The Gustavus softball team’s season concluded last week. The squad compiled an overall record of 12 wins and 24 losses.
Within the MIAC Conference, the Gusties held a record of eight wins and 14 losses.
With a plethora of youth on the team, the Gusties focused heavily on improvement and development this season.
“Unfortunately, this year did not end with us making post season play, but knowing the team was focusing on the process and overall made great strides towards where the program is headed, we can’t be too disappointed,” Emily Webb said.
Webb, who will be graduating after the fall semester next school year, was honored as a senior this season.
“I will be graduated before the start of the next season, but knowing the girls, they are going to strive for more because they know that it will take more and they will have to put in work to all aspects of their game if they want to compete in the MIAC,” Webb said.
Junior Ashley Beise is excited for next spring because of the growth she’s seen this year.
“Overall, coming into the season we knew we were a very young team. We took a while for us to combine our pitching, defense, and hitting. I don’t think our record reflects the growth we’ve made from last season as a whole,” Beise said. ”The goal of the season was to improve as a team and strategically play the game of softball, and we obtained these goals.”
Regarding next season, Beise is excited to see the development of the young team from this spring.
“Going into my senior season, I’m anxious to see our young team develop and really turn some heads next year,” Beise said. “We have a lot of talent coming back next year and I can’t wait for us to start where we left off combing our pitching, defense, and offensive forces.”
As for this season, one of the highlights in a season full of crazy weather and very few home games was sweeping Bethel University right here at Gustavus.
“We have a lot of talent coming back next year and I can’t wait for us to start where we left off combining our pitching, defense, and offensive forces.” — Ashley Beise
“Definitely a key highlight for the season was sweeping Bethel on our 50th Anniversary celebration. We came from behind in both games with some key hits and perfect defense,” Beise said.
The Gusties battled back in both games against the Royals.
“Our team as a whole came together in these games and showed Grit. Grit was something we strived to show each and every time we stepped onto the field, and that was demonstrated through using multiple athletes in key situations, as well as stringing hits together,” Webb said.
One difficulty that the team regularly faced throughout this season was snowy spring weather.
“Regular season was pushed to a week or two in April, which put a lot of pressure on all MIAC student athletes, as well as coaching staffs. A lot of teams ended up playing games in neutral facilities in order to get games in. Because the weather was so inconsistent, it led to rules having to be set. Six teams made it to the conference tournament this year. This was a unique situation, but shows that the MIAC does want to be fair and considers the weather when making such decisions,” Webb said.
In a season full of snowy softball fields and an emphasis on constant improvement amongst a youthful Gustavus softball team, the Golden Gusties hope for more development and more sunny weather when next spring rolls around.