Feb. 10, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College baseball and softball teams are preparing to start their seasons heading south to Florida to face tough competition.
The softball team is rebuilding after taking a year off. Coaches Chuck White and Steve Roersma have assembled what they believe is a strong team and are excited about the season ahead.
"I have a great group of student-athletes," White said. "The team chemistry is top shelf and we're expecting to be very competitive after having no season last year."
Just two of the team’s 14 players are sophomores. Jaye Guichelaar transferred from Grand Valley State University and Annika Roersma transferred from Muskegon Community College and is the daughter of Roersma, the assistant coach. Both players are graduates of West Catholic High School.
Guichelaar made 22 appearances in 2022 for Grand Valley, primarily as a pinch runner. She scored eight runs and had one RBI and a stolen base. The speedy outfielder should see a lot of time as GRCC’s leadoff hitter.
Roersma played two years at Muskegon, where she batted .455 with eight home runs, 39 RBI and 32 stolen bases in her first year, and batted .389 in 43 games with three home runs, 34 RBI and 22 stolen bases last season. She is also an outfielder.
Starting on the mound this year will be Izzy Regner, a 2020 graduate of Elkhorn Area High School in Wisconsin. Regner had a great fall season. She struck out 17 batters in the team’s scrimmage against Schoolcraft College this month, helping the team to a 16-3 victory.
The rest of the Raiders’ battery includes Macy Huver, a pitcher from Lowell High School; Samara Kolehouse, a catcher from Kent City High School; and Carly Sluiter, a catcher from Wyoming High School.
Joining Guichelaar and Roersma in the outfield are Alyssa Wierenga, who also plays on the volleyball team, Vanessa Hewitt of Byron Center and Makayla Noon of Ionia.
The infield includes Britney Cisler, a first baseman from Jenison High School; middle infielder Madison Lemke of Williamston; Lauren James, a first baseman/third baseman of Byron Center; Autumn Scott, a middle infielder from North Pointe Christian High School; Brynn McArthur, a middle infielder from Lake Isabella; and Huver who also plays the corners when not pitching.
The softball team will participate in the NTC Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. It has 12 games scheduled, with the first two games on March 5 against Hocking College and West Virginia Wesleyan College.
The baseball team looks to build on a successful 2022 season, where it 31-22-1 and was 20-8 in conference play.
Mike Eddington, now in his fifth season as head baseball coach, will try to guide the team back to regionals after a strong third place finish last season.
“I can tell you all of our players and coaches are very excited to be playing some of the top D1 community colleges in the country on our spring trip,” Eddington said. “We hope our players come together as a team on our trip. It's not easy playing five consecutive doubleheaders and I hope our players embrace the challenge. Our goal is to get better every day and help our players to reach their potential.”
Eddington’s team has 33 players on the roster, with 19 players returning including an All-American and three other All-Conference performers.
GRCC's ace, Jared Berkenpas was named a Third Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association after a superb season that included a 9-2 record, 1.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 71 strikeouts, .223 opponents' batting average and had four complete games, including one shutout.
Starting catcher Dylan Chargo was named Second Team All-Conference after batting .337 in the cleanup spot, totaling 56 hits, four home runs and 43 RBI. He was third on the team in slugging percentage, .482, and on base percentage, .429. He was also named to the six-player Western Conference All-Freshman team.
Jacob Gumieny and Xander Reisbig also return after being named All-Conference honorable mentions.
Gumieny, the Raiders’ everyday leadoff hitter, was fourth on the team, batting .316, totaling 56 hits and 20 RBI. He led the team in triples with six and stolen bases with 11.
Reisbig was second, batting .347, totaling 51 hits, 18 for extra bases, and 29 RBI. He also had 11 stolen bases on the season and was second on the team with a .524 slugging percentage. He was the steadiest defender, with just one error.
Key departures from last year's team include four All-Conference performers.
Ryan Dykstra will play for Oakland University after being named All-Region and leading the team with a .422 batting average, 73 hits, seven home runs, 45 RBI, and .671 slugging performance. He spent the summer playing with the Kalamazoo Growlers, winning the Northwoods League championship.
Gold glove shortstop Caleb Engelsman batted .309 and had 15 extra base hits while picking up five wins on the mound. Pitchers Eliott Traver and Drew Murphy also will be missed. Traver was the teams closer finishing with 11 saves and Murphy was the teams number two pitcher in the rotation finishing with a solid 2.65 ERA.
GRCC is scheduled to play 10 games down south during their spring training, beginning with Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. on March 4.
For live scoring of all the games this season for both teams, download the Gamechanger ap and search GRCC Raiders and become a fan of the team to be able to get updates.
This story was reported by Ben Brown. Photo by Morgan Brown.