EFFINGHAM — Planning a trip to the state tournament for junior high softball was in the back of Effingham head coach Lori Koester’s mind well before the season began.
“I talked about the state tournament in the parent meeting,” Koester said. “I’ve never done that before, but I felt it in July.
“That had to be our goal.”
That goal was met.
The Mustangs made the trek to Champion Fields in Normal for the Class 3A State Tournament following a 17-0 rout of Mahomet-Seymour in the sectional round.
Effingham went on to defeat Normal Chiddix in the first round, 8-2. The Mustangs trailed 2-0 to start the game before eight unanswered runs crossed home plate.
“We’ve been in that position before, luckily, I guess,” Koester said. “Our bats were strong all season long, but we’ve been in that come-from-behind position before.”
That win pushed EJHS into the semifinal round, where they fell to Washington Central, 6-0. Washington was the only team to shut out the Mustangs all season.
The team rebounded, though, dominating Chatham Glenwood in the third-place game. EJHS won that one, 14-2, ending the season with a 19-2 record.
Koester started the softball program in 2000. Since then, she has been to the state tournament twice in three years as a head coach, bringing home two state trophies. The Mustangs finished third in 2000.
This season was different for her in some regards.
“It was a great season. I told them at the state tournament that the exciting part, for me, started during camp in July, when I saw the talent that the seventh-graders were going to bring to our eighth-graders,” Koester said. “Together, I truly believed we would be solid.”
It was a nightmare for most opponents when EJHS came to the plate.
Koester said she always aimed for “decent defense and a powerful offense” with her team, and got just that.
The Mustangs batted .402 as a team with a .496 on-base percentage, a .610 slugging percentage and a 1.106 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. EJHS finished with 232 hits, 40 doubles, 22 triples, 12 home runs, 192 RBI and scored 238 times.
Koester chatted about each of her players, as well as her assistant coach below:
ANNA GOUCHENOUER
Gouchenouer batted .534 with a .591 on-base percentage, a 1.086 slugging percentage, 31 hits, six doubles, four triples, six home runs, 29 RBI and scored 34 runs.
“She’s so fast. She’s all gas, no brakes,” Koester said. “I would have a very difficult time stopping her on the base paths sometimes and she would skate on her cleats. The home runs she had, one was out of the park and the other five were inside-the-park home runs.”
CLOIE BAILEY & KENDYL SMITH
Bailey batted .403 with a .482 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage, six doubles, five triples, one home run, 24 RBI and scored 33 runs. She also pitched 60 innings and allowed 53 hits, 19 runs and had 84 strikeouts to 10 walks. Bailey was 10-2 with a 1.90 earned run average.
Smith batted .211 with a .333 on-base percentage, a .237 slugging percentage, one double, eight RBI and five runs scored. She pitched 52 innings, allowing 33 hits and six runs while striking out 84 and walking 14. Smith was 7-0 with a 0.69 earned run average.
“Cloie is our left-handed pitcher; she and Kendyl [Smith] took turns starting,” Koester said. “We knew teams would start timing up pitches from Cloie and Kendyl has a deceptive release — teams can’t see it or track it very well.
“It’s a great 1-2 punch between the two of them.”
LILLIAN WEISHAAR
Weishaar batted .182 with a .333 on-base percentage, a .182 slugging percentage, six RBI and six runs scored.
“She may not realize it, but it was an extremely important role she had to be our courtesy runner,” Koester said. “She understood her role and did a good job.”
ALIVIA LAURITZEN
Lauritzen batted .404 with a .493 on-base percentage, a .544 slugging percentage, six doubles, one triple, 18 RBI and 22 runs scored.
“I remember the first week of practice, she was terrified,” Koester said. “She kicked the ball around a couple of times. I walked over to her and said, ‘Liv, you’re one of the best athletes out here, just relax and play ball.'”
MACKYNZIE HITES
Hites, nicknamed “Lucky 7,” batted .379 with a .471 on-base percentage, a .414 slugging percentage, one triple, 17 RBI and 22 runs scored.
“She played left field for us every game,” Koester said. “She found a way to get on base so many times and she was clutch. She battles hard at the plate and finds a way to find a gap.”
MADALYN HOFFMAN
Hoffman batted .540 with a .625 on-base percentage, an .857 slugging percentage, 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 28 RBI and 36 runs scored.
“Shortstop and is probably harder on herself than anybody,” Koester said. “She is capable of fantastic plays at short and screaming line drives at the plate. She is the hardest worker and wants to be perfect. She works after practice and on weekends. She puts in a lot of time.”
MIA HARTKE
Hartke, nicknamed “Little 2,” batted .490 with a .627 on-base percentage, a .653 slugging percentage, two doubles, three triples, 18 RBI and 22 runs scored.
“Played third base for us and she had to get used to that,” Koester said. “She and [Hoffman] had to get used to working side-by-side at short and third. Her swing is beautiful and she really started clicking midway through the season.”
MILEY WILSON
Wilson batted .286 with a .375 on-base percentage, a .429 slugging percentage, two triples, nine RBI and 10 runs scored.
“Miley had a tough year. She had a concussion midway through the season and it was pretty significant,” Koester said. “A ball came back and drilled her in the mask. She tried to come back after the concussion protocol and she got hit again. It wasn’t worth it. She was young and we didn’t want her to get any more brain injuries, so she ended up playing first base and the outfield and then got hurt again in the state tournament. She got drilled twice and was out for a game-and-a-half.”
MOLLIE NIEMERG
Niemerg batted .283 with a .333 on-base percentage, a .377 slugging percentage, three doubles, one triple, nine RBI and 12 runs scored.
“She was at second base most of the time after she settled in,” Koester said. “She had to get through some nerves and was hard on herself, too. She had a good postseason; she was hitting the ball and scoring runners.”
SOPHIA WIEDMAN
Wiedman batted .259 with a .394 on-base percentage, a .333 slugging percentage, one triple, two RBI and 10 runs scored.
“When Miley was out, we had to move Anna to catcher and Sophia to first base,” Koester said. “She did a great job. She’s pretty confident and at the plate, that’s big, when they truly believe they’re going to be on-base and getting on in front of Cloie.”
TINLEY PATTON
Patton batted .460 with a .545 on-base percentage, a .762 slugging percentage, six doubles, two triples, three home runs, 24 RBI and 26 runs scored.
“She saved the day Friday with that deep home run,” Koester said. “That fired everyone up and quieted the other team. We finished the game strong with her momentum boost there.”
JaLANA ROBISON
Robison has coached with Koester for three years: 2000, 2001 and this past year.
“She was one of my first students,” Koester said. “She played at Cumberland and was a catcher. I was also a catcher and we had an instant bond. We’ve been friends ever since. She’s always got my back and I can count on her. She’s another set of eyes.”