The softball team flew south over Spring Free Days to prepare for their fast-approaching conference season.

The Duhawks compiled a 2-6 record in Florida, and coach Ashley Rogers thinks the cross-country trip was just what the team needed.

“Overall, I thought we learned a lot about our team on (the trip),” she said. “We played tough competition that challenged us to be at our best at all times. ”

While finding success, the team will still have to shake off the early-season struggles that every team goes through. Rogers emphasized discipline will ultimately help the Duhawks through the season.

“Even with the mistakes we made, we were still able to compete with high level teams,” she said. “Once we clean up our mistakes great things will happen for the Duhawks.”

Helping the Duhawks to victory in Florida was catcher Tracy Sullivan and outfielder Beth Miller, who are both hitting over .400 on the season thus far. The Duhawks will look to add the consistency emphasized by Rogers as they begin conference play. Loras will be defending their IIAC regular-season championship.

Loras begins their conference schedule April 2 against Buena Vista. Follow their progress on duhawks.com.

The softball team will soon be packing up their bags and equipment and heading down to Florida for four days of softball action and to enjoy some sunny weather.

But the team will be all about business on the trip as they hope to come back with several wins under their belts to make up for the lone win they collected  out of four games this past weekend.

The team opened up the season playing Gustavus Adolphus in Rochester, Minnesota this past Friday, winning the first game 7-6. The team played again later in the day but lost 9-1 to Gustavus Adolphus.

The Duhawks faced the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse the next day, but could not connect for another win as they fell in a shutout in the first game 4-0, and then lost 6-4 in the second.

Although the team did not start the season how they might have liked to, coach Ashley Rogers feels confident in the team’s early performances.
“We played against some very good competition, Gustavus Adolphus is a very strong program and UW-La Crosse is currently ranked 21st on the NCAA list of the top 25 teams in Division III softball” says Rogers.

Coming away with only one win on the weekend did not seem to be bothersome to the players either as senior infielder Sara Palczynski feels that the opening four games are nothing to worry about.

“We were constantly putting the ball into play and making the other defense work,” said Palczynski. “We had a lot of first-years step up, two first-year pitchers got some time on the mound as well as a few first-years as pinch runners.”

The team will now focus their attention to their trip to Clermont, FL, where they will play eight different teams from across the nation, ranging from Chicago to Rhode Island.

There is a lot of excitement in the air as the team travels south of the Mason Dixon line to show off their talent.

Playing in an out-of-state tournament puts added pressure on them to do well, but the Duhawks believe that there is even more to come out of the trip such as building team unity and character.

“It is a great week for us girls,” said Palczynski. “We get the chance to room together, bond, and really get to know each other. Florida is where we really become a family.”

Palczynski feels that the pressure is defused during this trip with the lack of information they know about their opponents compared to their in-conference opponents.

“By playing out of state and other teams from across the nation the pressure is actually decreased,” said Palczynski. “When we face the teams from the Iowa conference we know so much about them and we know what to expect.”

The softball team struggled late last spring after a strong start to the season, so Coach Ashley Rogers and the Duhawks are eager to prove their mettle.

With a solid mix of upper and underclassmen, Rogers expects Loras to put up more wins late in the season and go deep in the Iowa Conference Tournament.

But first, the team has to prove itself early in the season and improve from there.

“Last season was a step in the right direction for the Duhawks; we saw steady improvement each day,” Rogers said. “We hope to continue that improvement to build upon last season’s efforts. The experience and leadership we return to the team should prove to be very beneficial.”

Last year, the Duhawks won eight of their first 12 games. But Loras lost 11 of its final 16 games, including its two games in the postseason tournament.

Rogers thinks the schedule might have contributed to the late-season struggles.

“With our heavy April schedule and a key injury at the end of the year, I think we were physically and mentally tired toward the end of our season,” she said. “This year, our schedule is much more balanced which should help.”

There is no ‘I’ in team on any sport, especially on the Duhawks’ softball team, Rogers said.

“We expect each member of the Duhawk softball team to contribute positively to the team this year. We anticipate sophomore pitcher/infielder Kellie Klein and senior catcher Tracy Sullivan to lead the way.”

Sullivan had a strong season both at the plate and behind it. She finished the season with an impressive .402 slugging average and was equally impressive throwing out opposing baserunners.

Klein posted an impressive 2.37 earned-run-average and won 12 games. She and senior pitcher Michelle Sabatini will be counted on to lead the Duhawks from the mound.

Boasting solid pitching and catching is a good reason to optimistic. But the Duhawks say their offseason preparation should pay dividends.

“As a team, we worked very hard in the offseason to improve our techniques so we can compete in the Iowa Conference,” Sullivan said. “We did our off season workouts in the weight room, we had practices every Monday to improve our skills. I am excited to see our hard work and dedication pay off in the upcoming season.”

Loras returns a number of players from last year’s squad, but one player who will be awfully hard to replace is Michelle Bahl, who graduated last spring.She not only had a lofty .308 batting average, she also hit smacked nine home runs and drove in 28 runs.

Nonetheless, Rogers and the Duhawks know that a little improvement from everyone will enable the team to overcome the loss of one player.

The Duhawks kick off their new season this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders in Rochester, MN, prior to a Spring Break trip to Florida in which eight games are scheduled from March 16 through March 20.

Tim Kelly
Published: October 8, 2008

DUBUQUE- 50 Degrees isn’t exactly softball weather, but the Duhawk Softball team has been working hard this fall.

“We’ve been going harder at it this fall. Some of us seniors have been running practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We’ve gotten pretty good workouts in too,” said senior captain Kim Chalekian.

The hard work will be much needed as the Duhawks lose all conference pitcher Kate Earleywine, but head coach Kate Koopman is still optimistic about her team’s chances.

“You know, the Iowa Conference is one of the toughest conferences in the nation, but I expect us to finish around the top half and be as competitive as we were last year,” Koopman stated.

The Duhawks pride themselves on being an aggressive team that capitalizes on the opportunities presented to them.

“We just try to stay positive and get the lead runners in,” Chalekian added.

Tim Kelly can be reached at Timothy.Kelly@loras.edu

DUBUQUE – When asked about her strengths sophomore pitcher Kate Earlywine keeps it short.

“I think I’m hardworking and positive on the diamond,” says Earlywine.

Ask her teammates about her, and they cannot stop talking.

“Kate is one of those people who never get down; she is a great kid and she works really hard each and every day,” says senior captain Stacy Bahl. “She is always trying to hit her spots; she always tries to hit her corners when she needs to,” adds junior catcher Kim Chalekian.

Her teammates say she always has a positive attitude and can get big strikeouts when they are most needed. That has led to Kate breaking her own record

“I broke the record for the most strikeouts in a game,” says Kate.

Those big strikeouts have led to over 200 hitters leaving the batter’s box empty handed. This season Kate broke the record for the most career strike outs, giving her the most of any pitcher in Loras history.

These numbers are not the focus of this sophomore’s game.

“I just love the lessons you can learn from being an athlete and playing sports,” says Kate.

Hard work, teamwork, and discipline are just a few of the things that Kate attributes to her time spent on the playing field. Add all those together and she has two records and a whole lot of respect; especially from her catcher.

“She is out there in the middle of that circle, all alone pitching every pitch,” says catcher Kim Chalekian.

That is not how Kate sees it. In fact, she throws the credit right back at her teammates.

“A lot of the credit goes to my teammates, especially to my catchers; they are calling pitches every game so I do not think people realize how much work they put in,” says Kate.

In a sport where even small mistakes can decide the game; Kate’s contribution makes a big difference.

Lauren Squires can be reached at Lauren.Squires@lctv13.com

DUBUQUE – Sara Medieros has been playing softball since before she could read, and she was still playing as a Duhawk when she received some life-altering news last spring. The announcement that she was pregnant at the end of last season surprised everyone, including her head coach.

“It was very shocking,” said Coach Koopman, “I didn’t really know that she wasn’t feeling very well or anything. She didn’t let me see that part of her”

Sara was concerned her softball career was over for good, but Koopman assured her it didn’t have to end.

“She sat me down and was like ‘we’ll work this out, we’ll figure something out.’ And so I went to practice and they kind of pulled me out of any drills where I could get nailed with a ball or anything and I just was like ‘I’m going to make it work’,” the Loras senior recalled.

By November, Sara was forced to take some time off. Four weeks later she was given an early Christmas present with the birth of her child, Mya Elizabeth on December 24^th.

Six weeks later, practice began and Sara was back on the field, same as always. The mother of one was happy to be playing the game she loved, but she realized she couldn’t have done it without a little help from the people around her.

“I’ve had a lot of help from all my different communities that I’m a part of. I’ve had a lot of support from my softball team; I mean there’s not been one person who hasn’t helped me out in some way or another.”

So maybe the old adage is true. Maybe it does take a village to raise a child, or in Sara and Mya’s case, maybe just a softball team.

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@loras.edu