Each year, the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association hosts a Senior All-Star Series, which allows the top graduating softball players in the state the chance to compete against each other one last time.

This year, the Becker Bulldogs were well-represented in the contest, as three members of the team were chosen to participate in the game, held Sunday, June 12th.  

Bulldog Seniors Cadence Koste and Makenna Zerwas were each selected to play in the event, while Head Coach Jason Baune served as one of the coaches in the AAA bracket.  The event features 88 of the top senior softball players in the state of Minnesota, including 22 from each of the four classes of softball. 

The day started with a banquet at the Kato Ballroom in Mankato, where players were honored for their selection in the game.  The banquet also celebrated the 32 section coaches of the year and honored four inductees into the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.  This year’s inductees to the Hall of Fame included, former standout players Missy Bruggeman of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River and Ashley Betzold of Farmington, as well as coaches Mike Silk of Randolf and Joe Madson of Mankato East.

After the banquet, players and coaches headed to Caswell Park in North Mankato to play in the All-Star Series.  

The 22 class AAA were divided into two teams and played two 5-inning games against each other.  Zerwas and Koste were each on the Blue team coached by Baune and Chelsae Erickson of Monticello. “While the games are a fun celebration of the careers of some great players, both Koste and Zerwas showed up with their bats to do some damage,” Baune said. “Both players collected multiple hits in the event and Koste even added a three-run home run.”

At the conclusion of the event, the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association selected 12 players to represent Team Minnesota in the Border Battle against Team Wisconsin.  

“Both Zerwas and Koste were selected to play for Team Minnesota and will travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take on Team Wisconsin on June 28-29th,” Baune added.  “This was a great event to honor and celebrate some great players.  Makenna and Cadence have been such a big part of the Becker Softball program and it was fun to have the chance to coach them one last time before they head off to college. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the two of them.”