Satbir Singh
Sports Information Coordinator 

The 2021/22 OCAA softball season may not have gone as planned for the Mountaineers as they missed the playoffs by one win. However, despite the 2-16 record the closeness of the team and their growth on the field was a major success point.

"They're a completely different team from the start of the season to now; every single player," said head coach Erin Forman.

Mohawk only played two of their 18 games on their home diamond at Mohawk Sports Parks after numerous days of inclement weather resulted in multiple postponements. Of the six scheduled home games, four were played at an opponents field.

The Mountaineers also came into the season as the youngest team in the OCAA with a roster filled with all first-year athletes, so the expectations were to build a strong team bond.

"We said from the beginning that the wins and losses didn't really matter as long as we came together, and if there was an award for the team that's the closest, we'd win it," said Forman.

Mohawk finished the season scoring 46 total runs, which ranked last in the OCAA, but as a team they had a .256 batting average, .302 on-base percentage and they showed speed on the bases with 21 steals.

The pitching staff successfully struck out 55 batters on the year despite giving up 167 earned runs.

Michaela Walker led the pitching staff from behind the plate and was a major contributor offensively as well. The Dundas, ON native received OCAA Athlete of the Week honours during the season and finished the year batting .367 with 18 hits, three doubles, five runs batted in and six runs.

Kerri Smith was also a bright spot for Mohawk batting .277 with 13 hits, four RBIs and five runs. Smith also led the pitching staff with 25 strikeouts.

Emma Harker was the team leader in doubles with six and finished first with nine runs scored, while Hope General led the way with six RBIs.

Both Walker and Smith are expected to be back next season, along with a majority of the starting infield. Forman hopes to convince a few other members of the team to return as well.

"Obviously, we have some big spots to fill," the coach explained.

The season could have been better record wise for the Mountaineers, but the building process has the program on the right track.

"We think if we can keep bringing in some talent and more strength, we'll only get better from here," said Forman.

The young team will head into the offseason continuing to build on their on-field skills in hopes of a playoff berth next year.