Marine City softball eager to see where its hard-working 'mindset' leads

At the moment, it's much easier to predict the weather than the prognosis for the Marine City softball team. This is April, after all.

"It's early, so it's hard to say what's going to happen," Marine City coach Courtney LaBuhn said. "But we're still moving quite a few people around and trying to find our No. 1s in quite a few spots … obviously, we're young. It's hard to really see where we're headed. But I'm excited about it."

Despite having 11 players, the Mariners (1-2) only feature one senior. Nine of the girls are juniors, some of which were on junior varsity last year. A single sophomore rounds out the roster.

"Getting more experience at the plate will help us pick it up with the bats," junior third baseman Josalyn Dietlin said. "I think we started a little slow, but you've got to knock the rust off before you're going to get those big hits."

Dietlin is one of the main impact players returning from 2022.

"She's very versatile," LaBuhn said. "She can play third (base), shortstop or first (base). She pitches ... we went into the season thinking she'd be our No. 1 (starter). But she really weakens our defense when we put her on the mound, because she's valuable on the field."

Added LaBuhn: "She's got a good bat and is the hardest working kid on the team. She's a good leader … vocal, but not bossy."

One of example of that leadership is Dietlin's willingness to do what's best for the team.

"I really enjoy pitching," Dietlin said. "That's my favorite part of the game, but I think playing the field is also fun — playing third base and shortstop is still enjoyable. And it's enjoyable to see my (fellow) pitchers succeed."

On Tuesday, she witnessed another junior, Megan Smith, throw a no-hitter in the Mariners' 11-1 win over Port Huron in five innings.

"It feels really good," Smith said after Tuesday's game. "It's a good accomplishment. That's not an easy thing to do."

"(We saw) just what we were hoping for," LaBuhn said of Smith's performance. "She's been working real hard and gets a lot of games in during the offseason. Her confidence is coming along … it was a great win for her."

Smith wasn't aware of the no-hitter until her teammates mentioned it after the final out. The junior has trained herself to focus on just one thing while on the mound — throwing strikes.

"I really think working on the mental game (has helped me grow the most)," Smith said. "When I was younger, I used to get really down on myself when I wouldn't throw a strike or if I walked somebody. But I've really worked on staying with one pitch at a time and learning how to move on from what's happened in the past."

"She's definitely earning her place on the field," LaBuhn said. "She's swinging the ball well and is hitting her spots on the mound. We're looking for good things from her this year. I'm excited about her."

Some of the other juniors include familiar names like center fielder Jade Blanchard, right fielder Paige Nelson and shortstop Mia Simons. They're the veterans in the clubhouse now, even with two full seasons ahead of them.

"We've got a hard-working group," LaBuhn said. "And as long as they continue with that mindset — that they want to get better, they want to learn and they want to adjust — then they'll be OK."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.