Clinton softball eager to get started with veteranized squad

CLINTON—Ross Reincke figures that this wet and snowy weather will have to clear out sooner or later.

At least the Clinton softball head coach hopes so, he has a full squad of experienced players that he is eager to watch take the field.

“We have talked about the fact that essentially everyone’s coming back,” said Reincke, who is entering his fourth season at the helm. “Our biggest goal is to get better defensively. We have a couple of freshmen who have come in that are very athletic but very raw when it comes to softball. But they’re very willing to learn and listen. They’re just going to get better every day.”

While the frosh athletes may still be getting the hang of the ropes, Reincke expressed hope that, with a slew of veteranized players out there, defense will not be a problem as it was at times last season.

“The only real positive for not having played a game is we spent a lot of time working on it,” he added. "A lot of time on footwork. This is gonna be one of those situations where we’ve got to get them on the field and see how they react.”

Of course those infielders may not have to do too much with stud junior Ashley Theisen returning to the mound for the Cougars.

Theisen earned RVC All-Conference Second Team honors last season after sporting a 1.68 ERA. She struck out 206 batters in 17 appearances, an average of over 12 punch outs per game, and only walked 34 total hitters.

“Ashley is great at hitting her spots,” Reincke said. “She’s really good at mixing balls and she puts us in a great position to make plays. She put in a lot of work in the off season, and she’s absolutely ready to go.”

“I gained some velocity over the offseason, so that’ll be nice,” Theisen said. “I’m just looking forward to being able to challenge hitters this year. That’s my favorite part of the game: being able to make hitters work for it.”

Reincke said they will start the catching position with junior Addison Mueller, who missed last season with an injury but has shown great progress. Sophomore London Winch and senior Karlee Morris will also see time behind the plate.

“At first base we’ll have senior Karlee Morris, who in my mind is one of the better first basemen in the area. It’s really beneficial for our players to know if they put one in the dirt, she’s going to clean it up. Second base will be Miranda Dahle, she’s new to us this year.”

"Allie Bell will start for the fourth year at shortstop, she’s a really solid player and a really good hitter. The third baseman will be our sophomore, London Winch, who hurt her hand last year but when healthy was a serious difference maker for us.”

Alexa Witte will lock down center field after seeing quite a bit of time out there in the past. Freshman Jordi Morrison will play right field and junior Grace Wilson will be in left in addition to seeing time at third.

Winch will be in the leadoff spot in the order while Bell and Theisen are also expected to be in the top half of the order.

“It’s a very competitive lineup,” Winch said. “I see throughout practice that we’ve been changing it up and I see multiple girls that are willing to fight for their spot in the lineup. I also see multiple power hitters.”

Bell might be one of the most formidable bats as she was an RVC honorable mention last season after hitting .321. A four-year varsity starter, she also provides a strong glove at shortstop.

“Allie is such a leader,” Theisen said. “She’s got all of that experience. You can always count on her when something is hit to her. If she’s up to bat, you can always count on her. She’s a very reliable player.”

Bell agreed with Reincke’s assignment about needing better work in the field and said the added experience will be big.

“Some goals that I know I personally have is just to clean up the errors we had last year,” she continued. “Having more experience in the field means you can trust that that person’s gonna make that play, and everything just flows so much better when you know everyone is on.”

The Cougars finished 7-14 last season and placed seventh in the 10-team Rock Valley Conference.

Brodhead is the defending Division 3 State champions and will look to be at the top of the six-team Rock Valley Rock.

“Brodhead is going to be super tough,” he said. “Turner’s pitcher Maddyn Saunders is a freshman, but she’s solid and really smart. And you look at Jefferson, they’re going to have girls that can get out there and do work. But it’s just gonna be a situation again like we were last year. We clean up some errors and we’re going to be in a position to win games.”

Weather permitting, Clinton will open up the season at home against Delavan-Darien on Thursday.