Earlham Echo

May 21, 2024

Softball

Expectations are always high with Earlham softball. When a program is a perennial powerhouse with a slew of state tournament appearances and a couple of state championship trophies, that just comes with the territory. With eight high-level returning starters—five seniors and three juniors—from a team that won 31 games last season, the 2024 Cardinals are poised to meet those weighty expectations head on. How good can they be?

“I don’t think they even know,” said Coach Caskey. “I wish that sometimes they could see themselves though my eyes—to see exactly how good they are. But that also means they’re constantly working hard because they don’t think they’ve quite arrived yet. And there isn’t a kid on this team that thinks they’re too good to be here or too good to do the work or too good to learn something. And when you have that, you can do a lot of stuff.”

If they make enough good ‘stuff’ happen, the Cardinals could be playing for the gold trophy with seven other Class A teams in Fort Dodge in late July. Coach Caskey doesn’t spend a lot of time talking to his players about going to state and winning it all. He doesn’t have to. That kind of thinking is inherent in his program and in the kids. 

“When the veteran kids get out here and they’re in the dugout, they’re talking about what it was like to be at the state tournament,” said the coach. “’This is what happens; this is what could happen.’ And the younger girls hear that—and when they hear it every year, they never think they’re out of a game. They never think they’re out of a season. They never think they’re not able to do it. A lot of teams want to go to state, but what does it take to get there? All these kids that are out here have done exactly what it takes to have the opportunity to get there.”

The Cards smashed 29 home runs last year as a team, which was second best in Class A. They were 5^th in batting average with a team mark of .377. They were in the top five in a bunch of other offensive categories, including runs, hits, RBI, slugging, singles, doubles, total bases—you get the idea. Coach Caskey can use his offense in multiple ways—sit around and wait for a homer or manufacture runs. He thinks this is the best returning offense he’s had since the 2014 team that won it all.

“We can bunt, we can run, we have power hitters,” he said. “Haley (Glade) returns as one of the top hitters in the state—all classes. Katie (Janssen) is an extra base type of person. We have a lot of speed with Rowen (Fisk) and Reagan (Ridout) at the top of the order.”

Not to mention Kenady Ridout (.382, 4 HR, 38 RBI) and Lexi Voss (.343, 3 HR, 21 RBI).

They’ll be strong on defense as well. Glade (3B), Voss (SS), and Fisk (2B) is as solid as it gets, and they are all capable of making the exceptional play. Janssen and Kenady will share duties at catcher and first base, and they are both above average at either position. Reagan will do most of the pitching, but she’s a fine centerfielder, too. Kenna Harskamp, Taylor Rodgers, Katie Steward, and Keeley Keller will mix and match in the outfield as needed.

“Early on we’ll probably make a lot of mistakes,” said Coach Caskey. “But having the experience on the infield kind of solidifies what we’re trying to do, and I think it helps Reagan—who is now going to be the main pitcher—to have something to rely on so she doesn’t have to be nervous about what’s going on behind her. 

Reagan was a solid number two pitcher last season. She started 15 games and was 11-3 with a 3.11 ERA. She’s a lefty, which is a look that batters don’t get too often, that throws hard. She has mental toughness and a relaxed demeanor. Coach Caskey will have no reservations handing her the ball most every night.

“I think she has put in as much work, if not more, than any pitcher that’s come through here,” he said. “She never gets too high or too low. Sometimes I wish she’d make a face so I knew what she was thinking. But she rolls with everything. She’s so calm, cool, and collected.

Keeley Keller should be the #2 pitcher. She pitched in one varsity game last year. Fisk, who started 16 games in 2022, might be another option in the circle, as well as Harskamp and 8^th grader Eden Forcht. Coach Caskey learned a lesson many years ago when he lost a star pitcher to injury.

“From that year on, we’ve always had two pitchers,” he said. “Two that pitch varsity, then others that we are getting ready to go. So if somebody gets injured, we have a backup plan. But having that depth, I feel like they can all throw strikes, and the defense can make plays and we’ll still be in ball games, no matter which one of them pitches.”

Having a ton of seniors doesn’t necessarily mean a team has good leadership, but in the case of this year’s Cardinals, that’s exactly what it means. Throw in a couple of juniors that have experience, and the younger kids will have plenty of girls to look up to.

“I’ve been blessed since I’ve been here with great leadership,” said Coach Caskey. “Sometimes they’re a little gruff, sometimes not so much. But they always have the best intentions of the team and the kids in mind when they say something. And some of their deliveries are a little different, but this group of leaders is phenomenal, and they all bring something different to the table.”

Baseball

It’s been a long time since the Cardinals have had a veteran, experienced roster, but that’s what head coach Josh Mohr will have in his second season on the job in 2024. Eight starters from last year, all upperclassmen now, will suit up for the Cardinals. Many of those players have been starting and playing for a long time. A few years ago, when there was a dearth of Cardinal upperclassmen, a few of those guys had to play before they were really ready for varsity. Everybody is more than ready now.

“We feel like we’re in a really good spot,” said Coach Mohr. “We have the older guys, and they have the experience and have been there. They didn’t have to sit behind someone like at a bigger school. So they have played a lot of varsity innings and that’s something that excites me. You don’t often get that level of experience and have that many games under your belt.”

Last year’s Cardinals were 15-11, the first time they’d had a winning record since 2018. They had a signature win over #1-ranked Van Meter, beat Des Moines Christian for the first time in 7 years, and generally played everyone tough. The playoff loss that ended their season was a heartbreaker, 2-1, to an excellent Woodbury Central team that went on to play in the district final. Given the type of athletes that will be in the lineup and that Coach Mohr has set his team’s bar even higher, nobody will be resting on their laurels.

“Last year we had a lot of positive momentum, and we did a lot of things well,” he said. “But our slogan or catch phrase this year is, ‘Yesterday’s price isn’t today’s price.’ So the things that we did last year were great, we can build off that. But if we try to put in the same amount of effort that we did last year, we’re going to get a worse result, simply because we’re not going to be able to sneak up on anybody. So we have to be that much better, have that much more attention to detail, and be that much more focused night in and night out.”

Last season’s top hitter Ryan Stiles (.392, 1 HR, 23 RBI) is back. He was also probably the Cards’ best pitcher by the end of the year. Also returning are Klayton Wolken, Ty Forcht, Carter Hohertz, and Zach Day, who all hit above .300. Kallin Nicholson, Jeret Petersen, and Blake Tiemeyer are other ’23 starters who return this season. For this bunch, their contributions go beyond what shows up in a box score.

“They’re good baseball players and they’re good leaders, but they’re even better kids,” said Coach Mohr. “We’re really lucky to get to work with these kids. They show up every day and go about their business the right way.”

Twelve different Cardinal pitchers took the mound last year, and that will probably be the case again this season. Petersen, Stiles, and Forcht started 13 games combined in 2023 and should form the core of the rotation. Wolken pitched in 8 games and had a 3-0 record. Coach Mohr described him as a ‘Swiss Army knife,’ and said that he’ll get even more opportunities this year. Other pitchers will be called on to start or relieve and they should be fine.

“Pitching depth is something that we’re excited about,” said the coach. “We have a handful of guys that pitched a lot of innings for us last year and had success. We have a second handful that maybe didn’t get to pitch as much last year, but will be called upon this year too. And we’re equally as excited about those guys. Basically, everybody in our lineup is going to throw at some point and it’s just on me to find the best situations to put those guys in.”

Coach Mohr and his team gelled quickly last season. He got to know them, and they jumped on board with his expectations by opening day. This season, the coach is taking another step in building his program.

“Last year was about me implementing what I was looking for out of a baseball team,” he said. “But this year what we’re looking for is a lot less coach led—now the players can take on that ownership of things. That gives us a lot more time to work on baseball skills and reps. Obviously it will still come from me and Coach (Brad) Deling, but the more that we can get that leadership from the players, it’s just going to make us that much better as a team.”

The team has been taking a lot of batting practice and fielding ground balls in the preseason, of course, but Coach Mohr has been stressing mental performance training just as much as the physical side of the game. It’s something he picked up from his days working with coaches he has admired at ADM and Norwalk.

“Every single one of our guys, 1-25, are physically capable of doing what we ask them to do on the baseball field,” he said. “But so much of the game is the mental aspect and how they carry themselves and then how they respond when they do make a mistake. When I started doing some of that stuff, I just immediately felt like this is not just beneficial for baseball, it’s beneficial for life. It’s something I wish I could have had as a player, and so when I can start taking those things from the people that I’ve learned from and pass that on to these guys, it seems like a no brainer to me. I think that the guys bought into it last year and it’s something we’re going to continue this year.”