Earlham Echo

August 27, 2024

Ten years ago, an experienced, talented, well-coached Earlham Cardinal team capped an amazing season by winning the Class 2A state softball championship in Fort Dodge. In commemoration of that achievement, we recently talked to Coach Caskey and a few members of the team about their remembrances and reflections of that outstanding 2014 season. Many of the girls mentioned in this story are married now, but we’re going to use their maiden names here, since those are the names in the record books!

For the 2014 Cardinals, there really wasn’t much else to achieve—accept win the state title. The core of the team had already played in multiple state tournaments. The Cards finished 5^th at state in 2011 and 2^nd in 2012. After losing in a regional final in 2013, the Cardinals were determined to get back to Fort Dodge and win it all—although they never really talked about a championship trophy specifically.

“I think it was kind of always an expectation, but we’d all been playing together for so long that I think it was, ‘Hey if we’re going to do it…’” said Kaylie Brindley. “But people maybe counted us out a little, like, ‘Oh they’re good. They’ve gone to state before, but… We were all just really good together. We all fit well on the field and we all communicated well. So I think once we started the season and realized how well we were all clicking, it was always just an unspoken expectation. We always played with the expectation that we believed we could do it.”

“I feel like every game we went to, there was no thought that we were going to lose,” added Abbey Murphy. “We were expected to win every game, and when we didn’t, it was like, ‘Oh we didn’t win, let’s go win the next one.,”

“We were confident,” said Kristen Weber. “It wasn’t cocky or overconfident. But we knew that we had all the puzzle pieces that we needed. We were ready for whatever.”

Much of that confidence came from the sheer physical talent that the team possessed, but it was also born out of realizing that they were a part of something bigger than themselves. Most of the girls grew up in Earlham and had witnessed the Earlham softball culture from a young age. Just 5 years prior to their title, the Cards won it all in 2009.

“I was at the 2009 game as a 6^th grader,” said Weber. “I feel like even in junior high, the coaches did a really good job of painting a picture of a winning culture. The culture was created and cultivated before us. It’s different from a lot of places. Every single person on that team understood that and respected it and paid attention to every small detail that went into cultivating that culture. We knew who we were and who we could be. We wanted to win, and we wanted to be a part of the excitement that we witnessed before us. It was an amazing group of girls, and it was an amazing experience we were able to have. Most people don’t get to do that.”

The season started with a 6-3 loss to Boone, a good 4A school. After drubbing Madrid, 12-2, in their conference opener, the Cards headed to a weekend tournament in Winterset. The day started off good with an 8-1 win over Chariton. The Cards also beat Harlan, 7-6. But things got ugly against the host Huskies, and the Cards were embarrassed, 19-4. The Cards made 9 errors in the game and the Earlham pitchers walked 12 batters.

Chris Caskey is not a coach that gets angry often, but he did that day.

“I remember asking the girls to turn so the parents couldn’t see what I was saying,” he said. “And that’s the first time my daughter (an 8^th grader on the team) ever heard me say the F-word. I lost my mind. Not so much because we lost. But we didn’t look like we were coached. We didn’t look like we wanted to be there.”  

“It’s the only time I can recall that Coach Caskey was legitimately pi**ed,” said Weber. “There were times when he would say, ‘I’m disappointed in you because I know what you’re capable of.’ But this—I do think it rocked our world a little bit. We were like, ‘Oh sh*t. We better not do this again. We don’t like how this feels.’ It was a bad loss. It was definitely a shock to the system.”

“I think it was just the situation, or whatever it was—not because of what I said,” said Coach Caskey. “They took it upon themselves to change little things here and there. We didn’t lose much after that.”

The loss to Winterset was a crucial turning point in the season. The Cards went on to win 22 games in a row after the debacle in Winterset. The first victim was Panora, followed by wins over Des Moines Christian, Van Meter, Grandview Park Baptist, AC/GC, and West Central Valley—by a combined score of 70-9. On June 12, the Cards beat an excellent Woodward-Granger team, 4-1. Murphy pitched a complete game, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 9 batters, and Morgan Johnson hit a home run.

The Cards reeled off 5 more wins, over Riverside, Glenwood, Fremont-Mills, West Central Valley, and Van Meter. Over the next 6 games, Cardinal pitchers got shutouts in 5 of them. Murphy allowed just 3 hits and struck out 7 in a 4-0 win over Ogden. Brindley threw a 1-hitter against West Harrison as the Cards won, 11-0. In a 7-0 win against Underwood, Brindley stuck out 11 and allowed 2 hits. Murphy threw a 5-inning no hitter and struck out 10 in a 10-0 win over Audubon. The Cards beat Ogden again, 2-0, behind another 1-hitter by Brindley. The Cards then won the next four games, including a 2-0 win over Madrid on July 2 in which Brindley threw a no-hitter and notched 16 strikeouts.

The Cards’ superior ability certainly was a factor in their winning streak, but when Coach Caskey needed to push some buttons, he picked the right ones.

“You just try not to screw it up,” he said. “They were all super high IQ athletes. It didn’t matter what sport. You didn’t have to explain situations to them. They understood what to do when the ball came to them. They were constantly thinking about how to do it better. And if they made a mistake, it’s the last one they were going to make for a while, because they fixed it and moved on. They made great adjustments at the plate. They could run bases. They were really a special group of athletes. To be able to make it to state in multiple sports, it didn’t matter what it was, they worked so hard and paid attention to detail.”

The Cardinals weren’t deep—there were only 10 players that played in the majority of games—but they got contributions from everybody in the lineup at different times.

“There wasn’t a weak spot in the order by the time we got to the end of the season,” said Coach Caskey. “Throughout the season you’re thinking, ‘Okay, maybe we should make a change here, maybe we should adjust here, switch the lineup here.’ But we were settled in by mid-season. And they each got better at what they did. They were great teammates. They fed off each other. They were so positive.”

The Cardinals ended their regular season at the DCG tournament and lost twice; to 4A Indianola, 13-3, and 5A Urbandale, 4-3. The losses didn’t shake their confidence. They entered the post-season with the same mentality they had developed over the winning streak and did not feel any pressure in the one-and-done nature of the playoffs.

“Obviously, what we were doing was working,” said Murphy. “So we just kept going and did what we were doing. I think that’s why we were successful because we took every game just like a normal game. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh if we lose this game, we’re done.’”

The big decision Coach Caskey had to make was choosing a pitcher for the playoffs. That wasn’t an easy choice. Brindley and Murphy had both been outstanding during the season. Brindley got the nod.

“I’ve never been meaner to a kid than Kaylie Brindley when she was a younger softball player,” said the coach. “For her to stick it out and put forth everything she did was amazing.”

It’s hard to tell how much the coach’s ‘meanness’ had to do with Brindley’s success that year, but she certainly gave no cause for him to regret his decision. She was fine in the Cardinals’ playoff opener, a 12-2 win over Van Meter in 5 innings. But she was brilliant in the regional semifinal against IKM-Manning in Earlham on July 11. She tossed a 1-hitter with 14 strikeouts in the Cards 8-0 win. Taelor Williamson was 2-3 with a home run and 3 RBI.

Brindley led the way again in the regional final in Ogden against St. Edmond on July 14. She struck out 11 and only allowed 1 earned run in the 5-2 win. Murphy and Jazlin Sprague both homered to power the offense.

The Cards were on a roll, heading back to Fort Dodge, and their pitcher was feeling it.

“Physically, I was feeling really good. Everything was working,” said Brindley. “So I just trusted my body and what it was doing. Mentally, I was excited that we had made it that far as a team. I almost felt anxious, but still a little bit relaxed. We had made it there and I knew that everybody on the field behind me was going to help me. I always believed in them.”

2014 marked the 6^th time the Cardinals had made it to the state softball tournament, but it was the first time as a Class 2A team. Earlham got bumped up from 1A before the season. Playing against ‘tougher competition’ did not intimidate the experienced Cards.

“I don’t recall ever being particularly nervous,” said Kristen Weber. “The core of us had been there twice already. I think there was a comfort there. We were used to being in Fort Dodge. It wasn’t unusual. It played a huge role in our demeanor up there.”

The Cardinals were seeded #2 in the tournament and drew North Butler in the first round on July 22. Coach Caskey called every coach he knew in that area and the intel he got back was that the Bearcats were ‘unbeatable.’ They had it all. Pitching. Hitting. Defense. You name it. They were good in this game, but the Cards were better. Weber, Addie Herman, and Morgan Johnson all reached base in the 1^st inning and all three of them scored. That’s all the runs the Cards would score, but that’s all they would need. The Bearcats only managed 2 hits against Kaylie Brindley, who walked just 1 batter and struck out 9, as the Cards won, 3-0.

“With our team, you get 3 runs, you’re golden,” said Coach Caskey. “That’s the way it was. Once we were able to put that number on the board and the pressure is on the other team, you can play a whole lot different than if you’re behind.”

The win put the Cardinals into the semifinals on July 24 against Woodbury Central, who were 29-5. The Cards scored an unearned run and Taylor Hipsley hit a solo homer to give the Cards a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats did not have a hit off Brindley until the top of the 7^th inning. But that hit, along with some defensive lapses by the Cardinals, led to 2 runs and a tie game. The Cardinals untied it in the bottom of the frame when Taelor Williamson stepped up to the plate and smacked the ball over the fence.

Williamson knew she hit the ball well, but wasn’t thinking ‘home run.’

“I genuinely thought I had hit it to the outfield,” she said, “so I felt like I really needed to get going so I could get the most out of the hit. Once I heard the crowd, I assumed someone had made an error. It wasn’t until (first base) Coach (Kristin) Sheffield told me that it was out that I really realized what was happening. After that, it was the biggest burst of energy I had had all game. All I wanted to do was get to home plate to celebrate with my teammates. I think that’s the fastest I have ever run the bases. Pure adrenaline.”

The homer gave the Cards a berth in the state championship game. As thrilling as that was, the drama actually started nearly 24 hours earlier. Williamson had spent the night before in the hospital, suffering from aspiration pneumonia, among other ailments. She hadn’t felt well for the whole tournament and finally went to the doctor the day before the North Butler game. Her vitals were so bad that within 15 minutes of the visit, her doctor called Blank Children’s Hospital to have her admitted.

“My dad can vouch for me that I begged him not to take me,” said Williamson. “The only thing I was thinking of was our upcoming games. Finally, we agreed that if I went to the hospital right then, we could sign out the next morning—whether they recommended it or if it was against medical advice—and I would go to the game. My dad says it was a lose-lose situation for him. Either go against my medical team or go against me!”

The Cardinals faced off against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the title game on July 25. The Rockets had a 27-4 record and knocked off top seed Highland in the semifinals.

The Cards got rolling in the top of the 1^st inning. Weber laced a line drive into right field for a single and Herman was hit by a pitch. Abbey Murphy blooped a single into right field and the bases were loaded. Weber was forced out at home when Brindley hit a ground ball to the pitcher. Johnson followed with a ground ball into the hole at 2^nd. She was thrown out by the right fielder, but Herman scored to give the Cards a 1-0 lead.

Coach Caskey is frequently more tense than he appears—especially before a big game. While he didn’t let it affect his team, he did have a few nerves early on in the title game.

“I saw their pitcher warming up and thought, ‘She’s good. I’m not sure how we’re going to handle this rise ball, the change of speeds, the accuracy,’” he said. “Then all of the sudden, the first few girls get up and put the bat on the ball and it’s like, ‘Okay, I am obviously way to worried about this.’ They handled their business and they were just fine.”

Brindley retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 1st, then struck out the third, but that batter reached on a dropped third strike. Second baseman Murphy ended the inning with a terrific backhand catch on the run in short center field.

Earlham added a run in the 3^rd. After Herman walked, she stole 2^nd, then scored when Murphy smashed a ground ball between the 1^st baseman’s legs.

Brindley was keeping the EBF hitters off balance and was getting ahead in the count. She retired the first two batters in the 3^rd, then 3^rd baseman Weber ended the inning when she ranged to her right and made a leaping grab of a soft line drive in foul territory.

The Cards scored 2 more times in the 4^th. Jazlin Sprague hit a 1-out single, then moved to 2^nd on Emily Boston’s sacrifice bunt. Weber singled through the hole at short. Herman followed with a flyball that hit the bottom of the fence in right center. She ended up with a double and both runners scored to give the Cards a 4-0 lead.

The Rockets got on the scoreboard in the 5^th. After a leadoff double, an infield single, and a passed ball, they had runners on 2^nd and 3^rd. Weber made a dazzling diving catch of a short popup in foul territory for the 1st out, but the Rockets eventually scored on a passed ball and a ground out. Herman’s sliding grab of a popup between her and Brindley ended the inning with the Cards ahead, 4-2.

With two outs in the top of the 6^th, Emily Boston singled. She scored when Weber smashed a double into right center, giving the Cards a 5-2 lead.

The game got tight in the 6^th when EBF pitcher Nataliah Hopkins hit a 2-run homer, but the Cards still led, 5-4. The Cards got an insurance run in the 7^th. Murphy reached on a 2-base error, then went to 3^rd on Brindley’s sacrifice bunt. Johnson then bunted and was safe at 1^st when Hopkins fielded the ball and threw to 3^rd in an attempt to nab Murphy but Murphy was safe. Murphy scored when Williamson bounced into a fielder’s choice, and the Cards led, 6-4.

Herman made the first out in the 7^th when she jumped and backhanded a soft liner. After a Cardinal error, Brindley fielded a grounder and threw to 1^st for the second out. Murphy ended the game with a basket catch of a popup, and the celebration ensued.

“You play all the way up to the end and anything can happen at any point in time,” said Brindley. “But I think the game kind of froze with that last hit. Abbey caught it, and there was a pause. And then it hits you: ‘Oh my goodness, we just won. We completed what we set out to do from the beginning.’”

Coach Caskey is always grinding, always coaching. But even he took a moment to enjoy the win.

“I learned a lot that season,” he said. “I’m always worried about the next season; ‘Did I build up enough so that the next season we’re not rebuilding, so we don’t completely fall off?’ I remember that year telling myself, when we qualified for the state tournament, that I was going to enjoy it—enjoy every game and enjoy watching the girls celebrate after that last game. It doesn’t show a whole lot, but watching the girls celebrate after a last out, there’s nothing like that in the world.”

Ten years later, the girls on that team are achieving good things out in the real world. Some are even coaching and teaching—conveying the ‘Cardinal way’ to new groups of student-athletes. Brindley teaches 4th grade in Earlham and is the head coach of the junior high softball team. Murphy was head varsity softball coach at Nodaway Valley for a while and is currently the elementary PE teacher in Earlham. Weber was an assistant junior high coach in multiple sports in Earlham for a couple years and was recently named head varsity cross country coach at Lenox. Herman has been an assistant coach for track at Earlham. Those types of accomplishments, rather than all the victories his program has piled up over the years, are what is truly satisfying for Coach Caskey.

“It’s a really great thing for me to see Kaylie walk by in the hallway, to watch Abbey teach her class, to see Kristen when she was coaching here working with the girls. Addie, when she was doing her thing,” he said. “To see high character, intense, people with incredible work ethic, and see them working with the next generation of kids—that’s great. Seeing them now, I’ve never been prouder of a group of kids walking the hallways and seeing these people do their thing. You know that the future is going to be pretty good.”

The Cardinal culture extended (and still does) to other sports, as well. This particular group of girls were dominant in just about everything.

“I do think it helped softball that we were successful in our other sports,” said Murphy. “How many times by my senior year had we been to state in something? And everybody was. We had been to state up and down the board.”

Weber added, “My core memories from high school are all these times at state with all my best friends. How cool is that? I didn’t realize how fortunate we were until I got out in the real world and nobody else that I’ve ever talked to has that experience. We were completely blessed with softball, basketball, track, and cross country. That just doesn’t happen.”

Participating in sports is more than just winning games—it’s a critical part of the educational process. Just like math, English, and science. Perhaps more so.

“Sports have helped me become who I am,” said Brindley. “Being able to play on a team and having to rely on other people. And the relationships that you build while you’re playing sports are hard to teach in the classroom. You can teach teamwork, but you never really get that experience unless you’re playing sports. And just the discipline, too. And persevering through things. That’s the best way to get those experiences for life. Things are not always going to be easy.”