BOYNE CITY — Boyne City freshman Sidney Bush didn’t really head into the 2024 softball season with a whole lot of goals and expectations attached.
After all, she didn’t even really know where she would be playing.
Would she be on varsity or junior varsity? Was she going to see the circle and if so, how often?
There were some questions to say the least for someone just entering high school ball.
“I kind of felt like I could make varsity because we had only one pitcher, but I didn’t expect myself to play that much,” Bush said. “It definitely didn’t end that way.”
No it did not.
What it did end with was Bush leading the team in a number of statistical categories, while being named all-conference, all-district, all-region and now, Petoskey News-Review Softball Player of the Year.
Did the success surprise Bush? Maybe not surprise because she’s played the sport her whole life, but there were still some nerves.
“I’ve been pretty consistent at the plate and in the circle, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to me, it was just more so being nervous because I was the only freshman,” she said.
Her ability to help the Ramblers pick up wins while she was in the circle was perhaps the biggest key in her first season, giving senior Delaney Vollmer a rest during doubleheaders, while shinning along the way.
“I have really supportive teammates and they encouraged me every step of the way,” she said. “I trusted them more (behind me).”
Bush closed the year with a 106 2/3 innings pitched, starting 18 games with 114 strikeouts, which led the team. She also held batters to a .222 average against. In the district semifinals, Bush tossed a one-hitter against rival Charlevoix, striking out seven along the way.
At the plate, she hit .360 with 40 hits, 30 RBIs and 42 runs scored. She also walked a team-high 20 times and stole nine bases.
Being thrown into action right away and regularly playing at a level, that she didn’t expect to play at, Bush felt comfortable from the start in the dugout and just had to go out and swing a bat or throw a ball from there.
“They kind of just made me feel welcome from the first practice, even tryouts," Bush said on her team. "They were just all super welcoming and I just felt comfortable in the environment.”
With three years ahead to only improve from here, there’s plenty Bush has her sights set on. She'll be the No. 1 pitcher in the circle, a bat teams will prepare for and a vet as just a sophomore.
“Probably everything,” she said with a laugh on where she can improve. “I’d like to get my spins down for pitching and I’d like to be a lot more consistent at the plate as far as directional (hitting).”
One thing she won’t have to worry about are those early season nerves she entered the 2024 varsity campaign with.
By the end of the season, it was clear those were gone. Evidence of that came in their Division 3 district championship victory over Elk Rapids, delivered by Bush on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.
A moment not too big for this freshman.
“It made me feel really proud of myself,” Bush said.
One of many moments to be proud of over the course of the season.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
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