The Vicksburg varsity softball team picked up two wins on the road against Dowagiac, 14-8 and 22-8, as the season winds down. In both games the Bulldogs had early leads before nearly letting the Chieftains back into it.
“We’ve just had innings where we lose focus sometimes,” Head Coach Paul Gephart said. “It tends to happen when we have a lead, and we get a little too relaxed and a little too complacent maybe.”
In the first game, the girls were up 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Dowagiac scored four runs to make it a game at 7-6. Vicksburg responded in the top of the sixth with a seven-run inning to widen the gap to 14-6. Among the key plays were a big double to left center by Delany Monroe to send Maddison Diekman and Karyna Lewis home for scores.
Shortly after that, Kennedy Davis hit a high pop ball that just missed the glove of a Dowagiac defender and cleared the fence. The hit loaded the bases and Audrie Dugan then hit a triple to bring home Monroe, Peyton Smith and Kennedy Davis. Dugan scored on a single from by Kayla Mottl. Torie Barga also hit a big triple to drive home Tristan Abnet home before Dowagiac finally got the third out to end what was for them, a nightmare inning.
“We hit the ball well, and we always feel like we can at least make a run at coming back,” Gephart said.
In the second game the Bulldogs once again got off to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first. They increased the lead to 6-1 before Dowagiac scored five runs in the bottom of the second to even the score 6-6. Vicksburg took back the lead in the top of the third off a single from Lewis that brought Abnet home. Diekman scored shortly after that thanks to a Monroe single to make the game 8-6.
In the top of the fourth, Vicksburg opened things up and never looked back. Peyton Smith scored first on a high pitch. With Dugan and Barga on first and second, Abnet made a perfect bunt and a Dowagiac error allowed her to run safe to first, loading the bases. Diekman then hit a nice single, driving home two more runs.
Lewis widened the gap with a single of her own, allowing Abnet and Diekman to score, making it 11-6. Then Brooklynn Ringler hit a big RBI double that brought Lewis home. Ringler scored a few pitches later on a single from Smith to make it 15-6.
“We have a very good hitting team, we have a very young team,” “For as young as we are I’m very happy with how the ladies play,” Gephart said. “It’s good chemistry, they stay together as a team.”
Even when they weren’t hitting, the Bulldogs were still making smart decisions to get on base. Kennedy Davis walked next and scored several pitches later off a Mottl single. Then Abnet walked to load the bases before Diekman came back and hit another single and score to make it 18-6. The final score of that inning came from Baraga off a Lewis single to make it 19-8.
The huge inning seemed to break all of Dowagiac’s momentum. The team didn’t score any more runs in the contest. The Bulldogs scored three more runs in the top of the fifth before the game was ended after five.
The Vicksburg varsity boys’ baseball team has had an excellent year, dropping only a single conference game against Plainwell. In their most recent contests, the Bulldogs swept Sturgis 9-0 and 13-3 on senior night.
Sturgis got runners on base through the night but struggled to score runs. It’s not a coincidence. Vicksburg is exceptionally strong this year in both pitching and fielding. Head Coach Brian Deal noted his team has a full pitching staff with a rotation. He said this year’s pitching is the deepest it’s ever been for the Bulldogs.
“That gives us a definite advantage as opposed to some of the other teams in our conference,” Deal said. “We can really run a guy out there who can command the game and do a great job for us on the mound.”
Junior Jackson Bowles was the one who pitched the shutout game in the first contest. In the second game, Sturgis got off to a 3-0 lead over the first two innings before the Bulldogs clamped things down for the rest of it. This year’s team simply doesn’t make a lot of errors.
“Really the whole key to our season has been pitching and defense. We’re fielding at .975 right now, which is really good for us, on a high school baseball team to be fielding almost .1000 is great,” Deal added.
In the bottom of the third, Jim Cutshaw walked, and Carter Brown got a base hit, setting the stage for senior Tyler DeVries, who smacked a huge home run over the left field fence to tie the game 3-3. After a quick three outs in the top of the fourth, senior Collin Klinger blasted a huge solo home run over the right field fence to take the lead in the game.
After that, the Trojans stated making mistakes and the Bulldogs began feasting on the errors, taking extra bases several times. Cole Gebben scored on a dropped pop fly to make it 5-3, and Jaxon Wilson scored off another Sturgis error. In the bottom of the fifth, Daxton Rugg made a great slide to make the score 8-3 after the catcher dropped the ball at home after a double by Klinger.
Klinger scored not long after that thanks to a nice double from Gebben. Cutshaw sent him home a few plays later to make it 10-3. Brown then hit a big double to make it 11-3. Drew Habel scored on a pop fly before Sturgis finally got out of the inning.
“I felt like the first three innings we were kind of trying to press a little bit,” Deal said. “We were trying to press and really try to step up and make something happen. We had to take a step back and get back into our game plan, just trying to find a way on base.”
Deal was especially happy for his veterans to have a performance like that on senior night. He noted Klinger and DeVries are both four-year members of the roster who completely missed the 2020 season when it was cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our seniors really kind of propelled us in this game here,” Deal said. “In both games, really.”
Vicksburg’s soccer team celebrating on senior night. Photo by Kris DeVries.
By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity girls’ soccer team only needed one half to beat the Niles Vikings 8-0 on senior night, and they did it without their goalie touching the ball once through the whole contest.
The Vikings only got past midfield three or four times the whole game as the Bulldogs dominated with ball control and continuous, unrelenting pressure on the net. Cate Curtis opened the scoring for Vicksburg after a nice pass from Bella Hillard. It wasn’t long after that before Hillard scored a goal of her own, lofting a perfect shot into the top left corner of the net where the goalie couldn’t reach it.
Malorie Heflin was the next Bulldog to score with an assist from Madison Ames. Vicksburg went up 3-0. The one consistent throughout the night was the excellent teamwork.
“They did good. My starters were passing the ball today, I was really pleased with that,” Head Coach Lahou Boulnemour said. “We have three or four really good players, and they were dominating the whole game, basically.”
One of those players was Curtis, as she managed a hat trick with the next two Vicksburg goals, both coming on assists from Hillard. Curtis’ third goal of the night came from a perfectly placed corner kick that she blasted into the back of the net past the goalie before the ball could ever touch the ground.
The last two goals of the night were scored by Rebecca Amabili, on a wild scrum near the front of the net, and by Emily Ouding. Her game-ending eighth goal of the contest came with about three minutes left in the half. Officials decided to run the half out before calling the mercy rule. The Bulldogs nearly put another goal or two in the net before the game finished.
Because the game ended early, the team celebrated senior night for Amabili, Curtis, and Madison Foster at the end of the game. The Bulldogs are set to face the Vikings again in District play. They finished the regular season with a 6-9-3 record, ending with a 5-1 win over Three Rivers. After a slow 0-5-3 start to the season, the girls picked up wins over Edwardsburg, Allegan, Sturgis and Otsego in the second half of the season.
With Vicksburg losing just three seniors this season, the rest of the squad is composed mostly of freshman and sophomores, giving the team lots of room to grow in the coming seasons.
“Our team is coming along. They’re still a young team and they’ve got a long ways to go, but they surprised me, they really did,” Boulnemour said. “Our players today wanted this game and we’re going to get ready for the districts now.”
Left: Jill Younger, Chris Moore, and Cris Najar celebrated the grand opening with a ceremonial bread cutting, forgoing the typical ribbon. Right: People line up around the block for Mackenzies. Photos by Taylor Kallio.
The wait is over for baked-good lovers across Southwest Michigan who, for a year, have gone without their favorite artisanal products from the former MacKenzie’s Bakery in Kalamazoo.
While the recipes, smells and even some staff will be the same, patrons will now find a reimagined Mackenzies in historic downtown Vicksburg. Vicksburg native Chris Moore purchased the former Kalamazoo bakery almost one year ago to the date of the April 14 grand opening.
In addition to the multi-year renovation of the former paper mill on the village’s west end, Moore is pursuing some smaller projects in Vicksburg that pair well with the Mill’s destination goals.
Moore transformed the 1,700-square-foot space at 103 E. Prairie Street into a charming bakery storefront. The intent is to attract more people to the historic downtown area with desirable products while showing visitors the vision to revitalize shuttered spaces into aesthetically pleasing business opportunities that will benefit the village for years to come.
Mackenzies Bakery offers a walk-in storefront where patrons can grab scratch-baked breads, including the popular Pretzel, Struan, Crispy Italian, and Paesano, as well as a selection of cookies, muffins, and beverages. Plans are included for a wholesale operation.
The bakery is personal to Moore, who like many area residents in the 1960s remember Otto and Anna Kaak’s Country Maid Bakery on South Main Street. Moore recalls the sweet smells of the bakery and the many treats waiting for purchase behind the glass: cookies, sweet rolls, turnovers and “wedgies” were area favorites. Otto or Anna often placed a sample tea cookie in a young patron’s hand.
Moore’s wish is for future generations of children to enjoy bakery treats in a thriving downtown village. “I fondly remember walking to the bakery with Mike Oswalt when our moms were working on Water Over the Dam. We each had a quarter in hand and were excited to buy a turnover at the bakery,” said Moore. “My hope is that a visit to Mackenzies Bakery will create a new generation’s worth of memories for residents and visitors in our hometown.”
To ensure continuity through the transition, Moore engaged former owner John MacKenzie for consultation. “Chris Moore and his team have really captured the essence of a small-town bakery while incorporating modern functionality,” MacKenzie said after touring the nearly completed site in March. “The space has so much natural light and charm, along with the best baking oven in the industry. It just brings a smile to my face knowing the legacy continues with this Vicksburg location.”
In addition to engaging the former owner, Moore also hired two long-time MacKenzie’s employees to manage daily operations—General Manager Jill Younger and Head Baker Cris Najar.
The grand opening is a point of pride for Moore and his Vicksburg-based project teams, as the space was painstakingly renovated and, where possible, restored to its original and historic charm. The effort to restore the 103 building is part of a larger community-based endeavor to have the downtown area authorized on the National Register of Historic Places list.
“We’re very excited to open the doors to Mackenzies and show the community our commitment to restoring these wonderful downtown buildings while contributing to its vibrancy,” said Jackie Koney, chief operating officer of Paper City Development, Moore’s Vicksburg-based company. “Frederick Construction, our team, and so many other partners invested so much time to carefully design and build a space that will stand the test of time. We’re eager to get baking and bring smiles to the faces of everyone who walks through the doors!”
For hours, directions and additional information, visit their website: mackenziesbakery.com.
Left: Tournament of Writers winner Rick Chambers with board members Jake Munson and Syd Bastos. Right: Brynn Hayman and Grace Hildebrand at the book signing.
By Alisha Siebers, Executive Director, Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center
The Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center has wrapped up the eighth season of the Tournament of Writers. This year’s competition drew 57 writers from a wide range of ages, competing for $1,200 in prizes.
The topic of escapism trended in this year’s entries, with many stories and poems about runaways, pirates, princesses, Vikings, space kittens, doppelgangers, and a whole kaleidoscope of monsters. Balancing this escapism were plenty of home-grown tales about wisdom gathered from everyday living. The grand prize went to Rick Chambers, of Portage, who wrote “Tuesday’s Tie,” a short story set in the Netherlands about a somewhat rigid man who wears a specific tie for each day of the week, until he mistakenly wears his Monday tie on Tuesday and discovers that he has traveled back in time one day.
The winners of the 2022 Tournament of Writers are:
Fiction: First Place, Hayden Moden (Junior Division), R.J. Robertson-DeGraaff (Young Adult Division), Dustin Colwell (Adult Division), and Rick Chambers (Senior Division). Second Place, Autumn Wyatt (Jr) tied with Brynn Hayman, Amanda Hamelink (YA), Ross Landers (A), and Jon Adams (Sr). Third Place, Harper Behrens (Jr), Sky Lester (YA), Aaron Kieffer (A), and Fred Zemlick (Sr).
Nonfiction: First Place, Finnegan Ross (Jr), Jacob Miller (YA), Christina Webb (A), and Cynthia Haas (Sr). Second Place, Lillian Ross (Jr), Ransom Biskie (YA), Ross Landers (A), and Jeanne Church (Sr), Third Place, Flora Najdowski (Jr), Kristin Youngs (A), and Mark Giacobone (Sr).
Poetry: First Place, Hayden Moden (Jr), Sydney Kaiser (YA), Kyle Johnson (A), and Jon Adams (Sr). Second Place, Lillian Ross (Jr), Hannah Laughery (YA), Hanna Owens (A), and Mark Giacobone (Sr).Third Place, Rhys Biskie (Jr), Ransom Biskie (YA) tied with Grace Flanagan, Simon Thalmann (A), and Jeanne Church (Sr).
Interested in participating next year or in purchasing the anthology of this year’s participants? Visit vicksburgarts.com/tournament-of-writers.
The Vicksburg Rotary Club recently hosted Greta Faworski, associate director of Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, as a guest speaker. She described the organization and how it meets needs in the county for four decades.
“Loaves & Fishes has been promoting a hunger-free community since 1982,” Faworski told Rotarians.
Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes (KLF) is an independent food assistance organization. It is in the top 300 Food Bank List for the State of Michigan with $8 million in revenue, including in-kind food donations.
“The organization has the capacity to source, store and distribute food like a food bank, but maintains a client-focused program model of food pantries and direct social service programs. As such, anyone in Kalamazoo County and surrounding communities can self-declare the need for food assistance.
“No IDs or income verification are required for service. In fact, self-declaration of need is a founding ‘stake in the ground’ for the organization,” Faworski said. “This recognizes that there are many reasons someone might need food assistance and KLF wants to respect and serve anyone who cannot consistently put nutritious food on the table.”
She described local needs from 2019 data in “Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap.” It shows 32,300 individuals, 12.3% of the population, experience food insecurity, including 6,620 children. Eight percent of the county’s local seniors live on less than $12,000 per year. Every school district in Kalamazoo County has at least 25% of its student body eligible for free/reduced meals. It is estimated that these numbers have increased by at least 25% during the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, KLF operated 30 pantries using an in-person shopping system that provided four-days’ worth of food for each order, using the KLF Call Center to make the appointments. In addition, KLF completed five mobile food distributions , 600 weekend food packs per week to 11 schools, and partnered with 8-10 agencies to provide food for congregate meals, emergency pack and pantries.
Since the pandemic, Faworski said, KLF now operates 19 pantries with curbside pick-up at most locations providing approximately seven days’ worth of food per participant. Mobile food distributions more than doubled and up to 60 home deliveries are arranged and completed each day. The number of partner agencies for congregate meals, emergency packs and pantries increased as well.
Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes distributes both perishable and non-perishable food and is a direct distributor of USDA food, which is approximately 35% of its inventory, but very volatile. The agency purchases between 45-50% of its inventory to meet its service commitments. Other sources of food include local farmers, grocery stores, and community food drives, such as the South County Annual Postal Food drive each May.
“Due to the amazing generosity of its supporters, KLF now owns a large warehouse on Portage Road just north of Vicksburg. This enhances its reach and ability to serve approximately 27,000 unduplicated individuals and 10,000 households every year. Both Generous Hands and South County Community Services have been long-time partners with KLF. Their directors (Sheri Louis and Drew Johnson, respectively) are grateful for the amazing support KLF provides. In addition, Vicksburg United Methodist Church operates the KLF monthly mobile food distribution in South County,” Faworski said. A client survey in the spring of 2021 showed that 70% of clients preferred curbside pick-up and would like to see it continue. It also became clear that many people had no way to travel to a pantry to obtain necessary food. As a result, the agency decided it was time to invest in two refrigerated vans and software to optimize delivery routes. Each van is able to make about 30 deliveries each day. When asked how the agency could afford such an investment, Faworski noted that 75% of its operating budget is funded by community contributions — and that its long-standing history of support from the community has allowed it to grow and pivot to meet the emerging needs of KLF families.
“We look forward to collaborating with our community to reach people in new ways, strengthen and broaden our partnerships and make appropriate investments for the next 40 years,“ Faworski said.
Editor’s Note: The South County Annual Postal Food drive is scheduled May 14.
