A little less than a month removed from spring training, the Alpena Community College softball team will begin conference play this weekend, playing a total of six games in three days, beginning today with a doubleheader against Oakland Community College.

“The spring trip was a lot of fun. We had a lot of team bonding and the girls really got to know each other which is really important,” ACC coach Shelley Hance said. “Along with getting to know each other, it was important that all of the girls learned how to play and work together. Both the players and coaches have a better understanding of what is expected of each of our girls.”

Despite going 0-8 during spring training, the Lumberjacks played solid competition and got much needed games in before they begin play today.

“I was proud of the way the girls played when we were down there. They loved playing in the warmer weather on the beautiful fields and as a coach that’s what you want to see is the girls enjoying themselves on the field while working hard,” Hance said. “We played several teams down there that already had played a few games, but I was happy with the way our girls responded.”

ACC has spent the past three weeks practicing in the gym and outside to prepare for the regular season. The Lumberjacks are already a big step ahead of where they were last year as they did not have a spring training before playing their first game, which was a huge disadvantage. Now it will be level playing field as ACC several games under its belt.

“Being able to compete in actual game settings outdoors is going to help us going into conference play. It’s hard to go into your first game of the season not seeing a live pitch or live ball off of a bat since Fall, so the benefits will be the fact that the girls will have already played in real game situations,” Hance said.

Other than adding two players, Kailey Hunt and Summer Dukes to the roster, not much will change for the Lumberjacks. The team felt it was a little weak at third base, but Alexa Quaine stepped in and played the hot corner during spring training, did a solid job and will likely see more time their the rest of the season.

“Alexa did very well at a tough position during spring training and it was good to see,” Hance said. “Alexa has grown a lot from last year to this year and I expect to see a lot of good things from her this season.”

The Lumberjacks will be tested right off the bat in conference play when they travel to Oakland today to take on a Raiders team which is ranked 20th with a 15-5 overall record.

After a doubleheader with Oakland, ACC will travel to Henry Ford for two games on Saturday and Sunday to complete the opening weekend.

The Lumberjacks split four meetings with Henry Ford last year and will be looking to improve this season.

“Playing Oakland first will tough, but it will be good us to play them early in the season and be tested. We split with Henry Ford last year and we’re confident that we can do better against them than we did last year,” Hance said. “We’re excited and hopefully we’ll be able to get a couple wins early on and set the pace early on in the season and gain some momentum. I have girls that are excited about playing ball and they’re just anxious to get out there and start playing. I think we can match up with anyone and I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to work with.”

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.