Saints Anticipating Spring Break Trip

After a couple month hiatus, the blog is back in full swing (no pun intended). We'll do our best to keep this updated with all the Saints news.

Following weeks of preparation indoors, the Saints are ready to hit the dirt. We will board the plane Saturday enroute to Tucson, AZ for a week of softball and sun. The weather outlook looks to be a vast improvement from last year's week of rain in Texas over spring break that saw the Saints play 6 games in 2 days.

The schedule looks to be a challenging one, with 10 games in a five day span, against UW-LaCrosse, Southwestern (TX), Augsburg (MN), Otterbein (OH), Lakeland (WI), Dickinson (PA), Schreiner (TX) and North Central (IL).

Be sure to check back for updates!

Batter Up: Freshman Leah Hettwer

Hometown: Andover, MN
High School: St. Francis HS
Position: Catcher/1B
Major: Pre-Med
Hobbies: Singing horribly with my roommate, bonfires, snowmobiling, going on adventures with my friends.
Dream job: I want to be an orthopedic surgeon or a trauma surgeon because both will challenge me and I want to work with people. My dream job is an orthopedic surgeon for a professional baseball team, hopefully the Twins!
Talent I'd most like to have: Creativity... I'm not creative at all!
Favorite value in others: I love people with a good sense of humor!
Hardest part of the transition from high school to college ball: The pitching is a lot different but it's a new challenge so I'm excited for it!
What animal or rodent do you hate the most? Spiders! Disgusting!!!!
Something few people know about you: I can do 12 backflips in a row... just kidding!
Favorite memory of elementary school years: Going to Camp St. Croix with my 6th grade class and toilet papering our teachers cabin.
Tell us about your teammates: It's been really fun getting to know them this first year! Everyone has a really good sense of humor so it makes everything a good time.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Patagonia with all the penguins!!!
Favorite thing about CSS softball: I love that it is intense but still fun at the same time!

FALL BALL & ALUMNI GAME

We are already in our final week of the fall season and it has been extremely busy. This is the first week I feel like I have some time to breathe. I've spent a considerable amount of time at the field getting it in practice and game shape. The grass won't stop growing and I'll admit, I've become a bit obsessed about it. I also cut an new infield arc to eliminate the lip that was forming. Here's a pointer to all those looking to use a sod cutter. Make sure the ground isn't rock hard, or be prepared to muscle the cutter around. Ouch!

And, there has been a some softball going on as well. We've had five 6:30am workouts. Who scheduled those! We've spent three of those running up Chester Bowl. The players love it....well, maybe 'love' isn't the right word. I also scheduled small group workouts during the day on our team practice days, so those days are quite long for me.

We have really focused on defensive, throwing and baserunning fundamentals. The players are itching to do some hitting, but we'll get to that. I think we've laid a good foundation for down the road.

Last weekend was our alumni game with a record 24 alums returning. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and I think everyone had a great time. We also honored the 25th Anniversary Team, which we named last year. I'd like to report that no homeruns were hit (even with me pitching), but Laura hit a ball half way up the left field fence and settled for a double. Katie Brown made it all the way back from Idaho. It was great to see everyone and reminisce about the good old days.

Front Row (L to R): Sue Van Loon '91, Chris Lorentz '01, Laura Brueggemeier '00, Jen Walter,
Keely Behning '01, Rilee Dawson '07 Back Row (L to R): Laura Heise '06, Abbie Feldt '01,
Azur (Buczynski) Coleman '02, Jen (Vancura) Beres '04, Kristi (Erickson) Kirk '06, Stephanie Sklors '94

This weekend is our Fall Classic. Here's the schedule for the weekend:

10am - vs. Bemidji State
Noon - Family Day Picnic
2pm - Concordia-St. Paul
4pm - Finlandia

We've still got a lot of work to do, but I'm encouraged by the team chemistry and work ethic. It's going to be a fun year.

New Faces Join Saints

With the 2009 season officially wrapped up it's time to look ahead. This has been a great recruiting year for us and I think we have gone out and found some talented individuals who fit in well with the philosophy of our program.

In addressing our needs, we looked looked for players who:
1. Are passionate about softball,
2. Want to get better and possess the work ethic to match that,
3. Have the desire to compete at a high level,
4. Have the talent to help us reach our goal of becoming national champions.

We clearly needed to address our catching situation having graduated Robin Lake who started almost every game behind the plate as a senior. We feel fortunate to have three catchers coming into the program which includes one all-state honoree and two all-conference catchers in Bonnie Kowalcyzk (Menomonee Falls, WI), Leah Hettwer (St. Francis, MN) and Jennifer Marinaro (Nashwauk, MN). Bonnie is a multidimensional player with a strong arm to control baserunners and will give us left-handed power presence at the plate. With her experience playing for the Wisconsin Bandits and success of her high school team, we feel she will provide and immediate impact offensively and defensively.

With the addition of Shannen Schmidt (DePere, WI) and Darcy Roach (East Grand Forks, MN) we have not only added two players who give us additional depth on the mound, we add two pitchers to a staff who can help our program continually grow. We feel they both will be able to contribute as freshmen but there is also plenty of room for them to develop in the years to come.

The last area where we felt a void is centerfield after graduating three year starter Chelsey Weiss. We have a number of options with our returning outfielders which may include moving Theresa Tauer back to the outfield, thus opening up the third base position. Because of this, Rachel Perushek (Mesabi Range CC, Virginia, MN) can potentially fill either one of these needs. Her athleticism gives her versatility. Only time will tell where she fits in best. Her competitiveness and will to win can have a very contagious effect on her teammates. Another addition who will give us some options will be Brittni Johnson (Northland CC, Thief River Falls, MN). Brittni spent most of her time at Northland in the pitching circle but has the ability to play in the outfield.

In addition to these players we also welcome Allison Spiering (Mounds View, MN) and Jannon Stewart-Garcia (Minneapolis, MN). Spiering can play a multiple of positions including outfield, second base and catcher and Stewart-Garcia will bring us some speed offensively and will compete at third base or second base.

With this talented group of individuals along with the return of 7 starters it looks like an exciting year to come.

2009 Season Wrap Up

Here it is June 29th and I'm finally getting around to wrapping up the 2009 season which ended eight weeks ago. What have I been doing you ask. Well, I have put on 6000 miles driving around Minnesota and Wisconsin looking for future Saints, along with a trip to the College World Series in Oklahoma City and a trip to Winnipeg. Yes, I'm a little road weary.

As I reflect on our season I am happy with the results. We set out to accomplish three goals: 1) Be the best Independent team in the Midwest Region, 2) Be ranked in the top ten in the region, and 3) Be the best team in the UMAC. Although we only succeeded at our third goal I still feel it was a successful year. We had two huge wins late in the season. The first was a 3-1 win over Eau Claire avenging two earlier losses and the second was a 4-3 win over Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus went on to finish third in the country so I think it proves we can compete at a high level. In addition, we became the first team in the UMAC to go 24-0, winning the regular season and post season championships.

I think the biggest surprise throughout the season was the power we demonstrated at the plate. We hit 31 home runs, which was only two short of a team record set in 2006. We were led at the plate by freshman Theresa Tauer (3B, Wayzata) who belted nine over the fence and knocked in a team high 47 RBI. The freshman class hit a total of 20 homeruns, including six by Brynn Wollak (C/DH, Stillwater), and four by Merryssa Tiedeman (OF, Zumbrota-Mazappa).

Junior Kristin Swartz (2B, Hermantown) was steady all year both offensively and defensively earning the UMAC Player of the Year award, while hitting .393 with a .724 Slugging percentage and .956 fielding percentage. Both Swartz and Tauer were second team All-Region picks.

Newcomer Jen Falk (P, Altona, MB, Canada) and sophomore Kayla Jenkins complimented each other on the mound. They recorded 15 and 14 wins, respectively, and combined for a 2.21 ERA.

Seniors Chelsey Weiss (OF, Brainerd), Mary Jo McNamee (3B/P, Escanaba, MI), Robin Lake (C, McGregor) and Mya Gordon (1B, Duluth) were without a doubt the hardest working class I've EVER had while at St. Scholastica. Their selfless commitment and leadership to the softball program has left a lasting legacy that have set the standard high for future classes. I am proud to have known them and coached them.

This is an exciting time for Saints softball and I am looking forward to what lies ahead of us.

Saints tagged with additional honors...

Two Saints were named to the Midwest All-Region team announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Junior captain Kristin Swartz (2B, Hermantown, MN) and freshman Theresa Tauer (3B, Plymouth, MN) were both named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Midwest Region Second Team.
Swartz finished the season with a .383 batting average while hitting 6 homeruns and 37 RBI. Tauer led the Saints with a .487 batting average while belting nine homeruns with 47 RBI.

Saints receive UMAC recognition

Several Saints received UMAC recognition following both conference regular season and post-season championships.

UMAC Coach of the Year: Jen Walter
UMAC Player of the Year: Kristin Swartz, 2nd Base (Hermantown, MN)

All-Conference:
Kayla Jenkins, Sophomore, Pitcher (Esko, MN)
Jen Falk, Sophomore, Pitcher (Altona, Manitoba, Canada)
Brynn Wollak, Freshman, DP/Catcher (Hugo, MN)
Kristin Swartz, Junior, 2nd Base (Hermantown, MN)
Theresa Tauer, Freshmen, 3rd Base (Plymouth, MN)

Honorable Mention:
Chelsey Weiss, Senior, OF (Brainerd, MN)
Michaela Carlson, Junior, OF (Alexandria, MN)

UMAC All-Defensive Team:
Kristin Swartz, Junior, 2nd Base (Hermantown, MN)