2010 Softball UMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Greg Johnson, UMAC Sports Information Director

1. College of St. Scholastica - 49 points (7 First Place Votes)
2. Northland College - 41 points (1)
3. Northwestern College - 38 points
T-4. University of Minnesota-Morris - 27 points
T-4. Martin Luther College - 27 points
6. Bethany Lutheran College - 21 points
7. Crown College - 12 points
8. Presentation College - 9 points

This year Bethany Lutheran came in sixth place in the preseason survey with 21 points. The Vikings will have a strong group of senior leadership this season after finishing the 2009 season with a 7-14 UMAC record. Brittany Schlomer (Glenham, S.D./Selby), a previous UMAC All-Defensive Team selection, will start at center field while Susan Hegstrom (Buffalo, Minn./West Lutheran) moves from shortstop to third base in 2010. At the plate, Hegstrom led Bethany with a .394 batting average and 14 stolen bases. Amanda Edmison (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer), an all-conference honorable mention winner, returns to the field after batting .348 with four home runs and 31 RBI in 2009.

The Vikings will start spring training on March 6 in Ft. Myers, Fla.

New faces provide a promising future for softball team
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Joseph Baer

Mankato, Minn.—The Bethany softball team finished the 2009 season with a record of 9-27, including a 7-14 record within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Coach Leigh Ann LaFave put the season into perspective, “Even though we failed to reach our goal of making the UMAC postseason tournament, we came on strong toward the end of the season and played well.”

The Vikings’ early struggles may have been attributed to inexperience. The team of 16 players included 10 freshmen and just one senior in Anna Ristow (Newport News, Va./Menchville). They started to put things together after their spring break trip to Arizona and won four of five games at one point in mid-April. This string of victories included a come-from-behind upset of Northwestern College, 6-5 in eight innings. Ristow showed her leadership with a game-tying three run double in the bottom of the seventh.

Individually, Freshman Amanda Edmison (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) received All-Conference Honorable Mention and outfielder Britney Schlomer (Glenham, S.D./Selby) was named to the UMAC All-Defensive Team. Edmison batted .348 on the season and led Bethany with four home runs and 31 RBIs. She also pitched 13.1 innings and posted a 4.20 ERA with a 3-1 record. Susan Hegstrom (Buffalo, Minn./West Lutheran) led the Vikings with a .394 batting average and 14 stolen bases. Ristow drove in 25 RBIs on the season.

Abigail Popp (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) started 13 games and made 23 appearances in the pitcher’s circle. Popp pitched 86 innings and struck out 46 hitters. Whitney Madison (Wabasha, Minn./Wabasha-Kellogg) started 12 games for the Vikings and posted a 5.94 ERA in 70.2 innings. Popp and Madison both won two games for Bethany.

Coach Lafave is optimistic of the team’s future, “Toward the end of this season, the team started to ‘mesh.’ We had several freshman starters and they will be ready for next season with hard work during the off-season. Several freshmen will be joining us next season with more depth in the pitching staff.”