After finishing in second place the previous two seasons, the Gustavus Softball team hopes their prolific offense and balanced pitching can earn them a MIAC Championship
In the two seasons since current Gustavus Softball Head Coach Jeff Annis arrived from Maple River, the Gusties have compiled an impressive 63-19 record (35-9 in MIAC play) and have finished second place in both campaigns. Annis’ third year coaching on the hill has started out strong and it looks like his team’s winning ways are becoming habitual.
After losing their opening day double-header to Eau Claire in the beginning of March, the Gusties proceeded to go on an eleven-game winning streak, which included a spotless record during their trip to Tucson. While in Arizona, the Gusties beat Hope International, Lawrence University and the University of Chicago twice, then beating Kalamazoo College by the mercy rule in five innings and edging Luther, the team that ended last season in the NCAA Tournament, 3-2 in their final game of the Invitational.
Minnesota’s recent poor weather led to two rainouts for the Gusties. Both sets of double-headers were scheduled to be played in St. Peter but were postponed due to the inclement conditions. The Carleton game that was supposed to be played on Friday (4/4) is the only set for April 20.
The team was able to get its two scheduled games in on Saturday in Minneapolis as it kicked off the MIAC season with a double-header against Augsburg. Gustavus won the first game with a score of 7-2 but fell short 9-4 in the second game. On the following Sunday morning, the Gusties got through three innings of a double-header with UW-Stout before being rained out. Gustavus trailed 3-0 before the postponement.
Offensively, Gustavus is led by strong middle infielders with Senior second baseman Julie Mahre and Junior shortstop Rachael Click. Mahre is a two-year captain and a three-time all-conference player, and was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year in her first year at Gustavus. Click is a two-time all-conference selection and gave Gustavus back-to-back Rookies of the Year in 2006. Mahre and Click are hitting .478 and .452, respectively, and Click’s four home runs and sixteen RBIs pace the production for the Gusties. Mahre’s twenty total runs scored are tied for the league lead while Click’s .881 slugging percentage is top among all MIAC batters. Junior outfielder Emily Klein, an all-conference honorable mention a season ago, paces the Gusties with six stolen bases and is hitting .359 with thirteen runs scored.
Coming into the season, the Gusties needed to fill the void left by the all-conference battery of Joyce DeWitz and Abby Bernstein, whom they relied upon heavily last season. DeWitz, a three-time all-MIAC selection, went 20-7 with a 1.86 ERA in 165.2 innings for the Gusties in her final season, but this season brings balance to the Gustie pitching rotation. Pitching Coach Mark Wiest has a trio of solid arms to shoulder the load from the rubber this season. Sophomores Callie Nelson and Betsie Collins, along with First-year hurler Erin Truenbach, have been more than stellar already this season. Nelson’s 2.23 ERA puts her at second among all MIAC pitchers and Truenbach’s two saves make her the leader for the conference. All three pitchers are in the top ten in earned run average and opposing batting average while pitching a combined eight complete games.
“The thing we are going to need more than anything is the experience of our pitching staff. Last year we had a solid pitcher/catcher battery but were about a player and a half short on the offensive end,” said Annis. “This season, we seem to have all of the offensive pieces.We are just hoping that our pitching comes around as well as we hope.”
Most recently, Gustavus fell twice to the University of St. Thomas on Tuesday, both games ending by way of the mercy rule. St. Thomas has been a dominant force in the conference and has finished ahead of the Gusties each of the past two seasons. This past Wednesday, Gustavus rebounded by sweeping rival St. Olaf in Northfield. Mahre paced the offenive attack going 7 for 8 in the series with four RBI and three runs scored. Nelson threw a complete game, surrendering three runs and striking out four while Truebenbach and Collins combined to win game two. Truebenbach pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs while striking out five. Collins closed out the game by striking out two in the seventh inning to seal the win.
Gustavus, 11-3 overall, will continue its full schedule this weekend when the team hosts Macalester on Friday afternoon and heads to Winona to play two games against St. Mary’s on Saturday.
Photo By: Jon Scott