Head Coach Jason Baune is entering his 17th year as leader of the girls softball program and his successes far out weigh the disappointments. Over the years, his teams have consistently won the conference, plowed through sections and have participated at state. Baune’s goal has always been to win, win, win — but in his latter years, his vision for the program has somehwat shifted.

 

“ I think my focus has changed over the years,” he says. “While I'm still a competitive person and winning is a big goal, I've learned over the years that there is a lot more to it than wins and losses.  Helping students reach their potential and grow into adults has become a big focus for our program.”

 

Baune returns his dependable coaches in Heather Holien, Jesse ONeill and Matt ONeill but has added Miriah Dockendorf as a co-coach at the C-squad level and Breanna Totzke has taken over for Scott Brake at the eighth grade level.

 

He has a total of 63 girls in grades 7-12, which is just a little down from last year.

 

“We currently have 17 girls practicing with the varsity, although some of them will split time between JV and varsity,” he says.  “We should have a pretty deep team with a lot of girls able to help us in different roles throughout the season.”

 

Seniors Kaylyn Wiehle and Jaida Johnson and juniors Corrie Weise and Cammie Varney are Baune’s captains this year. Each summer, he gets together with his coaching staff in late July or early August and celebrates the previous season as well as selecting captains for the following spring.

 

“Our captains play an important leadership role as they set an example for the rest of the team, help with our team building activities, and help me behind the scenes with some organizational work and communication.”

 

Baune expects another challenging schedule this year.  St. Cloud Cathedral has been Becker’s main conference nemesis over the past few years and this year should be no different.  On the non-conference side, Baune’s girls are taking on many Mississippi 8 teams as they look forward to rejoining that conference next year.  

“Our tournament has a strong field May 4 and we also have defending state champion Maple Lake on the schedule,” he says.

 

Rocori is the defending section champion and the favorite.  Willmar and Monticello will also have strong teams.

 

In softball, having a strong pitching staff is vital and the Bulldogs have a lot of depth on the mound as junior Corrie Weise returns for her fourth season on varsity.  Sophomore Emma Eickhoff has worked very hard in the offseason and will play a big role as well.  Freshman Trista Holm and eighth grader Kurstyn Patnode will likely do a lot of pitching on JV, but will also be available to help the varsity squad if needed.

 

Games are important, of course, but Baune and his set of coaches work tirelessly in practice to fine tune their team. Hitting, fielding, pitching and catching are all integral to a succesful team, but Becker’s coaches know it’s the mind that needs regular tune-ups during the season.

 

“I think each team is a little different, but one difficult thing to coach is focus in practice,” Baune says.  “Softball is a sport that requires a lot of repetition in practice and it can be easy to lose focus and learn bad habits.  The great players are able to stay focused on the small details in practice and that carries over into games.” 

 

Seventeen years is a long time to be devoted to one program but Baune still has the desire to be a part of it.

 

“I think the thing that I like best about softball is that it is a fast-paced game that requires a variety of skills,” Baune says.  “I love baseball, but fastpitch softball is a quicker game that in some ways involves more strategy.  If I could give someone a reason to come out for Becker softball it would be that our coaching staff works very hard to find a role for everyone in our program and makes softball a fun learning experience.”

 

The 2019 girls softball team consists of: Kurstyn Patnode, Brooke Hendrickson, Cammie Varney, Jaida Johnson, Jenna Kringler, Mallory Howe, Morgan Luberda, Corrie Weise, Makenna Zerwas, Avery Tamm, Paige De Luque, Kaylyn Wiehle, Emily Lamott, Shelby Zoller, Krista Paulson, Cadence Koste and Emma Eickhoff.