The Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear softball team is looking to take a step forward after finishing the 2023 season with a record of 16-9 and a runner up finish in the Top of Iowa West.
The Golden Bears return a deep starting nine, with six of their nine regular starters from last year back for 2024. The 2023 edition of the team was strong one through nine, with no regulars hitting below .270, and eight of the nine starters compiling a mark of .294 or better. That depth allowed Bishop Garrigan to bat .361 as a team, well above their .305 mark from 2022.
Head Coach Paige Purdy has shifted the team’s focus to quality at bats above anything else.
The centerpiece of the lineup has been senior Abbie Capesius, a third team all-state selection in 2022, and a second team all-state selection in 2023. Capesius is the all-time home run leader at Bishop Garrigan, and is likely to approach or surpass the school’s career records for RBI, stolen bases, hits, and potentially more with a full season of play. The production of Capesius has often led to opposing pitchers working around her, something she says she can’t think about when she is in the box.
The cleanup hitter in every game last season for the Golden Bears was Hanna Merron, who enters her junior season coming off a campaign that saw her bat .367 with one home run and 26 runs batted in, an improvement of over 70 points on her batting average from 2022. Senior Ella Schaaf also adds some power to the lineup, batting .329 last season with the first two home runs of her career. Schaaf attributes the career high batting average and newfound power to continuing to play over the offseason.
Other key returners from last season’s starting lineup include Sacha Alesch, who batted .402 as a freshman, Zoe Montag, who wrapped up her junior season hitting .329, and Molly Peterson, who ended last season batting .294 as a sophomore.
Schaaf will also be called upon to take a bigger role pitching, after splitting the starts and innings pretty evenly with 2023 senior Darius Goche for the past three seasons. Last year, Schaaf was 8-6 with a 3.93 ERA, striking out 54 batters and walking 48 in 78.1 innings pitched. Schaaf feels it was a strong offseason of preparation.
Purdy expects a career high in innings this year from Schaaf, but also has a couple of young arms who can spell Schaaf in the circle including sophomore Alyssa Haugland.
One area where Bishop Garrigan did graduate a starter from last season is catcher, where a Shiloh Trainer and Lillian Wickman will vie to replace Joey Doerning.
In addition to a lineup that is capable of producing a high batting average, the Golden Bears also bring a lot of speed to the basepaths, with multiple starters just wrapping up track season. Capesius feels Bishop Garrigan’s speed will present a lot of issues for opposing defenses.
The Golden Bear roster will feature just three seniors this season, with Capesius, Schaaf, and outfielder Violet Bode. Schaaf is ready for seniors to lead the way.
Each of the past three seasons for Bishop Garrigan has ended in a Top of Iowa West runner up finish to North Union. The Warriors graduated pitching ace Emily Meyer, but will still be among the lead contenders for the conference title according to Purdy.
For Purdy, the goal starts with being above .500, and then builds to vying for the conference title and postseason success.
Game number one is on May 20th, as Bishop Garrigan opens on the road at Belmond-Klemme. The Golden Bears then play three straight home games, against Pocahontas Area on May 21s, Algona on May 22nd, and Lake Mills on May 24th to wrap up week one of the season.
