Ravenna’s Kara Postema steady leader on softball field and in winning Player of Week poll

Kara Postema is one of the senior leaders of Ravenna’s softball team. She provides a steady and dangerous bat in the lineup and shows versatility as a catcher and center fielder.

In the batter’s box, she was at the top of her game last Saturday as Ravenna captured a second straight Division 3 district championship.

This week, Postema rose to the top of the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Player of the Week fan poll and she stayed there. With 448 votes, she is winner of the poll, which recognized six WMC spring sports student-athletes for their performances spanning May 29-June 3, 2023.

Jerry Wiegers, a double state champion and three-event all-stater for North Muskegon’s track and field team, finished runner-up in the poll with 216 votes.

See complete voting totals for the six Player of the Week nominees at the bottom of this story.

Postema, who hits second in Ravenna’s potent lineup, enjoyed a big day at the plate last Saturday. In a 15-0 district semifinals win over Montague, she went 3-for-3 with a home, triple, three RBIs and three runs scored. In a 4-1 district finals victory vs. Kent City, Postema, was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Ravenna (33-5) is seeking a regional title this Saturday as the Bulldogs head to Newaygo. They face Remus Chippewa Hills in the 10 a.m. regional semifinal. Should Ravenna win, it will face the Grandville Calvin Christian/Delton Kellogg victor in the 2 p.m. regional finals. The Bulldogs advanced to the regional finals last year, where they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Calvin Christian.

Postema has signed to play softball at Cornerstone University. Should Ravenna win its regional, it would play its state quarterfinal at Cornerstone on Tuesday.