The AGWSR softball team had a lineup mostly of players with prior varsity seasons under their belts, and posted their most wins in a season since 2020 at 9-24. One of the key factors, according to Head Coach Brock Holmgaard, was a significant reduction in the number of walks issued by the pitching staff.
“I got with the pitchers and talked to them about how we need to throw strikes, let your defense work for you,” Holmgaard says. “And I thought all three of them that threw varsity this year did a really good job of limiting the walks this year compared to the year before. We had about 100 less walks this year, which is a crazy improvement. I thought they did a really good job throwing strikes. Everything we talked about a lot was not getting intimidated by a good pitcher, getting up there and having a good approach and just working your count, foul things off until you can get a pitch you can hit hard. And I thought the girls really did a good job of doing that.”
Junior Brylea Metzgar was the primary pitcher with 101 innings. Leah Beving and Claire Culver each had spot starts with some relief appearances.
With an improved approach at the plate, Holmgaard says they were able to contend with state tournament teams Clarksville and East Marshall in the final week of the regular season, showing a potential for continued success.
“The girls went into those two games, knowing that it was going to be a tough task, but really took the challenge head on. The Clarksville game, we had a couple of errors in the first inning where we gave up five runs, and we could have been out of that early. You get out of that inning, that’s a completely different ball game. We were right in that game. The second game of the East Marshall doubleheader, we came out and we hit the ball hard off their pitcher, did some really good things. I was really excited with the way they were playing at the end of the year. It’s always good to see a quality team right before you start playing your regional games and gives you a chance to see some really good pitching.”
They placed third in the NICL-West at 3-6.
Brock Holmgaard interview:
