WB062019

wilmettebeacon.com sports
the wilmette beacon | June 20, 2019 | 43
Softball Player of the Year
Michi shows growth
in junior season
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Marisa Michi has been
a fixture for Loyola Academy
the past three years.
Playing on the varsity
team as a freshman can be
scary for anybody, especially
when facing players
two or three years older
who have played at the
high school level.
But with only one senior
on this year’s team, she
knew there was an opportunity
to take her next step
both on the field and as a
leader.
“Of course we had the
senior leader, but I think
it was important that to be
strongly bonded as a team,
we needed multiple (leaders)
on the field at a time,”
Michi said. “So I think it
was important to step up
and be that person for the
team.”
Her leadership skills
and play on the field is
why 22nd Century Media
named Michi its Girls
Softball Player of the Year.
Michi finished the year
with a .494 batting average,
.545 on-base percentage,
.843 slugging percentage,
1.387 on-base-plus-slugging
percentage while also
tacking on a team-leading
seven home runs, 52 RBI
and 10 doubles.
Loyola coach Michelle
Farrell-Fink has seen a lot
of improvement from her
star shortstop during her
first three seasons.
The Loyola coach
watched a shy freshman
Posted to WilmetteBeaconDaily.com 1 day ago
Loyola junior shortstop Marisa Michi is 22nd Century
Media’s Softball Player of the Year. 22nd Century Media
file Photo
become a junior who
cracks jokes in the dugout,
keeping everyone loose.
Her switch from third
base to shortstop midway
through her sophomore
season was an example of
how adaptable Michi can
be and what Farrell-Fink
believes shaped her into
the player she is today.
“She’s just worked so
hard to become such a phenomenal
hitter,” Farrell-
Fink said. “But what’s really
nice to see is her finding
her voice and becoming
such a great leader. The
Marisa that we played with
this year was so different
from freshman year, being
able to keep things light in
the dugout.”
Even though Michi has
had success, she still sees
that there are some things
she could improve on this
summer during club ball.
“I definitely still continue
working on hitting, but
I like to focus a little more
on my fielding as well,” she
said. “For my summer team
I’m not only an infielder
but I do play outfield too.
So I think I need to focus a
lot on getting practice in at
every position I play.”
Michi will return next
year to lead a loaded
Loyola squad that loses
only one senior from a
team that won 20 or more
games for the second consecutive
season.
Softball Coach of the Year
Introspection leads to Titans’ turnaround
Michal Dwojak
Contributing Sports Editor
Dana Boehmer didn’t
like what happened last
season.
The Glenbrook South
softball coach and her
team finished last season
with a 5-22 record, good
for second-worst in the
Central Suburban League
South division. South
didn’t have any consistent
pitching or hitting, which
happens when a coach is
forced to play four freshmen
in the lineup.
Boehmer challenged
herself and her players. No
one wanted to go through
a season like that again,
so something needed to
change.
Something did.
The Titans responded by
finishing this past season
with a 17-9 record and a
CSL South championship.
“They just really came
out determined,” Boehmer
said of her players. “No
one was happy with last
season and they came back
with a new attitude that
they weren’t going to let
that happen again. It was
Posted to WilmetteBeaconDaily.com 1 day ago
awesome.”
South’s turnaround
season and total transformation
from a team that
battled inconsistency to
becoming one of the most
consistent teams in the
area is why 22nd Century
Media named Boehmer the
company’s 2019 Softball
Coach of the Year.
The introspection started
at the end of the previous
season, when the Titans
realized they needed
to put in more work if
they wanted to see change.
Boehmer changed her
style too, altering the way
she ran practices, placing a
bigger emphasis on hitting
and swinging at the right
pitches at the right counts.
According to the coach,
she and the players had
open conversations early
into the spring practices
where they wanted to figure
out what to do so they
didn’t have to go through
another season like that.
Boehmer started to see
the change in the first few
games of the season. The
Titans hit for better contact
and their pitching staff
kept South in games it lost
the previous year. GBS
won its first four games
and won eight of the first
10 games, showing the
head coach that the hard
work might pay off.
“There was a lot of pressure,”
Boehmer said. “We
had the ability to win a
lot more games. Winning
those first two games, the
kids were getting lighter.
They just gained confidence.”
South went on to win
its division title before
falling to rival Glenbrook
North in its IHSA regional
matchup. The Titans will
lose two seniors, one from
their starting lineup next
season as much of the underclassmen
are expected
to return to try and take the
next step in the program’s
development.
They went through the
lows of a losing season
and now know what it
takes to be successful softball
players.
What’s next?
“I’m really excited,”
Boehmer said. “The possibilities
are endless.”
Glenbrook South softball head coach Dana Boehmer was named 22nd Century Media
2019 Softball Coach of the Year. 22nd Century Media File Photo