With only one player lost to graduation, this season’s Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn softball team has the chess pieces to maneuver on the field and at the plate. “Right now we have a few different lineups for the varsity that we are trying and feel very confident about,” said HMS head coach Stephanie Bronstad. “It will all come down to who is on the mound as to where a few others are on the field.” Assisting Bronstad again this season is Barb Haag.
Returning starters for the Hawks include seniors Cadence Klein and Abby Kunzman, juniors Abby Otto and Kinsey Schirmer and sophomores Frankie Mohni, Addy Sheeler and Eliza Tewes. The experience extends to the pitching circle where sophomores Gracie Knobloch and Kamryn Ebel logged the bulk of the innings last year. “Gracie and Kamryn will see most of the varsity games but we expect Abby K. and Kinsey to see some varsity time also,” noted Bronstad. “They each bring a different style to the mound as far as pitches and speed. We plan to use this to our advantage depending on who our opponent is that night.”
Catching most of the pitches last season was senior Bailey VerHelst. Said the Hawk head coach, “We have a few ideas of who will fill her spot behind the plate which might require filling a different spot on the field, but we are happy with the athletes we have to do the job. They all worked hard in the off-season to help close the gap on filling that spot.”
Senior Morgan Grooters provided a baserunning option for the Hawks last season while juniors Alexis Grover and Delaney Murphy had a number of at bats. The other team members are junior Cheyanne Kruger, sophomores Samantha Berends and Lainie Raveling, freshmen Natalie Daggett, Eva Stammer, Hannah Tessum and Lindsey Van Es and eighth grader Cammy Wilson.
Bronstad is looking for the Hawk bats to make some noise. “We are hoping with the work we did in the off-season that our hitting will be our strong suit this summer,” said the coach. “Our defense last year we felt was solid but we dropped some games with our hitting so we are looking for that to turn around.” Bronstad is also seeking improvement in another area. “Our pitchers and catchers have worked hard through the winter to dial in on accuracy,” she added.
Despite some scheduling conflicts, Bronstad feels that the practice time has so far been productive. She explained, “Practices have been difficult with juggling golf and track but the ones we have had everyday have taken the opportunity to work on individual skills that they want to improve. The days we do have everyone we have focused on a lot of hitting and live pitching.”
Wins are nice, but the HMS coaches are stressing another goal in the lead-up to the season. “Communication has been our biggest goal for the team this year on and off the field,” stated Bronstad. That being said, all the hard work by the Hawks could very well translate to the victory column. Said the coach, “Looking at the (War Eagle) conference and the teams, I feel we have a great shot at climbing in the conference standings this summer.”