Courtesy photo The ACC softball team is getting ready for the start of their season. Coach Ornelas discussed his squad, expectations, and much more in this season preview story.

ALPENA — The Alpena Community College softball team is gearing up for the beginning of a new season and hoping to improve on its 17-23 record last season in the Northern Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association(MCCAA)..

Lumberjacks’ Head Coach Drew Ornelas is entering his third season at the helm and offered an update about his team, its roster, and his expectations for this season.

“We have the same goals as last year, to win our conference, win regional playoffs and get to the national tournament in South Carolina,” Ornelas said. “We have the talent to do it, now it’s just time to put it all together.”

Coach Ornelas said he brings values to his team that he learned throughout his career in the United States military.

“My core values as a coach have been the same since my 25 years in the U.S. Army,” Ornelas said. “Loyalty, dedication, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.”

Last season had its ups and downs for ACC, Ornelas said. After a disappointing start to the season the Lumberjacks battled back for a third-place finish in the conference standings.

“Last year was an amazing season, coming off a disappointing season, we took our lumps early but then put together a string of wins in the middle and late season to propel us to take third in conference and qualify us for the regional playoffs,” Ornelas said.

Despite losing in the regional playoffs, the Lumberjacks showed their grit and battled back.

“We lost our first regional playoff game but then battled back to beat Oakland CC and Glen Oaks CC to make it to the Regional Playoffs Semi Final,” Ornelas said. “I believe this has not been done in the past 30 years.”

Several contributors to last year’s team are returning for another season with the Lumberjacks.

“We have seven sophomores returning, each with post season experience, including our first base Kirsten Neubecker who was selected as All NJCAA and NFCA last season,” Ornelas said. “I brought in some very talented freshmen who have come in with confidence and have already shown they are ready for college softball.”

The team will be without their all-conference third basemen this year, however, Coach Ornelas has been very active recruiting players to fill any voids from last year’s team.

“After losing our all conference third basemen, I was able to recruit a player from Alcona (Rilee Tracy) who has locked down that corner and is also a very good batter,” Ornelas said. “This year’s team is small but packed with softball talent and positive attitudes.”

To gear up for the season the Lumberjacks recently traveled down south to take on division one teams.

“We went down to Alabama a few weeks ago and played teams that were all Division 1 teams, ACC is division two,” Ornelas explained. “Even though we came up short in the games, I was happy with how we battled with those teams.”

ACC will begin its season on Saturday, when it travels to Jackson for a matchup with Jackson State. The game is set to begin at 1pm.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.