North Star girls slo-pitch team stays busy on the diamond

Star Wolves team.

North Star was back in action twice on Monday at Co-An Park in McGregor. They went up against Villanova and Sandwich, in make-up games against both as their earlier games were postponed due to wet conditions. In the first game, the Wolves lost against Villanova 13-9 before they defeated Sandwich 7-0 later in the day.

This past week saw the Wolves return to their home diamond but a bad start against the Cardinal Carter Cougars led to a 12-9 defeat last Tuesday afternoon. North Star led 8-3 early on and battled back but couldn’t quite catch up to their opposition.

By Ron Giofu

The North Star Wolves girls slo-pitch team are on the diamond after some early season rain-outs.

The Wolves’ 2023 season began on a rough note, as they were finally met with dry weather May 8 and were able to go up against the Kingsville Cavaliers. The Wolves were the home team in the game played at Co-An Park but came out on the short end of an 18-3 final score.

The Wolves quickly forgot about that game the next afternoon as they travelled to Lakeshore and handed the Belle River Nobles a 16-1 loss.

With their record squared at one win and one loss, the Wolves returned to familiar surroundings at Wigle Park, next to the former home of many of the students, General Amherst High School May 11. The Wolves knocked off the visiting Essex Red Raiders 14-1.

“It was a really nice win,” said Wolves’ player Hannah Rusenstrom. “Last year, we lost to (Essex) by just one run.”

Teammate Mya Foreman said they were able to redeem themselves against the Red Raiders.

Rusenstrom admitted the game against the Cavaliers was a rough one but they were able to put that one behind them.

“Everyone is hitting right now,” added Foreman. “The communication is great. We’re working well together and we’re rallying together.”

“Everyone is cheering for each other,” added Rusenstrom.

Both Rusenstrom and Foreman said they are hopeful to get another crack at Kingsville come playoff time. Rusenstrom said they learned from that game and want to get better going forward.

Foreman said the Wolves have a lot of new players on it as compared to last year’s General Amherst Lady Gens team. She said the ten of them are playing together but point out they have a short bench so it is important for all players to show up for games.

If the Wolves play well this season, Rusenstrom added she believes more girls will come out for the team. Rusenstrom and Foreman are two of the three senior players on this year’s North

“I think if we had got off to a better start today, we could have won,” said North Star’s Madison Drouillard. “It started rough.”

North Star was missing some players against the Cougars and had new players turn out so that they wouldn’t have to forfeit. Hannah Hurst said they were thankful for the new players that came out and believed they worked well as a team even though they came out on the short end of the final score.

The Wolves dropped a 13-6 final score last Thursday in Leamington to finish the regular season with three wins and four losses. They played their first playoff game Tuesday at Co-An Park in McGregor after this issue of the River Town Times went to press.