Moving up to Division 3 isn’t the only challenge the Plymouth Christian Academy softball team faces this spring.
The Eagles won 29 games in 2025, captured their third straight Michigan Independent Athletic Conference title and earned only their second regional title in program history. But they graduated six starters, including sisters Chloe and Sophia Paryaski, the catcher-pitcher duo now at Alma College and the only two Eagles to ever earn first-team all-state honors.
They also have just 12 players, including five freshmen. With a tough schedule featuring D-1 opponents Walled Lake Northern, Novi, Salem and Livonia Stevenson, among others, along with ranked D-2 and D-3 teams, growing pains are likely expected as they work into midseason form.
That’s why they are relying on senior captains Clara Groen and Olivia Botosan, along with star sophomore Mariah Wright, for leadership early in the preseason.
“Our graduating seniors sure made a big impact on our team, and I think that’s something that Clara and I hope to have on our freshmen,” said Botosan, a catcher who drove in 17 runs on 23 hits and carried a .198 batting average as a junior. “I just hope to step up and be a leader. I want to show the younger girls how to make an impact, and I think they will because these new faces have been really encouraging on our team so far.”
Which is saying something because the team hasn’t spent as much time together as most programs would like at this point in the preseason.
Three players were part of PCA’s girls basketball team that won district and regional titles and played in last week’s state quarterfinal. Five others were in the school musical that wrapped up a week ago. Only four players attended the first week and a half of practice.
They’ve been together as a full team for just over a week. They’re separated again with their sophomores and seniors leaving for annual school trips, and, of course, there’s spring break.
When they open the season April 7 at Northern, they might not look like the state title contender they’ve been the past two seasons. But don’t doubt them yet. They should be better as the postseason approaches.
“Olivia and I are going to work together to make this team really fun and make it a group of girls who love each other and work together,” said Groen, the team’s ace pitcher who signed with Cornerstone University after going 15-3 in the circle with 196 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA as a junior. She holds nearly every pitching record at PCA, including a 52-15 career record, 686 strikeouts, four no-hitters, 22 shutouts and 40 complete games.
Other key returners include senior Grace Garrett and juniors Ellyana Blume and Marcella Fipps, all hoping to step into roles left by last year’s seniors. They also welcome back junior Anika Jaroszewski, who previously played travel softball but took time off to focus on volleyball.
“We have a couple of girls from last year’s team who didn’t get a lot of playing time,” coach Jori Groen said. “But they’ve been practicing with us for the last two years and are ready to go, especially Ellyana Blume and Marcella Fipps, who should be solid for us.”
Much will be expected of Wright, the lone sophomore who had a breakout 2025 season.
The daughter of Salem baseball coach John Wright, she excelled in the infield while batting .508 with 64 hits, 17 doubles, six home runs, 37 runs scored and a program-record 57 RBIs.
She will take over at shortstop, look to be the team’s offensive leader and be one of its vocal leaders as only an underclassman.
“Coming here last year, it was definitely an adjustment,” said Wright, who plays for the prestigious Tennessee Mojo travel program. “We do a lot of things differently here than we do in travel, but because I’ve played travel at such a high level, it wasn’t pitching I hadn’t seen before or hitters I haven’t seen before. It didn’t feel like that huge of a step up.”
They hope she can be an inspiration for the incoming freshmen. If any of them have the kind of season Wright had as a freshman, PCA could be in for a big year. She’s also excited about helping them adjust to high school softball.
“On my travel team, I have taken on very much a leadership role there, so I think I just have to be confident,” Wright said. “It’s harder because I’m younger, obviously, but I think it’ll be an OK transition for me to be a leader on this team like I am on my travel team.”
Those freshmen include outfielder and utility player Brooklyn Tharp, outfielders Olivia Swanson and Kate Garrett, pitcher and utility player Jovie Kapera and first baseman and catcher Samantha Ferguson.
Coach Groen expects Kapera and Ferguson to be Day 1 starters and hit in the top six of the lineup.
“I probably have the best incoming freshmen class I’ve had since I’ve been coaching,” Groen said. “Those two will be outstanding players and starters, and then we have the other three, who are very coachable, very athletic girls. They’re all just really solid. So I think we’re going to be good, despite losing some key players from last year.”
Despite PCA’s dominance the past two seasons, including victories over state runner-up South Lyon and 28-win Salem in 2025, the Eagles were not ranked in the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association’s first Division 3 poll last week.
That’s OK. Maybe they aren’t one of the top 10 teams right now. The emphasis is on right now. Once they return from spring break and get a few games together, expect the Eagles to compete for a fourth straight MIAC title and make runs at district and regional titles.
They have time to prove they belong among the top 10 teams in Michigan.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Plymouth Christian softball going for 4th MIAC title with 5 freshmen
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
