Vote for CatchMark SportsNet Player of the Week (April 1-6, 2024)

Spring break sessions have come to a close for all schools in the West Michigan Conference.

That means it’s time to get the CatchMark SportsNet WMC Player of the Week fan polls fired up for the 2024 spring season.

Competition was still on the light side last week, as a good portion of the schools in the conference were enjoying spring break at that time. But schools in the Oceana and Mason counties were in action last week, so the focus will be on them in this week’s fan poll.

Six spring sports athletes from the conference who stood out in competitions April 1-6, 2024, have been nominated by CatchMark SportsNet. Player of the Week is title sponsored by Complete Restoration & Cleaning Services, Inc.

Typically, the Player of the Week fan poll features three female athletes and three males and not so many athletes from the same school. but let’s just say it was a big weekend for Hart athletics.

We need our readers’ votes. Time to vote over and over again.

The poll can be found at the bottom of this story after brief capsules on the nominees. You may vote once per hour. The poll closes at noon Friday, April 12.

Athletes are listed alphabetically:

PIPER ESKRIDGE, Manistee girls soccer

Manistee opened its season with a tough 2-0 home loss to a traditionally tough Leland squad, but Eskridge shined in goal for the Mariners. The junior goalkeeper made 15 saves on the night, one on a penalty kick.

ABBY HICKS, Hart softball

Hicks had a big start to her senior season over the weekend. On Friday, she hit a grand slam in the third inning of the second game in what ultimately proved to be the winning runs in a 12-9 victory over visiting Onekama in the nonleague sweep. On Saturday, in a pair of 17-2 wins over Mason County Eastern, Hicks went 2-for-3 with a homer and RBI in the first game and she doubled in the second game.

ADDISON HOVEY, Hart track and field

The standout junior picked up where she left off last season for the two-time defending Division 3 state champion Pirates. In Saturday’s Hart & Sole Music Invite, Hovey took first place in the 100-meter dash (12.66 seconds), the 200-meter dash (26.79), and high jump (5-foot-4), and she ran the anchor leg on Hart’s winning 4×100 relay team (52.00 seconds) in leading Hart to a first-place finish as a team.

NATALIE ROSEMA, Hart girls soccer

The Pirates freshman tallied a pair of goals in her varsity debut during an 8-0 mercy-rule home victory over Benzie Central on Friday. Rosema scored the first goal of the game less than two minutes into the contest. Her second goal was the first of the second half for Hart, which won its season opener for the first time since 2017.

TY SCHLUKEBIR, Hart baseball

The Pirates junior left-hander delivered with his arm in Friday’s split against McBain and his bat in Saturday’s sweep against Mason County Eastern. In the season opener Friday, Schlukebir scattered two hits and struck out 10 in six innings of work in a 3-2 win over McBain. In 13-0 win over MCE in Game 2 Saturday, Schlukebir went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, six RBIs, and a run scored. In a 6-0 victory over MCE in Game 1, he homered and had an RBI, stolen base, and two runs scored.

OWEN SHIMEL, Mason County Central baseball

The senior left-hander made his presence felt in both games of Saturday’s nonleague doubleheader at Reed City. In the Spartans’ 5-4 loss in Game 1, Shimel got the start on the mound and he allowed two hits and one earned run with five strikeouts and one walk in 2 1/3 innings. During MCC’s 12-8 loss in Game 2, Shimel went 1-for-1 with a homer, two walks, and three runs scored.