Eagles softball: Looking to build off prior success

The Eden Valley-Watkins softball team made history last spring, setting the record for the most wins in a season during its 15-6  campaign. Earning the fifth seed in the Section 6AA Softball Tournament, the Eagles won their opening-round playoff game before dropping their next two games to see their season come to an end.

Eagles head coach Dave Dziengel is looking forward to seeing how his team matures from their history-making season, one he referred to as a “really, really successful year.” 

“It’s a pretty close group. Last year we had a really close group, and we graduated some key seniors,” coach Dziengel said. “That’s fun. … You got all these different spots, and we’ll see who steps up.”

The team lost four seniors from last season including Brooklyn Glenz, Anna Kramer, Jenny Lindenfeldser, and Payton Finger. Glenz led the team’s pitching staff, recording a 15-5 record and a 3.94 ERA over 119 innings.  Kramer finished second on the team in batting average, hitting .427 on the season, and Lindenfeldser posted a .250 batting average.

With the loss of Glenz, a question mark heading into this season will be the team’s pitching, coach Dziengel said, but a strength will be the team’s hitting. 

The team returns three of its top four hitters including junior Alison Thielen (.452 batting average), junior Lily Schultz (.388 batting average), and junior Laura Huering (.377 batting average). Coach Dziengel looks for Thielen, Schultz, and Huering to lead his group again on the offensive end.

“We see a lot of live pitching, so hitting should be good,” coach Dziengel said. “We can simulate that pretty well inside compared to, like, it’s hard to do ground balls; there’s no dirt.”

In seventh to twelfth grade, the team has 54 players on its roster – 33 at the ninth-to twelfth-grade level and 21 at the seventh-and eighth grade level. Notably, the program has 16 ninth-grade players, and is working on scheduling a season for just those players.

“We have never had a ninth-grade season just by themselves,” coach Dziengel said. “So that’s kind of exciting.”

As for seniors, five lead this team in Zoey Schmidt (shortstop), Ellaree Anderson (first base), Olivia Kramer (second base), Hailey Savage, and Amara Boddy. 

The team will look to numerous underclassmen to also lead the way. As for juniors, Schultz will assume pitching duties, and Huering will resume her role as catcher. The team’s leading -hitter last season, junior Thielen will start at shortstop, and junior Amelia Ballard will be the team’s starting right fielder. Coach Dziengel also sees sophomore Siena Hemmesch (outfield) and freshman Hayley Berg (outfield, pitcher) getting time. The team has options, he said, adding how its JV program had a “pretty good” season last year.

The team had a great first week of practice, getting outside on four of the five days.

“It was nice and warm that first week, so it was great being outside,” coach Dziengel said back on March 19. “It almost felt like we were in the middle of May last Friday when it was 70.”

During the second week, the team found itself stuck inside, what coach Dziengel referred to as a challenge.

“They’ve been in the system since seventh-graders, a lot of them, so overall, it’s been good,” coach Dziengel said. “They’ve been trying to work hard. And again, it’s weird because softball you’re playing inside when it’s an outside sport,  so it makes it a little bit challenging with the weather.”