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The former successful Cros-Lex varsity softball coach, took the Lady Skippers to the MCCAA Eastern Division title this spring and is hoping to extend the season all the way to the national tournament.

When Matthews came to SC4 before the start of the 2007 season, the Lady Skippers program had barely enough players to compete. His first job was to recruit some interest, and then get the players to sign. Among his first two commitments were Deckerville catcher Marissa Jensen and Ubly pitcher Kim Lackowski. It's those two that helped to form the core of this season's team that posted a 17-7 record to win the East title and will take a 23-15 record into NJCAA regional this weekend.

In his first season, the Lady Skippers, relying mainly on freshmen, struggled to find the win column, but lessons were learned.

"There were a lot of games last year that we were ahead, but then lost the game in the sixth and seventh innings," noted Matthews. That changed this year, in part to his team's maturity, plus, "Our defense has been much better and we're playing smarter."

The six sophomores on the team lead the way, including, probably, the best pitcher-catcher combination in the MCCAA East -- Jensen and Lackowski. Both will move on after this season to play at U of M-Dearborn.

Jensen, who had a stellar high school career at Deckerville, is an excellent defensive catcher that also swings a big bat. She led the Lady Skippers in average, RBI, and home runs (9) this season.

"She's a pretty good player -- she'll be hard to replace, that's for sure," said Matthews. "She works at it. She's been playing a long, time -since she was little - and she knows the game. She's settled down a lot from last year and has really matured."

Lackowski was a Division 4 All-State pitcher at Ubly. She has now proved she can pitch at the next level.

"Shes the best pitcher in our division, on our side of the state. I know she throws the hardest," praised Mathews. "She's a real competitor and just doesn't like to lose."

SC4 played for the league's State title this past weekend and came up just short. In the semifinals, the Lady Skippers ripped Kalamazoo Valley CC, 9-0, behind three hits from Jensen and shutout pitching from Lackowski. They then fell to Lansing CC, (No. 4 in the country, 37-5 W-L record) in the championship game, 4-0. The goal now for Matthews is winning the NJCAA Div. II Regional title at Midland this Friday and Saturday. The champion will then move on to the national championships next week in Bloomington, Illinois.