After a tough loss in a close game during their opener against Mesabi East on April 4th, the Silver Bay Mariners softball team has slid into a five-game winning streak.
“We’re probably surprising everybody how well we’re doing because we had a really good team last year,” said Head Coach Mike Guzzo. Last season, the team had a 19-5 record and lost in the section finals. “This year is quite young. There are lots of seventh graders and ninth graders.”
There were six seniors on the team last year. This year, there are two. Their coach calls seniors Katie Carpenter and Brooke Velcheff “leaders of our team.” Velcheff is an outfielder. “She does a nice job for us,” said Coach Guzzo.
Carpenter is part of the pitcher/catcher combos that Coach Guzzo has stated are a strength for the team this year. She catches for Madison Ollman, who is a sophomore. She also plays shortstop. The other powerful combo is freshman Berkley Hoff at the mound with seventh grader Kinley Nelson catching.
In the opening game, the Mariners had a 9-6 lead but lost in the bottom of the 7th to the Giants with a final score of 10-9.
But then, “We got ‘er rolling,” said Coach Guzzo. On April 8th, they beat Mt. Iron 7-6. They went on to win against Northwoods by a whopping 14-2 on Friday, April 12th. The next day, they took on Two Harbors and again took the win, this time 8-1.
The April 15th game against Ely proved to be a bit closer. The Mariners jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Ely tied it up in the fourth. The score went back and forth, but the game was won when Callie Ernest, a freshman, hit a double and Lilly Ernest, also a freshman, knocked her in with a single. Hoff pitched a good game. She gave up 7 runs, 5 earned, and had 9 strikeouts. The final score was 8-7.
The next game, played against Duluth East, was a shutout. The coach reported the top hitters as Kinley Nelson, Callie Ernest, and Lilly Ernest. Kinley Nelson was 3 for 4 with a double and scored 3 runs. Callie Ernest was 3 for 4 with a double, 2 RBIs, and scored 2 runs. Lilly Ernest was 2 for 4 with a double, 1 RBI, and 2 runs. The game ended with a 10-0 score.
“The youth have really surprised me with how they’ve brought some hitting to the line up early in the season that I didn’t think we’d have,” said Coach Guzzo. “I was hoping for a winning season at the beginning of the season and now I’m hoping we can compete in the sections. I think we’re right now probably a top 5 or 6 team in the section, so we’ll see how that shakes out the rest of the season.”
The team has a strong coaching staff with Coach Guzzo focusing on infield skills, Kelly Ollila (who is also the school’s athletic director) helping in the outfield, Mike Hoff coaching the pitchers, Hannah LeBlanc assisting the hitters, and Jeff Asmussen who fills in everywhere and anywhere. “It’s kind of key if you have a good staff and people who can work together,” said Coach Guzzo. “That’s why we have a winning program.”
In the 25 years Guzzo has been coaching, he has only seen one losing season of softball for the Mariners. “We generally put a pretty good team on the field,” he said. “We have a pretty high bar for this program.”
Reaching that high bar requires dedicated players, dedicated coaches, and a dedicated community. The Mariners are definitely 3 for 3 there and I have no doubt they are in for an impressive run this year. Good luck team!
