PREVIEW - Four seniors to provide leadership to young, but experienced softball squad
BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR
FORT MADISON - Fort Madison Head Coach Jared Rehm is looking past last year's 4-12 Lady Hounds conference record.
The girls went 8-6 outside a tough southeast Iowa schedule in 2019 for a 14-16 overall record, and despite a coronavirus-dictated summer softball season that will feature mostly a conference schedule, Rehm is excited to be playing this year.
The Hounds lost senior Olivia Williams who hit a sparkling .398 last year with 14 RBI. They also lose Vanessa Golowach's .338 average and Cassie Powers who only hit .271 but was stalwart in the circle throwing 108 innings last year with a whopping 103 strikeouts.
This year Rehm will be relying on underclassman in the ring.
Sophomore Katelyn Dennis will anchor the pitching. Dennis threw 72 innings last year with a 3.52 ERA as just a freshman. But Dennis through sporadically at the varsity level as an 8th grader, so she's not short on experience.
"Then we've got Neeley Rehm, and Lauren Helmick will probably get some time. We also have a new freshman Erica Kruse who got a varsity spot in center field who could see some time pitching. She played for Keokuk last year," Rehm said.
Kruse pitched 83 innings last year with 45 strikeouts and an ERA of close to 6 as an eighth grader for the Chiefs. Kruse threw more than 1,500 pitches last year and started 13 games.
At the plate, the Hounds are losing some consistency with Golowach and Williams lost to graduation, but four of the Hounds top seven hitters return in Ivy Geerdes, Maycee Featheringill, Kylee Cashman and Dalyn Wondra. The Hounds will also have senior Claire Feuerhammer who's playing her first year on varsity.
Geerdes, Featheringill, and Wondra all return as seniors. Wondra has signed to play ball at Cornell College next season and Rehm said she has had a great off-season.
"Over the past fall and winter, she played on a traveling team and hit a ton with excellent pop. Everything I thought she could do I saw from her with that team," Rehm said.
"My hope is that transfers over and she can relax and have fun and get ready to play college. We'll be leaning on her for that leadership role."
Wondra hit .232 last year with five RBI.
Geerdes was third on the team hitting for average last year at .280, but is a tough out only fanning four times in 82 at bats. She also had one of the teams two home runs last year. Featheringill had the other dinger, to go with 17 RBI and a .271 average.
After those three, Rehm will look to get Cashman on. As a sophomore Cashman hit .256 but was a little wicked on the base paths with 12 of 13 stolen bases and 18 runs scored. Logan Johnson swiped five bases last year as a freshman and hit .226. Neeley Rehm saw limited action at the plate last year, but had seven hits in 19 at bats for a .368 clip.
Around the field, Rehm will use 8th grader Lexi Whaley behind the plate with Johnson and Featheringill backing her up. Featheringill will hold down first base with Geerdes handling second. Cashman will anchor the infield at shortstop and Johnson grabs the hot corner.
Steffensmeier, Wondra, Lauren Helmick, and Beebe will patrol the outfield.
"Losing Golowach and Bass in the outfield was my biggest concern coming into the season," Rehm said. "I just didn't know who was going to replace them, but I'm happy with where we're at there now, and in the infield."
Rehm said the players are in better shape conditioning wise than last year, despite the inhibitions of the coronavirus throughout the spring.
"The majority of the players that made varsity are in better shape than they were last year. I don't know if was just they were eating their Wheaties™ or what," the second-year head coach said.
"But they did a lot on their own, and even played some sandlot at Ivanhoe Park I guess, so that all seems to have helped," he said.
Despite the hurdles of the COVID scare, Rehm said the shortened season should help keep averages up and will focus the season on conference play.
The Hounds only play two out of conference games, one against Wapello and the other a late add with Central Lee on July 10.
Rehm said Fairfield will be the favorite in the Southeast Conference, but he said the Hounds will be able to compete game after game and had tight games with most of the conference teams last year.
"Fairfield is going to be pretty tough. They really didn't lose anything. Their core was juniors and now that group is seniors so they will be tough," he said. "Washington, Mt. Pleasant, Burlington we had tight games with last year, but we're gonna compete with all of them."
He said the excitement level is very high this year, with the girls being able to play after originally thinking they might not get a season due to the pandemic.
"They were sitting there thinking they weren't getting to play this year, but now to be able to get out and play is motivation for them to play hard and play clean," he said.
"But the core of this team is still young and we still have some learning to do. But how good can these group be two years from now?" he said.
The Lady Hounds start play Monday on the road at Mt. Pleasant in a double header at the MapleLeaf Complex at 5:30 p.m.
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