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Shortstop Jillian Martinez holds up her glove as she looks for the umpire’s call on a play at second base. Martinez’s tag was good, and the Delano runner was called out.
Hutchinson coach Dustin Boeckers offers final instructions to pitcher Lauren Laidlaw as a meeting in the pitching circle breaks up during the Tigers’ game with Delano April 25.
Lauren Laidlaw prepares to deliver a pitch during Hutchinson’s game against Delano last week.
With seven starters returning from a team that reached the section semifinals last season, Hutchinson softball coach Dustin Boeckers believes the Tigers are poised for a big season.
“We believe we can compete with anyone in our conference and section,” Boeckers said. “Last year, we reached the section semifinals and look forward to the challenge of exceeding that this year.”
That being said, Boeckers knows there could be bumps along the way, as evidenced by Hutchinson’s 4-3 start to the season. But even in losses, the Tigers have shown the potential to reach the end-of-season goals.
“Our goal is to improve from last year and continue to grow and improve throughout the season to be able to play our best at sections,” Boeckers said. “We believe we have the capacity to reach the section championship game this year, which was our goal at the beginning of the year.”
Jillian Martinez, Cora Renning and Lauren Laidlaw will serve as co-captains this season, all of them having three-plus years of varsity experience. A couple of freshmen, Kaiden Fitterer and Ryleigh Schiller, will inject new blood and talent.
“Both Kaiden and Ryleigh are very athletic, quick and coachable,” Boeckers said. “Kaiden will be an outfielder while also filling in as catcher at times if needed. Ryleigh will be at first base, as well as the outfield.”
The Tigers’ strengths include solid defense and speed on the bases that could give opponents a difficult time.
“We are strong defensively fielding the ball,” Boeckers said. “We are a quick team that is able to play ‘small ball’ and run the bases aggressively.”
The Tigers also showed the ability to hit the ball during a tournament this past weekend at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, where they collected 28 hits as they split a pair of games, falling 7-4 to Orono before bouncing back to beat Richfield 12-6.
Catcher Bryn Anderson led the way for the Tigers with five hits and four RBI, while Savannah Schlueter picked up four hits, and Martinez had three hits and three RBI in the win over Richfield.
Paisley Von Berge earned the win on the mound for Hutchinson, scattering 11 hits, walking two and striking out three.
“We have been working on getting better with our hitting,” Boecker said. “Last year, we did a good job getting runners on base but didn’t get those key hits at times.”
Von Berge and Laidlaw give Hutchinson a pair of experienced pitchers, which provides a big part of Boeckers’ confidence.
“We have two great pitchers that we will be able to rely on,” he said, “especially since the season will be condensed due to weather.”
The versatility of a roster that features players capable of playing multiple positions also will be important during the shortened season.
“Because of the snow (in early spring), the season will be shorter with four-five games potentially per week,” Boeckers said. “If we are able to stay healthy and keep our ‘Mudita’ mindset, the sky is the limit for our team.”
