Spring Sports Preview Featuring: St. Peter Saints • Le Sueur-Henderson Giants Tri-City United Titans • Cleveland Clippers
Wednesday, April 4 & Thursday, April 5, 2018
St. Peter softball team has right ingredients to go far again By PAT BECK
pbeck@stpeterherald.com
St. Peter Softball COACHES Head coach: Heidi Niemeyer, 5th year as head coach, 18th year coaching softball in St. Peter Assistant coaches: Dani Roehrkasse – 2nd year at SPHS; Tom Witty – 42nd year coaching; 21st year at SPHS; Amanda Rodning – 5th year coaching KEY PLAYERS “Senior Olivia McCabe, one of our captains, was on our disabled list last season due to an injury that she sustained during her basketball season in 2016-2017,” Niemeyer said. “She will be back in full this spring, and we are excited to see how strong, competitive and determined she is to get back on the field. She has an amazing range at shortstop along with superior quickness and agility. She is also a great leader on and off the field. In 2016, her batting average was .377. “Junior Mackenzie Brey has been such an asset to our team for the past three seasons. She stepped into the varsity pitching role as an eighth-grader and has continued to amaze us year after year. She is the one who wants the ball or the bat when the game is on the line. She plays her best in a tough situation and never backs down. Mackenzie is a pitcher who can also field the ball. She is a 3rd baseman when she isn’t on the mound. Her presence in the batters box is strong and smart. Mackenzie is also acting as one of our captains this year. She threw a career high 107 strikeouts last season and ended
St. Peter Mackenzie Brey leaps for joy after she strikes out the final batter in the seventh innings to propel the Saints past Jordan 4-3 for the section championship a the team’s first trip to state in 10 years. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
the season hitting .361 including two home runs.” “Senior Xandra Zachman was an exceptional DP for us last year. She is very strong and has good knowledge of the game. Hitting is definitely her strength, but I think that she will also be a threat for us on defense this year. Her season batting average was .416 with 4 home runs. “Sophomore Allie McCabe joined us as a freshman in the catcher role. She has a strong arm, true grit, and really good speed. I foresee great things for her this year at the plate and on defense.
Even as a freshman with no section tournament experience she managed to hit a whopping .312 in those 6 games. “Senior Kayla Oeltjenbruns, a captain this year, was our shortstop last season because of an injury to our starting shortstop. She stepped up and did an incredible job. She has a good glove and a quick reaction in difficult situations. She is a hard worker and was constantly working to be better, quicker, and more accurate. With our starting shortstop back from injury it will be interesting to see where the two of them will play. Fielding percent-
age at shortstop for the season was .880. “Senior Ellie Johnson was a great addition to our starting line up last season. She is strong, accurate, and consistent. She has a great arm in the outfield and seemed to always get a hit when we needed it with runners in scoring position. As a senior this year, I can only foresee even greater ways that she will help our team. Season batting average was .351.” KEEP YOUR EYE ON Junior McKenna Reese, and sophomores Olivia Stevens, Shelby Paul, Brielle Bushaw, Ella Rosburg,
Madi Kisor, Breanna Hagen and Carson Kennedy. “Because we lost so many seniors and our returners are small in number, we will be needing to add to our starting line up with some of these girls,” Niemeyer said. MOVED ON Kelli Hanson, Kaitlyn Brey, Taylor McCarthy, Hailey Kennedy, Haley Goebel, Alex Eberhart, Jordan Schueneman, Mallorie Chabot, Claire Thompson, Lex Reese and Kenna Burmeister. 2018 SEASON OUTLOOK Last year’s overall record for the Saints was 20-6. The Saints were 10-2 in the conference and 7-2 in the section. “We finally captured the blue ribbon in the 2AA Section Tournament,” Niemeyer said. “The Section tournament was such good competition, and it really was a team effort. However, we did go 0-2 in the State Tournament, but both games that we played were close games to two other good teams Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (0-1) and Albany (2-4). It was a great experience and something no of us will ever forget. “I believe that these three teams will again be the ones to beat this year. “Jordan — With returners Adamek and Plechaty pitching along with their steady and consistent spots in their offensive line up they will continue to be a team to be watched. “Fairmont — They will again be another good team to beat. They have a great pitcher and a couple strong hitters. We won a 16 inning game against them to propel us into our 15 game win streak. It
was a pivotal point in our season, and I believe they will be just as strong this year, if not stronger. “Le Sueur-Henderson — We can never count them out. They have a great program at LS-H and they are always a great opponent. They have some very talented underclassmen that will be big parts of their success this year. COACH’S COMMENTS “I am highly anticipating another competitive season for our St. Peter Saints,” Neimeyer said. “We have a great pitcher returning along with some exceptional infielders and outfielders who will have to pave the way with their State Tournament experience. We are coming from a very exciting and successful season last year and hope to do what we need to do to return again this season. Some of our strengths include hardworking, team minded, trustworthy, and willingness to do what needs to be done to meet our goals. We have strong hitters and some excellent defensive players. We also have a few players who are very quick and can cover lots of ground on defense. Our keys to a successful season will be to help our team to stay within the path of our team expectations, to continue to play as a team, and to stay strong and healthy. These girls are hungry and determined to get back to the State Tournament, and I believe that they will do what they need to do to be their best.” — Heidi Niemeyer, head coach Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566 or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat.