TRAVERSE CITY, MI - The Alpena Softball team earned at least a share of their 9th straight Big North Conference Championship with a sweep of Traverse City Central on Tuesday.  In game one, Emma Fraser and Jade Schultz combined to throw a no-hitter in Alpena's 7-1 victory.  Schultz also knocked in two runs and Allie Funk plated four.

In game two, the Wildcats offense kept rolling in a 17-8 victory over the Trojans.  Fraser earned the win going four innings before being relieved by Lilly Lewis.  The Wildcats blew open a 2-2 tie by scoring nine runs in the third inning, which was highlighted by Sydney Chojnacki's Grand Slam.  

Alpena (17-7, 8-0 BNC) travel to Petoskey on May 21 with a chance to earn the outright championship with at least one win.  TC West, whom the Wildcats swept earlier in the month, sit in 2nd place a 6-2.  Alpena has won 17 of the 22 Big North Conference Titles since the league's inception in 1998.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Softball team went 1-3 over the weekend during their annual Huron Shores Invitational.  

Alpena opened the weekend with a 9-2 victory over Garden City on Friday night.  The Wildcats scored in all but one inning with Rachel McDonald's two-run blast in the 5th being the highlight.  Emma Fraser started the game going five innings and struck out three Cougars.

On Saturday, the Wildcats struggled going 0-3 against Grand Blanc (1-0), #1 Clarkston (6-1), and Garden City (8-7).  Alpena (15-7 overall, 6-0 BNC) travel to TC Central on Tuesday.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Softball team had to overcome two deficits to earn a sweep over BNC rival Traverse City West on Tuesday.  In game one, the Titans took an early 2-0 lead before Alpena rallied to earn the 6-4 victory.  A two-run Home Run by Brittany Steimel gave the Titans the early lead but the Wildcats quickly responded with a run in the bottom of the first and two in the 2nd to take a 3-2 lead.  The Wildcats tacked on three more in the third to push the lead to 6-2.  The Titans closed the gap in the fifth to make it a 6-4 game and then pushed the Wildcats to the brink by loading the bases with 1 out in the 7th.  Jade Schultz, who relieved started Emma Fraser, got Darcy Daenzer to hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end the game.  Fraser, who got the win in the circle, also had two hits, an RBI, and stole a base.

Emma Fraser continued her strong day with a walk-off base hit to complete the sweep in the 5-4 victory.  Alpena trailed 4-1 going into the bottom of the 6th inning when the rally started.  Megan Roznowski plated two runs with a bases-loaded hit to cut the lead to 4-3.  The Titans put the first two runners of the 7th on base forcing Coach Marwede to bring in Lilly Lewis to relieve Fraser.  Lewis got the job done retiring the next three batters to send the game to the bottom of the 7th with the Wildcats trailing by just 1 run.  Riley Alexander opened the inning with a base hit to put the tying runner on base.  Alison DeRocher, who came in the pinch run for Alexander, stole second and then came around to score on an Allie Funk double to tie the game.  Fraser then ended the game with a solid shot back through the box to score Funk.

Alpena (14-4, 6-0 BNC) also swept Boyne City on Wednesday.  The Wildcats will host Garden City on Friday and then their annual Huron Shores Invitational on Saturday.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Softball team picked up two more Big North Conference wins in a two-game sweep over Cadillac on Tuesday night.  In game one, the Wildcats scored eight runs in the second inning highlighted by a three-run home run by Megan Roznowski.  Alpena added three more to mercy Cadillac, 11-0, in five innings.  Emma Fraser earnd the win giving up one hit in five innings pitched.

In game two, the Wildcats found themselves down early before rallying for an 18-11 win.  Alpena scored 11 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to take an 18-10 lead after trailing most of the game.  The big blast in the came on a bases-clearing double to tie the game at 10-10.  Fraser added an RBI double, Riley Alexander and Allie DeRocher each had an RBI single, and every Alpena starter crossed home plate in the inning.

Alpena (9-5, 4-0 BNC) host TC West on May 7.

SAGINAW, MI - The Alpena Girls Softball team went 1-2 on the day at the Saginaw Heritage Tournament on Saturday.  Alpena started the day with a 25-6 win over host Saginaw Heritage before falling 7-6 the Freeland and 7-4 to North Branch.  The Wildcats (7-5, 2-0 BNC) host Cadillac on Tuesday in their home opener.

GAYLORD, MI - The Alpena Softball team got strong pitching performances from Emma Fraser and Jade Schultz in a convincing two-game sweep of Gaylord on Thursday afternoon.  Fraser threw a complete game shutout in game one with nine strikeouts.  The Wildcats blew the game open with a six-run second inning and added six more for the 12-1 win.  Fraser also had a big game at the plate with three hits and Jade Schultz contributed as well with a home run.

Game two was much of the same for Alpena as they scored three runs in the opening inning and four in the second inning in their 11-1 win.  Schultz and Nikita Cordes each went deep for the Wildcats who hit three home runs in the two-game series.  Schultz started the game in the circle going four innings and was relieved by Lilly Lewis.

Alpena (7-2, 2-0 BNC) travel to the Saginaw Heritage Tournament on Saturday.

CHEBOYGAN, MI - The Alpena softball team used strong hitting to sweep Cheboygan in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday night.  In game one, the Wildcats jumped on the Chiefs early and then held on for the 11-5 victory.  Alpena took the early 9-0 lead thanks to a Sydney Chojnacki two-run home run and multiple hits from Allie Funk, Abbie Funk, Jade Schultz, and Emma Fraser.  Schultz picked up the victory in the circle with seven strikeouts.  In game two, the Wildcats pounded out 21 hits in their 19-4 victory over Cheboygan.  The highlight of the game was a Megan Roznowski grand slam in the first inning that pushed the Wildcat lead to 9-0.  Abbie Funk chipped in with four hits while Allie Funk and Jade Schultz each had three hits.  Emma Fraser and Lilly Lewis combined in the circle to pick up the win.  Alpena (5-2) open BNC play on Tuesday at Gaylord.

MIDLAND, MI - The Alpena Girls Softball team went on the road and swept the Midland Chemics in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday.  In game one, the Wildcats got a three-run home run from Jade Schultz in the third inning to help Alpena to the 4-1 win.  Schultz also earned the wing in the circle going the complete game with four strikeouts.  Abbie Funk went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and Sydney Chojnacki was 2-for-4.  In game two, the Wildcats offense exploded for the 10-win behind a five-run second inning.  Schultz added to her big day with a two-run home run and Nikita Cordes went 2-for-3.  Emma Fraser earned the win in the circle.  Alpena (4-3) travel to Cheboygan on Thursday. 

SAGINAW, MI - The Alpena Softball team opened up the 2019 season on the road at Swan Valley on Saturday morning.  In the opener, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind RBI hits from Riley Alexander and Abbie Funk.  The Vikings would respond however by scoring five runs in the final four innings to take a 5-3 win.  In the nightcap, the Wildcats took advantage of three walks in the 8th inning to score a 7-6 extra innings victory.  Dayna LaBell, Sydney Chojnacki, and Aubree Sheldon all had RBI hits in the victory. The Vikings used hot bats in the third game to come away with a 16-8 victory over the Wildcats. Alpena (1-2) will travel to Midland on Saturday.