Plymouth Christian softball going for 4th MIAC title with 5 freshmen

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.