepped up and made some changes to be successful at the college level. It’s so great to those those student-athletes increase their level of play and be successful.”

Spring weather did a number on ACC’s schedule early in the season, but the Lumberjacks eventually gained some momentum, especially after a homestand in late April when they won all five games. ACC kept chipping away at the conference lead from there, earning wins over Delta, Mid Michigan and Grand Rapids.

“I think we’ve successfully built a strong program,” Sobeck said. “ACC has continued to be more competitive against all teams in our conference, competing against all those elite teams. That speaks to their student-athletes and their dedication.”