ESCANABA, MI – Head Softball Coach Heidi Charon has announced that the Norse Softball Team has signed seven student-athletes for the 2021-2022 season.
The following players have signed their National Letter of Intent to play softball for the Norse and continue their education at Bay College:
Cristal Baker
High School :Davenport North High School
Hometown: Davenport, IA
Position: Pitcher
Scouting Report: Cristal is a right-handed pitcher that finished her last season with a 2.20 ERA. "Cristal is a pitcher with a ton of strength, maturity, and natural talent. She has the control and movement needed to keep hitters off-balance. I can't wait to see what she does next year." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
Natalie Belanger
High School: Rapid River High School
Hometown: Rapid River, MI
Position: Pitcher
Scouting Report: Natalie is a right-handed pitcher with a high school ERA of 2.30 and amassed over 500 strikeouts. She also hit for a .460 batting average. "Natalie is a strong all-around athlete who I expect to be one of our hardest throwers next year. Natalie was just starting out as a freshman when I first began recruiting for Bay four years ago, and it has been really exciting to see her grow as a player since then. Her composure and confidence on the mound is impressive and will serve her well at the college-level." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
McKenna Bullen
High School: Escanaba High School
Hometown: Escanaba, MI
Position: Outfield
Scouting Report: "When local standouts like McKenna show interest in coming to Bay, I know we're doing something right. We expect McKenna to be a leader in the outfield next year. Her maturity and game smarts are impressive. McKenna has a lot of experience playing in high stakes games and that will bring huge value to the team next year." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
Lexi Kacalo
High School: Marinette High School
Hometown: Marinette, WI
Position: Middle infield and outfield
Scouting Report: Lexi hit for a .370 average and boasted a .451 on base percentage all while stealing 28 bases. "Lexi brings a great attitude and work ethic. Her best attribute is her versatility on the field. Her physical strength "pops" at the plate with her ability to drive the ball. Lexi has a very solid fundamental base which I'm excited to build off of." – Assistant Coach Ross Rahoi
Jamison Ness
High School: St. Francis Xavier High School
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Position: Pitcher
Scouting Report: A left-handed pitcher, Jameson boasted a 2.20 ERA and uses an arsenal of five movement pitches. "Jamison is a motivated and energetic student-athlete who I know will make big contributions as a lefty with a lot of control of several movement pitches. We're excited to bring in two recruits with this group from Alberta and are hoping to get a few more international athletes to commit soon." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
Allie Radcliffe
High School: Westwood High School
Hometown: Republic, MI
Position: Pitcher
Scouting Report: Allie is a right-handed pitcher. "Allie is a strong all-around athlete that we met at our Prospect Camp last year. She's extremely focused, and I can already tell that she's a work horse who's willing to do whatever she can to grow and make her team better. She'll bring us important depth on the mound." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
Avery Sorochan
High School: Two Hills School
Hometown: Two Hills, Alberta, Canada
Position: Middle infield
Scouting Report: "Avery checks a lot of our recruiting wish list boxes—speed, lefty hitter with power, and can cover a ton of ground in the middle infield. She's a high-level recruit for us and we couldn't be happier to have her on the roster for next year." – Head Coach Heidi Charon
"Now that we're going into our fourth year as a program, we are drawing a lot more interest from players outside the UP, which is helping us build depth in all areas, especially pitching," said Charon. "The one benefit to the shutdown this past March was that it allowed us to put more time and energy into recruiting than we otherwise are able to. This first group of early commits is just the beginning of next year's roster. We can't wait to get them on campus next fall."