Expectations Rise for the Rest of the Season

The Briar Cliff softball team started their season with an 18-6 record, which is their best record for this point of the season since they joined the GPAC five years ago. 

The softball team has series sweeps against Sterling College, Peru State, Mount Marty, and Williams Woods. The Chargers have already put up two no-hitters that were thrown by Maddi Duncan against Peru State, and Katelyn Kotlarz against Mount Marty.  

With this being the best start for the program since joining the GPAC, expectations for the team rise, “five years ago we only won five games, and this year they could do some very special things,” said Head Coach Erin Bly. “This is the team to do it.” 

The expectations for this team for the rest of the year are set high by not just coaches but the players also, “our goal is the win the conference tournament,” Sydney Lierman said, a sophomore first baseman. “Once we win that, then we will set bigger goals as we keep going.” The talent of this team hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it does not stop with the starters. “We have never had as much depth and talent in every position as we do this year,” Lierman said. 

Success in softball is going to come from the offensive and defensive sides of the game. “Pitching is something that always shows up. Our pitchers work so hard and dominate,” said Kennedy Andersen, a senior catcher and utility player for the team. “Defense is solid and as an offense, we are hitting a lot more than last year, now we need the runners to score for it all the click.” 

Even when any team is playing well, there is always room for improvement. “As a team, we need to get better at scoring with runners on,” Andersen said. “As an offense, we need to help out our pitchers because they work incredibly hard and keep us in those games.” Both no-hitters that were thrown were decided by one or two runs. Duncan’s no-hitter against Peru State ended in a score of a 2-0 victory, and Kotlarz’s no-hitter ended in a 1-0 victory in extra innings. “Many of our games have been very close,” Lierman said. “When we start shutting down teams from the beginning, it will bring the team up another level and pick us up some more wins.” 

The Chargers softball team takes on Mount Marty in the Dordt Dome in Sioux Center, Iowa.