The 2023-2024 season proved challenging for the Henry Ford College Hawks softball team, but they fought to win their last two games, 28-2 and 5-2, against Oakland County Community College.

Its 4-17 record does not reflect the proud program Hawks softball is, which won a conference and state championship in 2021.

Coaching changes breed excitement but only come with growing pains. The current coaching staff boasts 45 years of combined playing and coaching experience.

First-year Head Coach, Steve Littleton, says, “This is not how I saw the season starting, but we have left a lot of runners on base.”

“We brought in a pitching coach to work with the pitchers weekly which has been very valuable, and the girls have seemed to flourish under her guidance,” Littleton says.

Coach Littleton’s philosophy boils down to three words: Focus, attitude and energy.

Only three of eight returning players from last year’s team saw regular playing time.

Isabella Lockistski features a .397 batting average, along with Kylee Douglas’s .394 batting average. Katelyn Postuma hit four home runs this season.

As a team, the Hawks have a .294 batting average. Pitcher Jessica Hoeszle strikes out 5.89 hitters every seven innings.

Freshman Kameryn Krzemen says, “Our coaching staff has truly helped with our growth and development, especially the science of hitting,” Krzemen continues, “We have three coaches, one of which is a former college softball player, and they all bring something different to our team.” She adds, “The older girls did a great job of welcoming the freshmen in; they were just as happy for us as they were for the players they’ve been playing with.”

Krzemen concludes, “As a team we have improved so much since the beginning of the season. One of the main places I can see a whole bunch of improvement is at the plate. Since the beginning we have focused on pitch selection and hitting the ball hard. Now that we are in season I can tell that the hard work is paying off. We are getting more and more solid hits every game. We work a lot on hitting at practice with various drills and I can tell that they are working. Individually, we are all working on different aspects of the game. Whether it be mental, fielding, or hitting. We are all working on our own parts of the game on top of working as a team which will help us bring everything together.”

Coach Littleton says, “My main goal for this program is communication, making sure the players don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the coaches if they have an issue on or off the field.” He adds, “We want them to be successful adults no matter where they go after Henry Ford.”

Students interested in trying out for the Henry Ford College Hawks Softball team should contact head coach Steven Littleton by email: sglittleton@hfcc.edu.