BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Hitters continued to show their skills on the diamond as they put away more teams last week and gave their head coach, Don Peters, his 900th win.
The Clarkston Softball Varsity team opened the week with two shutouts against Troy Athens on May 1.
“We were slow to start with the bats,” said Katie Smith, assistant coach. “We talked about what adjustments could be made to improve our approach to the types of pitches she was giving us. The girls did a great job in making those adjustments and really came alive ending with 20 hits in the two games. We made good defensive plays that kept Athens off the bases.”

The Wolves opened the night with a 3-0 win. Hannah Cady, Nyah Ansel and Anna Skvarce went 1-for-2. Ansel had a 2-run home run and Hanna Chadwell had one RBI.
Olivia Warrington struck out 11 of the 24 batters she faced as pitcher.
Clarkston walked away from the second game with a 11-0 win. Cady went 3-for-3 batting while Abbey Tolmie and Abbey Barta went 2-for-3. All three had one RBI each. Barta hit doubles off her two hits.
Mackenzie Ming had three RBIs during the game and Mary Gallagher had two RBIs off her single.
Warrington and Barta shared time on the mound.
The wins put Peters at 900 career wins.
“I have seen Don win a lot of games and learn from the ones he lost,” said Smith, who also played for him. “He is a inspiring coach who is focused on a high level of play and gives everything he has for the girls currently on the field and for the ones who have come and gone. His coaching philosophy has an emphasis on giving good players the opportunity to become even better people. He deserves every win he has, but he is sure to give the credit back to the girls who made it all possible. It was a privilege to play for him and I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to learn from him now. His hard work doesn’t go unnoticed and as a team we were so happy to be a part of such a special moment and time in his coaching career. I hope we can make it to 1,000 together.”
The Wolves won the Michigan Stars tournament in Grand Blanc on Saturday and Sunday. They opened with a 2-1 win over Marysville. They defeated Atherton, 8-0, Traverse City West, 4-1, Pinckney, 12-1, and Brighton, 9-1. They continued on with a 6-5 win over Walled Lake Northern before defeating Bay City Central, 9-4.
As the temperature began to dip for the championship, the Wolves continued to be on fire as they defeated Millington, 12-11.
“The girls have a lot of confidence in each other and in themselves,” Smith said. “The first thing they say when they don’t get a hit is ‘pick me up’ to the next batter, and they truly have confidence that she will do just that. We will be learning a lot this weekend so we intend on having a good week next week.”
The girls opened the week with a double header against Stoney Creek and host Troy on Thursday for another double header. They head to a tournament in Alpena this weekend.

  Clarkston Varsity Softball, Michigan Stars