Sportsbeat, by Peter Jakey: Ciarkowski girls eclipse 100-win plateau
There have been some outstanding softball athletes to don the red and white uniforms of the Posen Vikings during the last six to seven years. The list includes several all-state athletes at several different positions. Among the many contributors to the program have been the Ciarkowski girls. First there was Marlene, who was part of a Viking team that helped put the program on the softball map in northern Michigan. She led Posen to its first-ever regional title game appearance. Her efforts on the mound earned her an all-state honorable mention.
Next through the program was Shannon. She played on the first, and only, regional title championship club, and was part of a group of players who got within one win of playing at Bailey Park in Battle Creek. She ended up being an all-state infielder. And just last month, the career of Jenny Ciarkowski came to a close. What were her accomplishments? She moved into second place on the school career win list with 44, after a record setting 25 wins in 2007. The winningest pitcher in school history is Michelle Bednarski with 48. Jenny helped Posen make it to a regional title game in ?06 and the district championship contest in ?07. Combined, the Ciarkowskis have 101 career victories. That includes sophomore Janice Ciarkowski, the youngest of the group. She has one career victory.
Head coach Glenn Budnick, who had just surpassed the 200-win milestone in the playoffs, has 201 wins. Budnick said the girls come from a ?good family.? They are ?good workers,? who have worked hard. The girls strived for perfection during their careers, and that could not have been more evident than during the recently completed season. Jenny pitched 14 innings of the Rogers City Tournament, in pacing the Vikings to a first place trophy, and Budnick told her to ice her arm with an important league opener in two days.
The coach said he had to go by the school to pick something up and found Jenny firing pitches to her dad, preparing herself for the next day. That?s a testament to their parents Dave and Grace Ciarkowski, said Budnick.
?They were never concerned about their own statistics,? said Budnick. They were more concerned about Posen winning than personal accolades. Janice Ciarkowski is the youngest of the group and will be a sophomore t
?They are a pitching family,? said Budnick.
*** *** *** The Tigers were well represented at the all star game in San Francisco Tuesday, as the American League won a 10th straight game against the National League, but none of the five players played a significant role in the contest. Pudge Rodriguez, Placido Polanco, and Magglio Ordonez started for the AL, while Carlos Guillen and Justin Verlander saw action later in the game.
Pudge looked to have an RBI single in the fourth, but AL home run leader, Alex Rodriguez, was easily gunned out at the plate. Verlander gave up the NL?s second run after the AL had taken the lead for good. Jim Leyland, as he has for the last two years in the Tiger dugout, made all the right moves. The ninth inning was a bit nerve wracking with Seattle?s top closer J.J. Putz on the mound. The NL picked up two runs in the bottom of the ninth and loaded the bases before a sacrifice fly ended the game. Leyland must have thought that he was at home with his relief corp.