March 28, 2024

Lynnville-Sully softball has new look with veterans in 2016

SULLY — Rebuilding is not a word Lynnville-Sully softball coaches, players or fans use. The Hawk softball program for the past 10 years under head coach Stacey Alberts has been pretty solid by finding the right players to fit the right positions on the field each year.

After their fifth Class 1A state tournament appearance in six years, Lynnville-Sully is working hard to make things fit together again for the 2016 season. The Hawks lost their all-state pitcher and center fielder to graduation.

Having a four-year starter in the circle was a plus for the Hawks, but Alberts has confidence in two young pitchers for the upcoming season. Sophomore McKinley Conover and freshman Carson Fisk will be sharing the duties in the circle for Lynnville-Sully.

“We’ll be replacing key positions on the field this year,” Alberts said. “We identified those positions early and have been working hard in the offseason to be prepared.”

Being fundamentally sound from the first-year player to seasoned veteran has been stressed by Alberts from the beginning. She and assistant coaches Scott Alberts and Becca Vos, who played for Alberts at Lynnville-Sully, have the Hawks ready to play each season.

Lynnville-Sully went 36-4, finished ranked No. 4 in the final 1A polls, and then claimed fifth for the third straight year in the 2015 1A state softball tournament. Lynnville-Sully chalked up its sixth straight South Iowa Cedar League championship with a third consecutive 20-0 conference run.

Alberts was named the 2015 SICL softball coach of the year and All-South Central District coach of the year. The Hawk team has a 75-game winning streak in conference.

Leading the Hawks back on the diamond are seniors Kasiah Ehresman and Kristen Van Der Wilt, juniors Breanna Lanser, Haley James and Makenzy Rozendaal. Ehresman and Lanser were first-team All-SICL sections while James earned second-team honors and Van Der Wilt received conference honorable mention honors.

Ehresman is a Class 1A All-State first-team second baseman. She led 1A is stolen base attempts, 58-of-59, last year. Stealing bases is something the Hawks’ pride themselves on and as team they were 201-of-216 on attempts in 2015.

Offensively, Ehresman, who was Lynnville-Sully’s leadoff hitter, led the team with a .537 batting average, eighth in 1A, and her .600 on-base percentage was seventh best. She scored 59 runs, which was second best in 1A. Ehresman had 65 hits, which tied for fifth in 1A for hits. Ehresman had a .886 fielding percentage at second base for the Hawks. She had 29 putouts, 49 assists and made 10 errors.

Lanser was solid at second base for the Hawks with a fielding average of .907. She finished with a .364 batting average with 43 hits, 10 doubles and six home runs. Lanser drove in 29 runs and scored 41 runs. She was sixth best in the SICL in stole base attempts — 18-of-21.

James was the starting right fielder for the Hawks. She finished with a .947 fielding average and two errors. She was a .307 hitter with 27 hits. James was 14 of 17 on stolen base attempts. Van Der Wilt turned in a solid season at first base for Lynnville-Sully with a .959 fielding average.

With the transfer of last year’s catcher, Alberts said Van Der Wilt and eighth-grader Kenzie Lanser are expected to fill the catching duties in 2016. Rozendaal stepped in last year at shortstop when an injury sidelined all-conference shortstop Shelby Davis in June. Rozendaal had a .786 fielding average with 12 errors defensively.

At the plate, Rozendaal hit .309 with 17 hits, four doubles and one triple. She drove in four runs and scored 20 runs. She had six stolen bases. Senior Shelby Foster is back as a utility player. Foster scored 20 runs a year ago as a pinch runner and was 10-of-10 on stolen base attempts.

“Our strengths are the depth of our program and fundamentals,” Alberts said. “There will likely be shifting to fill positions. We have a number of upperclassmen and underclassmen looking to fill spots. It’s pretty early in the season to give out too much as we are still working to put pieces in place.”

Other members of the team are juniors Allison Renaud, Olivia Ritter, Jelissa Rozendaal and Libbie Vos; sophomoresTaylor Maasdam and Camryn Russell; freshmen Shilo Cunningham, Kaylee Maasdam, MaKayla Rozendaal and Shaleah Van Wyk; and eighth-grader Mallory Loftus.

The SICL three-time defending champions open the 2016 season at SICL newcomer Colfax-Mingo on Monday. The varsity doubleheader begins at 6 p.m. in Colfax.

“We have a tough schedule in store for us, but we look forward to that challenge in conference and out of conference,” Alberts said.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com