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  • Mankato East senior Christa Wolner has been named to the All-Big Nine Team the last two years, hitting .329 for the Cougars last season. She is one of several starters returning from last year’s 20-4 squad. Jim Rueda

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March 19, 2010

Experienced East looks to stay on top of the Big Nine

Seven All-conference players return from last year’s 20-4 squad

Tom Lemmermann Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Coming off of a 20-4 season, including a Big Nine title, the Mankato East softball team has big aspirations for the upcoming season, and senior Christa Wolner figures to play an important role in getting there.

“My role is to be a leader and show the other girls how to practice and (work on) different skills,” the outfielder said. “Everyone (outside of softball) thinks it’s a really lazy sport, but you actually have to work hard to do it.”

Wolner would know, having been named to the All-Big Nine Team in her sophomore and junior years. Last season, she hit .329 with 16 runs scored, 13 RBIs, five doubles and a triple in 73 at-bats. To end her career, she said she wanted the Cougars to win the section title outright.

The captain said that over her softball career, past teammates were the biggest influence on her career.

“I really look up to (2008 East grad) Laura Vanderhoof,” Wolner said. “She really helped me a lot (with softball).”

Wolner is just one of seven players returning that were named to the All-Big Nine Team a year ago. Also returning are team co-MVPs and All-Section 2AAA members Coley Ries and Karli DesLauriers.

The Cougars, who played in Section 2AAA last year, will play in Section 2AA this season.

“Our goals as a team are always (to) win a Big Nine title,” Madson said. “We want to win a section title and it’s been that way since 1994 when I started coaching here. (Last year) we finished fourth in Section (2AAA) and we feel like we could have finished higher than that.”

DesLauriers, a junior shortstop, led the offense with a .578 average, 26 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, 16 RBIs and a staggering 29 stolen bases.

Ries, a sophomore, allowed just 16 earned runs in 153 innings for a microscopic 0.73 ERA and struck out 104 batters.

“She’s a pitcher,” Madson stressed. “She picks her spots, she changes speeds and that’s just such a big part of the game.”

Unfortunately, Ries suffered an arm injury in the fall and may not be able to carry the same workload as last year. Senior Nicole Hoffmann and junior Alison Brown may also see time on the mound for East.

“Coley Ries pitched awfully well last year as a ninth-grader,” Madson said. “She just has to stay healthy for us. She probably hasn’t thrown a ton, but certainly she’s going to be our ace. She did a lot of pitching last year and was maybe overworked at times.”

Aside from pitching, Madson is confident that his team is well-rounded enough to compete for the section title.

“I just think we’re going to have some good versatility,” the coach said. “We should be fairly strong 1 through 9 in the lineup and should be pretty solid defensively.”

Aside from their skill sets, the team’s chemistry is yet another reason to believe their goals are attainable.

“We’re actually a really close team,” Wolner said. “You don’t really notice (that) people are different ages. We’re all really good friends and hang out with each other outside of the game.”

Madson also said his team has a positive attitude.

“I think the confidence level will be real high. They get along real well. They have fun in practice but they also have fun in practice. They’re serious about it.”

 

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