Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Defensive alignment depends on who's in the circle
Members of the 2022 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn softball team are front row, from left to right: Delaney Murphy, Kamryn Ebel, Kinsey Schirmer, Morgan Grooters and Lainie Raveling. Second row: Natalie Daggett, Hannah Tessum, Abby Kunzman, Alexis Grover, Frankie Mohni, Cadence Klein and Cheyenne Krueger. Third row: Bailey VerHelst, Gracie Knobloch, Abby Otto, Meghan Larson, Eliza Tewes, Addison Sheeler, Samantha Berends and Lindsey Van Es.
Pitching is a key ingredient to the success of any softball team, and that will definitely be the case for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in 2022.
In addition to the importance of pitching itself, H-M-S's defensive alignment will depend on who is in the circle. As a result, versatility is a must for those who are not pitching.
"Our pitching will be leading the team, with five girls who have worked hard in the offseason," said Hawk coach Stephanie Bronstad.
Three of those five will see varsity pitching time. The most experienced of them is freshman Gracie Knobloch. In her first year in the circle Knobloch led H-M-S in almost every statistical category.
"We feel very positive about the ability of our pitchers and their confidence on the mound," Bronstad said.
Filling the rest of the defensive lineup will take time to sort out, as H-M-S graduated most of its 2021 infield. The only senior on this year's roster is Bailey VerHelst, who has two years of varsity experience at H-M-S along with a year at Clay Central/Everly. Other returners are juniors Morgan Grooters, Cadence Klein and Abby Kunzmann, sophomore Abby Otto and freshman Eliza Tewes.
Overall, H-M-S is a very young team with a roster that includes three eighth graders, seven freshmen and six sophomores. Bronstad, in her second year as head coach of the Hawks, sees the youthfulness of the team as a potential strength.
"Right now we are young which means we can really mold younger players into positions," she said. "The girls are working hard on learning multiple positions."
In addition to losing several defensive starters from a year ago, H-M-S has to replace much of its strength at the plate. Knobloch had the best batting average [.391] of returners who had significant plate appearances in 2021. But Bronstad has seen some positives in those areas during practices and a preseason scrimmage.
"Practices have been going really well. We have been focusing a lot on fundamentals and situational awareness with a young team," she noted. "The scrimmage against Okoboji went well. The bats looked good and the pitching was on point."
H-M-S finished the 2021 season with a 5-17 overall record. The Hawks ended War Eagle Conference play in a three-way tie for eighth place with Unity Christian and Trinity Christian. All three teams had 3-7 records in conference games.
Runner-up Remsen St. Mary's is No. 8 in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union's initial Class 1A softball rankings for the 2022 season while defending champion Akron-Westfield is No. 13.
