Softball is a family matter for Wixom father-daughter duo

Edward Ewald, Jr. (left) , coach of the Compuware 12U Fastpitch Softball team, led the squad to the championship of the National Softball Association Class A 2011 World Series in Chattanooga, Tenn. on July 30. It was “pretty spe- cial,” he said, in part because one of the players on the team was his daughter, Morgan (right), who plays at first base and in the outfield. “It was really exciting,” she said.

Winning a championship is a special moment for a coach and his players, but it’s more meaningful when it involves a father coaching his daughter.

That was the case when Wixom resident Edward Ewald, Jr. led the Compuware 12U Fastpitch Softball team, which included his daughter, Morgan, to the championship of the National Softball Association (NSA) Class A 2011 World Series in Chattanooga, Tenn. on July 30 and a 6-4 victory over the Ohio Classics.

“It’s pretty special, and I’m excited for the girls and for Morgan,” he said. “A daughter probably puts up with more grief than most players, but it’s nice to see them rewarded.”

Morgan, who plays at first base and in the outfield, said she understood that the championship meant a lot to her father.

“It was really exciting,” Morgan said. “Not a lot of teams from Michigan make it there. There are a lot of harder teams from out of state and there’s more competition.”

The Compuware team won 8 games during the NSA World Series, which took place from June 26 to June 30 and was comprised of 200 teams from more than 20 states and five age brackets.

Morgan, 12, is the youngest player on the Compuware 12U team, which consists of players from across the state, ranging from Garden City to Canton.

She started playing softball in the Inter-Lakes softball league as a kindergartner, according to her father, and is in her third year with the Compuware organization and first year with the 12U team.

Edward is in his fifth year coaching with Compuware and said that after a softball game, he and his daughter don’t talk about the sport unless she brings it up; and that other coaches assist with any other softball-related issues.

Morgan said that having her father as a coach helps her because it pushes her to be a better player.

It has been a memorable season for the Compuware 12U team, which finished 47-7, including 33-3 in Michigan tournaments, with four state tournament championships.

“We have very good pitching, very good defense and the girls are great competitors,” Edward said.

Morgan will be entering seventh-grade at Sarah Banks Middle School this fall and looks forward to playing with Compuware 12U next season with a new group of players and her father as head coach once again.

Morgan’s 2011 Compuware 12U teammates were Erika Selakowski, Kaylen Glenfield, Kara Hart, Jordyn Look, Kate Buckland, Michaela Warner, Lauren Holdsworth, Aryanna Dadabbo, Isabella Rocha and Jacqueline Spizizen.