Coldwater softball celebrates 2023 season, Scheid voted team MVP
COLDWATER, MI. - The Coldwater Lady Cardinal varsity softball team celebrated their 2023 season Sunday night with their annual awards banquet held at the Lakeland Elementary School cafeteria.
Coldwater finished the season with a record of 32-9 overall, which also included a 13-1 record in the Interstate 8, leading to the program's first conference title in seven seasons.
Awards were handed out based on stats from throughout the season to go along with awards as voted on by the team itself.
The 2023 version of Cardinal softball came together and voted junior pitcher/infielder Mackenzie Scheid as this season’s Most Valuable Player. Scheid finished the season batting .421 at the plate with 48 hits in 114 at-bats, while recording 24 singles, 12 doubles, five triples and a tie for second place on the team with seven home runs. Scheid also added 38 RBIs and 43 runs scored. On the mound Scheid finished with a record of 13-3 overall with an ERA of 1.764 with 94 strikeouts and only eight walks in 83.1 innings pitched.
Two rookies came away with a pair of big awards as freshman Rylie VanAken and Danika Cox were both honored with some hardware. VanAken was awarded the Silver Slugger Award for leading the team with a batting average of .457, recording 43 hits in 94 at-bats with 20 singles, 13 doubles, three triples and a tie for second place on the team with seven home runs. VanAken drove in 30 RBIs while also scoring 43 runs in 32 games played. Cox was honored by her teammates with the Most Improved Player Award. Cox spent time at both the varsity and junior varsity levels but by seasons end made a huge impact as a key part of the varsity lineup. Cox manned right field and spent time at pitcher for some of the season while batting .394 at the plate, recording 37 hits in 94 at-bats with 24 singles, 11 doubles and two home runs to go with 21 RBIs and 24 runs scored in her freshman season.
Senior center fielder Brooklyn Kerry was honored with the team award for Defensive Specialist owing to her tremendous range in center field for the Cardinals. Kerry had 54 put outs and three assists in 58 chances in the outfield with only one error as the senior covered a lot of ground in the outfield this season. If a ball was hit near centerfield, chances are Kerry would get to it.
Finally, the Most Dedicated Player Award was given to two players as the duo of Rylee Rice and Morgan Dancer shared the honor.
A total of seven of the starting nine Cardinals were honored with Interstate 8 All Conference honors, with Mackenzie Scheid, Alexis Bills, Rylie VanAken, Brooklyn Kerry, and Karlie Knisely earning First Team honors while Rylee Rice and Danika Cox were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Four Cardinals were honored for their work on the diamond by the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association (MHSSCA) with All-District honors as Rylie VanAken (shortstop), Mackenzie Scheid (infield), Brooklyn Kerry (outfield) and Alexis Bills (pitcher) were recognized.
For as good as the team is on the field of play, they are just as successful in the classroom as the Cardinals this season earned MHSSCA Academic All-State honors for the twenty-third straight season. Individually the MHSSCA honored senior Rylee Rice with Individual Academic All-State honors.
Coldwater will say goodbye to four seniors, all of whom played a key part in the season's success. Coincidentally all four are far from done with their softball careers as all four have signed to played collegiate softball. Moving on to the next level will be the duo of Alexis Bills and Karlie Knisley who have signed with Kellogg Community College, Rylee Rice who will play at Hope College, and Brooklyn Kerry who will play at Alma College.
Congratulations to the 2023 version of the Coldwater Lady Cardinal softball team on a tremendous season on the diamond.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater softball celebrates 2023 season, Scheid voted team MVP
