Low Numbers Lead Softball Foursome to Bolster Bellaire Baseball

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

April 22, 2022

Things were pretty straight forward last spring for Bella Huffman, Karysn Fischer, Alex Dawson and Brooklynn Clark.

Huffman played third base the Bellaire Eagles. Fisher was a designated hitter and outfielder. Dawson regularly played outfield and catcher, and Clark handled second base.

Huffman is senior now. Fisher is a junior. Dawson and Clark are sophomores.  They were playing for the Eagles softball team. Today, they are members of the Eagles baseball team. Small numbers forced the cancellation of girls softball for this spring. 

Hesitant, maybe at first, the four student-athletes made the leap to baseball.

“This is a slightly unique situation, and I am very proud of the girls for stepping out of their comfort zone to help the baseball team,” said Brad Fischer, Bellaire’s athletic director.  “Unfortunately, the numbers were just not there to support a softball team.

“When we had to make the tough call to cancel our softball season, we told the girls that they are more than welcome to join the baseball team – and we are happy that a few chose to do so.”

The girls played their first game Thursday at Pellston for first-year coach Chris Bearup after a handful of games were lost to spring weather complications. All four got playing time.

The girls, and athletic director, credited the coaches for the smooth transition to the baseball field.

“Coach Bearup has done a great job of getting the girls comfortable and making sure they know they are part of the team and have every opportunity that the boys do,” said Fischer, also Karsyn’s father. “His leadership has been tremendous. 

“We are fortunate to have him.”

The girls started to become very comfortable with baseball during a meeting after the first practice with Bearup and assistant coach Al Balko.

Bellaire baseball“They were worried about the boys picking on us and treating us like … we weren’t going to be as good as them,” recalled Clark of the post-practice meeting. “Now they’re being more incorporative.

“They are really trying to make us feel we’re at home, and that we’re welcome,” she continued.  “They’re giving us a chance to try everything.”

Huffman has dabbled with pitching, and that may work out. It may be a battery with Dawson in the catching position.

“We all got to practice (pitching),” Karysn said. “Alex was in her catching gear, and we pitched.

“Bella was pretty good at it naturally.”

The girls were confident going into Thursday’s season opener. Their eyes are now opened wider as a result, and they are better prepared to compete as they head to Central Lake on Monday. Huffman, Dawson and Clark all got their first at bats out of the way.

“It was a little nerve racking,” Huffman said.

Dawson was in the starting line-up for the first game. She experienced running the 90-foot bases, after being used to the 60-foot base distances in softball.

“You run your little heart out,” she said. “I didn’t make it there, but I ran."

Bellaire baseballBellaire lost 9-1 and 11-0 to Pellston, which had already played two games this year.

The girls are coming into baseball with slightly different expectations for themselves as individual players. All plan to try working harder than the boys.

“I went into this season with high expectations for myself because I knew as a girl on the baseball team I had to work harder than any of the boys to try to prove how good I am or how good I am possibly going to be,” Clark noted. “I think speaking for all the girls, we do.”

Numbers also are low for the baseball team. There are 14 on the roster. The tough result of no softball may have saved the baseball season.

And the senior boys are down to their last swing for a District championship. The boys in the Class of 2022 have yet to win a District in any sport. Cole Robinson is among the seniors seeking that first title.

Robinson had his sophomore baseball season cancelled by the pandemic. His football teams saw limited success. The Eagles boys basketball team made substantial improvements especially this past season, but lost its District opener. 

Robinson has carried on since losing his father and coach Brock Robinson in April 2020. His dad served as the assistant baseball coach and head football coach for the Eagles before his unexpected death at the age of 54.

The girls would have been cheering for him to get his first District title. But now they plan to help him win one with their play on the diamond.

“We love Cole,” together they exclaimed.

Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) A foursome of past Bellaire softball players, from left Alex Dawson, Bella Huffman, Karsyn Fischer and Brooklynn Clark, take a photo during their baseball debuts this week. (Middle) Brooklynn Clark stands in at the plate against Pellston. (Below) Karysn Fischer plays right field for the Eagles. (Top photo by Julie Clark, action photos by Kendall Fischer.) 

Britton Deerfield, Whiteford Administrators Provide Diamond Leadership As Well

By Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com

April 15, 2025

Victoria Fraley has two new softball coaches this spring.

Southeast & BorderIt’s nothing new to the Britton Deerfield senior. Every year of her high school career, a new coach has welcomed the team come springtime.

But this year’s coaching duo – while two people she’s become very familiar with at the Class D high school of 140 students in Lenawee County – is a bit different.

It’s her superintendent, Stacy Johnson, and high school principal, Jeff Scott.

“I was so excited when I found out,” said Fraley, a pitcher for the Patriots. “I knew they had coached previously, and Mr. Scott has coached so many sports before. I was excited for the change because I knew they would hold us to higher standards than other coaches in the past.”

Fraley said the difference became noticeable the first practice of the spring.

“In years past, some people have been okay with losing,” she said. “Now, people are being held accountable.”

Johnson and Scott decided to co-coach this season after a lack of candidates surfaced to replace last year’s coach.

Britton Deerfield athletic director Erik Johnson is the husband of the superintendent and co-softball coach, and he’s already signed on to coach golf this spring. Superintendent Johnson said Erik started hinting about her coaching months ago.

“He plants a seed, right? He kept building upon that,” she said. “He’d say ‘There are no candidates.’”

Finally, Johnson and Scott – who have coached together previously – decided on coaching together again.

“We’re never going to let our kids go without,” Stacy Johnson said. “We’ll never let them go without the same opportunities that some kids in other districts have, so we just step up. That’s what we do.”

Both are at every practice and bring different perspectives.

Scott was the softball coach for BD several years ago. He’s also coached girls basketball and football – with Erik Johnson, also currently the varsity football coach.

“When I left the program, it was in pretty good shape,” Scott said. “The secret to softball is to have a program that develops a pitcher. Pitching comes with a lot of time and dedication and commitment. You can teach the hitting and fielding; you can practice that and get better.

“When I first took over back in the day, there were probably five girls who were travel ball players. With that comes experience – girls play all summer. They get a lot of work in. I don’t think there is anyone in our program now who has played a game of travel ball. Teams who have two, three, four travel ball players will have an advantage on us.”

Scott said the 11 girls on BD’s varsity softball roster are green, but willing to learn.

Johnson points something out to senior Victoria Fraley. “I have some girls who are learning to run bases and some girls who are learning the rules – how to tag up and things,” he said. “I had to back up a little bit, slow down a little. I am going to teach them college-level skills. We do have some young ladies who are willing and dedicated to learn.”

Johnson grew up in Monroe, where she played high school softball for one of the winningest coaches in state history in Vince Rossi.

“They don’t come any better than Coach Rossi,” she said. “I learned from him. I love this. I like being out here. I feel like I still have some knowledge to pass along to the girls.”

BD opened its season last week, being swept by Sand Creek in the Tri-County Conference opener for both schools. The Aggies scored most of their runs without hitting a ball out of the infield, taking advantage of walks and a couple of misplays. Scott, however, was encouraged by the determination he saw in the BD girls.

“We’re going to have bumps and bruises, but I can’t wait to see where we are going from the first game to the last game,” he said. “This is fun. I have 11 players, 22 sets of eyes looking at me every time.”

Another Tri-County Conference school, Ottawa Lake Whiteford, had a similar situation this spring when a lack of candidates for the junior varsity baseball coaching job led to Scott Huard, the superintendent in that district, putting his name into the running. He was hired.

“When I made the decision 18 years ago to move from the classroom to school administration, I also gave up coaching understanding that being a school administrator is demanding of your time,” Huard said. “As a school administrator, you have a greater reach and influence on the number of students, staff, and the families you serve. However, with this greater responsibility, you often lose out on creating those close relationships with your students or athletes as a teacher or coach might do from being with them daily.”

Huard’s return to the diamond has been welcomed.

“What I have found this spring in coaching is that my passion for coaching and teaching baseball has returned after being idle for many years,” he said. “It has also afforded me the opportunity to really get to know 15 of our students in a much different way than being a superintendent.”

Johnson and Huard said getting away from the day-to-day pressures of being a superintendent has been a bonus.

“I love the kids,” Johnson said. “So much of my job is about the district. It relates to kids, but it’s not necessarily dealing with them 1-on-1. This gives me that opportunity. For a couple of hours every day I can catch my breath a little bit and be out here with the girls.”

Huard echoed those sentiments.

“It has been nice to slip away for a couple of hours to practice with the boys, which allows me to rejuvenate my energy, which I believe has made me a better superintendent and avoiding potential burnout,” he said.

As a player, Fraley loves having the school administrators at the softball field.

“They will treat you the same no matter what,” she said. “They are both so encouraging – on the field and in the school. Because we are now their athletes and students, I think they hold us to a higher standard. You can really see the shift. It’s a different atmosphere out here.”

Huard, who coached in Bryan, Ohio, before becoming an administrator, isn’t sure if he will continue coaching in the future, but is having fun with it this spring. Being superintendent of the district is his No. 1 priority.

“I don't feel that the boys treat me any differently since I am the superintendent and their coach,” he said. “(And) I am treating them like any other baseball team that I have coached at the high school level. I am attempting to prepare these boys for future success at the varsity level by ensuring they are fundamentally sound in all aspects of baseball as well as understanding game situations.”

Doug DonnellyDoug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Britton Deerfield varsity softball coaches Stacy Johnson, far right, and Jeff Scott announce their starting lineup to their players before a recent game. (Middle) Johnson points something out to senior Victoria Fraley. (Photos by Doug Donnelly.)