Sports
Ladyjacks hope success carries over
Matthew Semisch
03/17/2015
For Dakota College at Bottineau’s (DCB) softball team, it’s back to business as usual. For Allison Scherr, it’s déjà vu.
The Ladyjacks open their 2015 season today and tomorrow at a tournament in Rosemount, Minn. DCB is hoping to build upon a 17-9 finish from a 2014 season that saw the Ladyjacks make their first-ever appearance in the Region XIII finals.
If they get back to that point again this season, it will be under a new head coach. Long-time DCB coach Mike Getzloff handed the duties off following the end of last season before Scherr took over.
Scherr, a DCB and Valley City State graduate, is a first-year two-sport coach with the Ladyjacks. Her work at the school began last fall with DCB’s volleyball team.
Volleyball was a sport Scherr played as a Ladyjack. Softball wasn’t another - she also played basketball for DCB - but she said she’s enjoying her new role.
“Experience-wise, I might’ve felt a little more comfortable early in the volleyball season than I am with softball,” Scherr said, “but I’m learning in a new sport for me and I’m having fun with it.
“The girls on our team are great and very understanding and have been a big help.”
They’ve been helpers to one another, too, in the first few weeks of indoor practices at DCB. Part of that is out of necessity, though, as only three sophomores return from last season’s highly-successful DCB squad.
Pitcher Taylor Glass and outfielders Ericka Swanson and Paige Hollinger are back for a second Ladyjacks season. Everyone coming out of DCB’s dugout is new.
“We have a good core back from last year, but there’s a lot of newness, too,” Scherr said. “Taylor Glass will be our starting pitcher and she’s our only returning pitcher that saw playing time, and there’s only two more sophomores with Ericka and Paige.
“We have some girls back, but as a team in general we’re pretty fresh.”
Glass was used as the Ladyjacks’ No. 3 pitcher last season behind the now-departed Bethany Colman and Danielle Gibson. Glass hit the mound in seven games last season and posted a 4-3 record.
In those seven games, she posted a 4.86 earned-run average (ERA). She also pitched for the entirety of six of those outings.
Hollinger had a successful freshman season for the Ladyjacks.
She performed especially well on offense, posting a .318 batting average (BA) and .375 on-base percentage (OBP) over 25 games played.
Swanson was more seldomly used, only appearing in seven games in her first season at DCB. She ended her freshman campaign with a .222 BA and .417 OBP from nine at-bats.
A fourth sophomore, Kathrin Jetty, is expected to miss the season with a long-term knee injury which she is currently rehabilitating.
Although she likely won’t play for the Ladyjacks this season, she is working with the team under Scherr as a student assistant coach.
She will be missed for as long as she isn’t playing, though. Last season as a freshman catcher and infielder, Jetty posted a .463 BA and .482 OBP.
The Ladyjacks also need to find a way to replace star shortshop Heidi Riley. Riley was key to DCB’s success in her sophomore season, which ended with her boasting a team-best .628 BA, .673 OBP and 1.151 slugging percentage.
Riley was also an important contributor to DCB’s defense. So, too, were Colman (.204 ERA) and Gibson (.238 ERA).
Glass is the Ladyjacks’ unquestioned No. 1 heading into this season’s slate of games. As for the rest of the team, the hope is that the other two sophomores and nine freshmen carve out roles and keep each other competitive.
Being fundamentally sound will be important, too, and Scherr believes her team will do well with that.
“Hitting and defensively, we’re a strong team and we’re looking forward to our first handful of games to really see where we’re at,” Scherr said.
“You can’t really get that much of a feeling for it when you’re just in the (batting) cage, and just indoors in general, but next week will be fun to see where we’re at and seeing what we need to work on still.”
DCB will play six games over two days today and tomorrow in Minnesota. The Ladyjacks’ first two home games of the season will take place on April 4 when Williston State comes to Bottineau for a doubleheader.