The Michigan City Wolves and the La Porte Slicers battled each other in the opening game of the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) competition on Wednesday afternoon. The rivalry has existed for many years and was tested once again. The crowd filed into their seats on a sunny day to witness the exciting hit fest hosted by the Slicers. The game started off close, but the Slicers opened up the lead and topped the Wolves 11-2 in five innings of play.
Ryan Sosinki, La Porte’s head coach, is proud of the way his team competed against a tough Michigan City Team.
“I thought we did pretty well. Offensively, once we got going, we looked really good out there,” Sosinski said. “MaCayla Boone performed very impressively on the mound, and that’s what it is going to take this year—the pitching has to be great, and she did an awesome job with that.”
The opening game of conference play shined bright for the Slicers and set the bar high for the season.
“Hopefully we can keep winning. We have high expectations for this team, and the girls definitely expect to be competing for championships this season,” Sosinski said.
The game was packed with hits as Megan Reed blasted two home runs, Emily Samuelson added three hits, and Shelby Linn contributed two hits.
The game brought out first-time viewers of the Slicers, but also long-time supporters such as Jack Bransford. Bransford has been attending Slicer athletic events for years to watch his grandchildren Andy, Emily, and Tommy compete. He was also the cross-country coach for the Slicers. His excitement showed when his grand-daughter, Emily Samuelson, outperformed for the Slicers.
“I just get great vibrations from being here, the opening game is always exciting, and Emily has three hits today!” Bransford said. “I think the Slicers are going to be competitive this year, and they will win a fair amount of games.”
Bransford has a few more years to watch his grandchildren dominate Slicer sports—his grandson Tommy will be a freshman next year.
“I’ve been a supporter of baseball, softball, cross country, and track, so here I am. I have one more grandson that will compete for the basketball and baseball teams, and once he is done playing, I think I will retire,” he joked.
The Wolves hope to bounce back from this loss competing against Lacrosse High School on Thursday March 28 at home. You can view their schedule at https://michigancityathletics.com/teams/2514493/girls/softball/varsity/schedule#.
The Slicers hope to win another conference game against Merrillville on April 2.View their schedule at https://goslicers.com/teams/2453143/girls/softball/varsity/schedule.