Softball having a roller coaster season

“Crack.” That’s the sound the New Ulm Softball team has been very familiar with this year. Even though the team has now slipped a few games after a strong start, they have been still hitting the ball very well. The team has experienced already a season of highs and lows, as being ranked 5th in state to a losing streak. The team started off hot out of the gates with four wins and one loss, while averaging 11 runs. It looked as this would be another successful season for a historically good program but then the tracks started to come off. The team since then has fallen quite a lot and is now on a three-game skid. The team now slipped to 8-9.

The team is being led on the mound by Junior Miranda Suess, who is helped by Sophomore Karson Schmid. While on the offensive end it is being led by Juniors Maddi Oconnor, Anna Lee, and Emma Brudelie, those three are joined by Senior Amber Gleisner. The team is averaging around 7 runs a game throughout the whole season, but the problem is coming more from the defensive and pitching side. In the last 8 games they are giving up 6 runs a game while only scoring 5. Usually, five runs are plenty enough for a win but not for the Eagles as they have not been able to pick up many wins as of lately. It feels as if things are getting worse before they are getting good right now, which is not the time of the year where you want to be losing games. The team has 3 regular-season games before sections start in early June, so hopefully going into sections they can pick up some momentum and figure things out and make a run.

Junior Maddi Oconnor is optimistic for the rest of the season, “The team is very close to being a very good team, and if we keep working hard we think we could make a run in the postseason. We are being challenged by a lot of good teams right now and we think that will prepare us better for the postseason.” If the Eagles could put together a few good things they could have a real chance at making a run, but as of now, they have really struggled to hit good pitching. It feels as if a few struggle the whole team struggles, and if they start well usually they all play well. The problem is as of lately it feels as if the whole team has not been able to get on or the pitching is not quite there for them to be in the game.

The team as a whole does not seem to be too worried about the recent slump and they think they can come back strong. One thing Senior Starting First Basemen Amber Gleisner said was, “As a team, we have stayed together well and we are just trying to stay together and get better.” Although unless the team has a big turnaround this is looking to be a building year as there is only one senior on the team. One other positive is with such a young team is that it has a lot of room to grow and maybe if they are not top of the section now they might be next year. Also with teams like Mankato West and Saint Peter in the section, it would be a very tough trip to state this year, not impossible but improbable. So there is still time for the team but as of now, this season looks like it could run short of its goals.