Onaway’s Calley Selke and Britney Buczkowski each signed their National Letter of Intent to play sports at Alpena Community College and became Lumberjacks on Thursday.

Selke will play softball, while Buczkowski signed on to play softball and basketball for ACC.

“I think it’s exciting to get teammates when they come together. I also think it’s really important to have an experience outside of what they’re used to. Being a part of something greater than themselves,” ACC softball coach Christin Sobeck said. “To bring that connection that they already have into ACC is going to be exciting and to watch that grow to the other teammates will be really fun.”

The Onaway duo enjoyed a lot of success on the diamond and both bring a completely different playing style to the Lumberjacks’ roster.

News Photo by Jonny Zawacki Onaway’s Calley Selke (top) and Britney Buczkowski (bottom) are both joined by family and coaches as they each signed their National Letter of Intent on Thursday to continue their athletic careers at Alpena Community College. Selke will play softball and Buczkowski will play softball and basketball for the Lumberjacks.

Selke was a four-year starter for the Cardinals as a pitcher and was first team all-state honorable mention her freshman year and earned first team all-state honors her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was also named team MVP during her final three years at Onaway.

Selke was recruited by a handful of other Division III and junior college teams, but she decided to stay close to home and play softball for the Lumberjacks.

“I can’t wait to play against more competition and I feel I’m ready because we always played good competition in high school. I hope to continue my strong pitching at ACC. I know I’m going to have to keep practicing and focus on my goals, set my goals and achieve them,” Selke said. “A lot of colleges were recruiting me, but I felt like I didn’t want to be that far away from home and I felt like ACC and Christin was a good fit for me and I’m very excited to continue playing.”

Selke was the ace of the Onaway staff for four years and this past season she put up big numbers once again.

Selke started 19 games, pitched 108 1/3 innings and finished with a 16-3 record. Selke allowed just 50 hits, 18 earned runs, struck out 193 batters and finished with a stellar 1.16 Earned Run Average.

As strong as Selke was in the circle, she was just as good in the batter’s box.

Selke finished with a .439 batting average this past season and a .508 on base percentage. She recorded 47 hits, 12 doubles, hit seven home runs, had 46 RBI, scored 43 runs and stole six bases.

Along with pitching, Selke has the ability to play all over in the outfield and has some experience playing infield.

Selke will be pursuing a business degree with a possibility of going into cosmetology.

“I want to thank Christin, my parents, my brother and sister and my high school softball coach for always being with me and telling me what I’m doing wrong and keeping me in check,” Selke said.

Buczkowski played first base for the Cardinals and also provides a big bat for the Lumberjacks.

Buczkowski started and played in all 35 games this past season for Onaway and finished with a .390 batting average and .456 OBP. Buczkowski tallied 39 hits, belted three home runs, collected 32 RBI and scored 25 runs.

Buczkowski will not only be playing softball, but she will join the ACC basketball team and play two sports for the Lumberjacks.

“It’s pretty exciting that I’ll be able to play college sports. In high school, I always enjoyed basketball and I love softball. When I heard about the opportunity to play both sports at the collegiate level I was really happy,” Buczkowski said. “It’s going to be exciting to play at the next level. The thrill of playing with people that want to win is going to be exciting. I’m hoping to see playing time in both sports, but I understand that I’m going to have to work hard in order to earn playing time and I’m going to try my hardest to make myself and my team better.”

Buczkowski will be majoring in psychology.

Not only was the day special for both Selke, Buczkowski and ACC, but the day was also special for Onaway High School and their softball program as Cardinals head coach Jodi Brewbaker sent a pair of her top softball standouts off to the collegiate level.

Her expectations are high for both and she’s excited to watch them both grow as softball players and as individuals.

“To see these two girls, who I’ve coached for four years to go on to the collegiate level is a coaches dream and I’m super excited for them to continue their education and softball careers,” Brewbaker said. “These girls have seen and been through a lot of different pressure situations and I think that’s going to benefit them and Christin is going to do wonders with this program. For these girls to both come to ACC and stay close to home, it’s just a very good experience and opportunity for them.”