As Lakeside Lutheran eyes the upcoming season they do so with a high level of optimism and with good reason.
"We have a nice core of returning players to build around, " said Head Coach Matt Doering. "We return our entire battery from last year (Both pitchers and our catcher). We also have returning starters in both the infield and outfield. We believe that our experience will be an asset for us this year. We have good speed and will try pressure teams by using that speed. We hope to compete in our conference race, and regional/sectional groupings. We should be improved over last year, but have a couple key players to replace. In order for us to compete we will have to play solid defense and manufacture runs in close game situations."
When asked the following questions Doering had the answers. Who are some of the prominent returning players on your team, what are their specific strengths, and what are you expecting from them? "Hollie Doyle returns for her 4th year as a varsity player. She will be our primary pitcher. Hollie has worked to improve both her location and the pitches she will use. She will have to get ahead of batters and use movement and location to control opponents offense, added the Head Coach.
"We return 3 of our top 5 hitters from last year (Ashley Kohls, Becca Doering, and Kelsey Birschbach) So we appear to have a solid top of the lineup to build around. Ashley lead the team in doubles last year and was second in RBI. I expect a similar if not better year from her. Becca had the second best average on our team last year. (.412) She also led our team in steals and runs scored. I expect her to give us a solid top of the lineup hitter that can create baserunning headaches for defenses. Kelsey is a solid hitter in a lot of ways. She was second on our team in hits last year and hit a solid .391 for the season. I expect that she will have a more consistent Sophomore season and improve her power numbers."
The other returning players (Brett Burger, Hannah Hoffman, and Arielle Stai,and Alicia Bischoff) combined for 64 hits, 44 RBI and 72 runs scored.
WHAT'S THE STORY WITH YOUR CONFERENCE?
Poynette is the top returning team in our conference. They return a solid lineup of hitters and ALWAYS have great pitching.
Columbus also will compete for a top spot. They have a great core or solid players and multiple players that can hold their own in the circle.
Luther Prep also has a solid pitcher returning in Maddie Lindemann.
We also will face tough crossover conference matchups against Marshall and Waterloo. (They count in the conference standings)
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