By John Raffel
They’re three of the top softball pitchers in the area, and they’ll all be on the rosters of NCAA Division II teams in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next season.
Sarah Appold of Valley Lutheran and Sam Willman of Breckenridge will be going to Saginaw Valley State University. Mackenzie Boehler of Swan Valley is going to Wayne State University. But all three are having seasons so outstanding that their respective teams could enjoy a lengthy postseason.
SARAH APPOLD
Sarah Appold has kept getting better and better in the pitching circle for Valley Lutheran. As a freshman, she was 12-5 with an ERA of 1.52. The following spring, she was 19-3 with an ERA of 0.557. As a junior, she was 13-2 with an ERA of 0.885.
By mid-May, Appold was at 15-3 with an ERA of 0.436.
“The losses she has [this year] are to ranked teams, Swan Valley and Breckenridge,” said Valley Lutheran coach John Mueller. “She just keeps getting stronger. This is probably so far her best year.”
Appold’s location has made her a stronger pitcher, Mueller noted.
“She has a variety of pitches that she can throw for strikes,” he said.
Appold is batting .444 with 12 doubles, a triple, and three home runs.
“She’s having a pretty good season at the plate,” Mueller said.
“I can make contact when I have to,” Appold said.
She recalls playing T-ball and asking her dad to help her pitch.
“I’ve gotten better at throwing more pitches,” she said.
Appold has been encouraged by her team’s progress late in the season.
“We’re coming together at the right time,” she said. “If we play to the best of our abilities, we can go [far in the post season.]”
Appold is excited about a future playing softball at Saginaw Valley State.
“I looked at other schools and Saginaw Valley stood out,” she said.
MACKENZIE BOEHLER
Thomas Kennelly is coaching a Swan Valley team that continues to reap the benefits of Mackenzie Boehler’s presence in the pitching circle.
Boehler started out the season with a 15-1 record. In her first 104 innings, she had 210 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.26. She allowed only four earned runs and 11 total runs in that time frame.
“She’s been my primary pitcher four years,” Kennelly said. “The last two have been with her and a sophomore I had. We split a lot of their games.”
The other pitcher is Courtney Reinhold, who last season was 18-0, and who started this spring 12-1.
Boehler was 23-3 last season, but Kennelly has seen significant improvement in her for this season. “I would say she’s about 25 to 30 percent better than last year,” Kennelly said. “Among other things, she has tremendous movement on the ball. She probably doesn’t throw as hard as some kids. She has tremendous movement. She’s a very smart pitcher. I’ve been coaching 33 years and have had five D1s, and she calls her own game. I don’t even bother. She’s pretty smart. She’s also valedictorian.”
Boehler agrees that this has been her best season.
“I’ve been working a lot over the winter,” she said. “Everything has been finally clicking. That’s really helped a lot. We have a really good team.”
When she’s not pitching, Boehler plays first base.
Kennelly figures Boehler’s best pitch is her low rise ball. “Her curve is pretty good,” he said. “She doesn’t throw it in the white very often, usually in the black.”
Boehler was batting .425 with six home runs as of late May.
“It’s hard to go from pitching to hitting because you have to change your mindset,” Boehler said. “When I’m not pitching, I hit well, I hit my best.”
Boehler was in the fourth grade when she started pitching.
“My dad helped me all along,” she said. “I pitched to my dad countless nights in the barn. He helped me through the way.”
Late last year, Boehler decided to play at Wayne State University, which offered the academic program she wanted, criminal justice.
“They have a good softball program and good coaches there,” she said. “That’s what made me choose them. They had a pitcher this year that graduated. There’s me and another girl coming in. But [the coach] said ‘if you’re the best pitcher you’re going to pitch.’”
Boehler would like to see her team in the state championship game.
“Our whole team is ready,” she said. “We are prepared, working hard. It’s a good team behind me.”
SAM WILLMAN
A 10-0 victory for Breckenridge’s Sam Willman over Carrollton in early May was very special for two reasons. She pitched a perfect game and struck out all 18 batters she faced, tying a MHSAA record for the most strikeouts in a single six-inning game. She was the first pitcher to do it since 2006.
Willman is in her fourth season with a 14-5 record.
“I believe it’s her best year,” said Breckenridge coach Mark Gulliver. “I can remember the day she picked it up at a tournament in St. Louis. From that point on, she’s been really strong on the mound. She likes the challenge of facing the batter. She has a great personality for being a pitcher.”
Willman pitched last season along with Breu Olling, whok now plays for Alma College.
Willman has also been hitting well.
“She has above average speed and is fast,” Guliver said. “I have her batting No. 2. I tell Sam just put the ball in play and she makes things happen. Her hitting seems to be coming around. She sticks with things and works hard to get better. I’m seeing a lot of improvement.
“She’s been a great leader. If someone makes a mistake, Sam is the first one to pick her up.”
Willman likes how her season has been going.
“I feel I’ve done pretty well this year,” she said. “I feel pretty strong. I think my confidence level is…I’m pretty confident this year.”
Willman indicated she has better control this season.
“I’ve had few walks this year,” she said. “I think my control is better.”
Willman said her hitting is better than it was last season.
“I think I’m hitting more consistent than last year but still not as well as I want to be,” she said. “I would like to be a .300 hitter.”
The team “has been doing pretty well,” Willman said. “Last year’s team was probably one of the strongest I’ve been on. We had a lot of experience and a lot of seniors. This year we have a lot of younger girls, but they’re really stepping up. They know they’ve had to fill those shoes.”
Willman had previously attended camps at Saginaw Valley State University and decided last season that she would be a Cardinal on the collegiate level.
“They’re trying to go local and get a lot of Michigan girls,” she said. “That sounds cool. I like the girls on the team that were there,”