Long-anticipated Miss Softball award belongs to Hasselbach

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

CLARKSTON — It’s not so ironic that Taylor Hasselbach learned of the greatest postseason honor of her stellar prep career came between games on a softball diamond. Being the summer months, that is where she spends most of her time.

Hasselbach, a recent graduate of Clarkston High School, received a phone call Saturday afternoon from Clarkston softball coach Don Peters. In that conversation, she learned that the long-anticipated honor of 2010 Miss Softball-Position Player was hers. The selection was made Saturday morning and released to the public Monday afternoon.

Chelsea Ann Sunberg of Olivet was honored as 2010 Miss Softball-Pitcher. The award is given annual to the state’s top overall senior and senior pitcher and presented by the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association. Hasselbach and Sunberg  will receive the award next month at the coaches association all-star game in Lansing.

“It’s kind of exciting,” said Hasselbach, who own several school records and is a four-time all-state player for the Wolves. “Based on what my coach told me (earlier in the season), I kind of expected I would at least be nominated. I wasn’t surprised when he told me.”

Hasselbach is Clarkston’s first state player of the year honoree in 12 years, following Dan Fife, who won the Mr. Basketball award in 1998. She is also the first softball player from the Oakland Activities Association to win Miss Softball, in the 16 years of the conference. League rival Jordan Wheatley of Troy was one of the eight finalists this season.

For Peters, Hasselbach is the second Miss Softball, including 1994 recipient Claudia Alban of Ortonville Brandon,  that he has coached over the years. He has also coached two other finalists, those also at Brandon. He came to Clarkston in 2005.

“I’ve had four finalists and I knew all along that Taylor had to be it this year,” said Peters. “She’s so dominating. She’s such a great all-around player. She hits with power, she’s great with the glove. I would like to know what her bat speed is. You don’t see too many high school players swing the bat like Taylor.”

Hasselbach was an honorable-mention all-state player in Division 1 as a freshman and a three-time All-State First Team honoree from her sophomore through senior year. She played third base as a freshman and shortstop the last three seasons.

She also departs Clarkston as a four-time all-league, all-district and all-region player.

“It’s a little (bittersweet),” said Hasselbach, who team was upset in the district round and she didn’t learn about the honor at the high school Final Four. “I would have loved to be able to get that far (and find out of the award at the Final Four).”

Although Clarkston never advanced beyond the regional finals in her high school career, Hasselbach’s dent on the prep scene will be felt for some time. Known for her bat speed and power, strong arm and sure-handed fielding, she posted a .593 batting average this spring. With 113 at-bats, she had 49 RBI, scored 59 runs, had 18 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 67 total hits, 21 stolen bases batting leadoff and an on-base percentage of 1.007. She struck out just five times as a senior.

In the field, she posted a .921 fielding percentage, collecting 46 putouts, 55 assists and only eight errors this season as well.

As for Clarkston career records, she posted 58 doubles, 23 triples, 35 home runs, 241 hits and 241 RBI — numbers that may not be broken anytime soon.

Haqsselbach signed last winter with the University of Michigan, a top-25 national powerhouse. She is considering majoring in kinesiology.

After competing the past three summers with Compuware, Hasselbach is now on the roster for Finese, and has multiple tournaments set up through July. She will report to Michigan at the end of August.

“I am really looking forward to that,” she said of playing for U-M. “Playing in college has been one of my goals. Right now, I am just going to play with Finese and work on getting a little stronger. I am heading to college in a few months, so I need to do the things to get better.”

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Last updated: Sep 03 2010 at 4:22 AM