Mound-Westonka Softball's Chemistry Is Translating Into Wins

The softball team carried a light mood at Wednesday’s practice, but that’s nothing new for a White Hawks team built on team chemistry.

During a quick infield drill to begin practice, quips and laughs were being thrown about just as frequently as softballs.

“Where did you get that arm, from Jo-Ann Fabrics?” joked coach Dan Krause after a unusually weak throw, receiving a roar of laugher from the team.

“Jo-Ann Fabrics? I don’t even know what that means,” an infielder fired back.

Ask anyone on the Mound-Westonka squad, and she’ll tell you the same thing: The reason the White Hawks are off to a dominant 4-0 start is because the team feels comfortable working, laughing and playing with one another every day.

“The nice part is they’re loose enough,” Krause said. “If someone is having a bad day, the last person you would think of makes that person laugh. They’re always positive.”

That positivity is translating into wins.

The White-Hawks blazed through their first four games of the 2011 season, going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents 32-8. Five players with at least 10 plate appearances are batting over .400—including KatieJo Delisle at .615 and Brooklyn Pouti at .538—while pitcher Kim Hutchins is 3-0 with a five inning no-hitter, two shutouts and a 0.39 earned-run average.

Perhaps most important to them, the White Hawks already knocked off defending Wright County Conference champion Orono—the team’s biggest rival—.

“We have great chemistry. We know each other,” Hutchins said. “I feel like when we’re on the field, we want it so badly that we’ll do anything for it.”

The early mix of offensive production and pitching is welcomed, but it wasn’t necessarily expected. Mound-Westonka averaged 5.2 runs per game last year but were shut out four times and scored three or fewer runs 11 times a year ago.

Pouti said that led to extra preparation in the offseason and early spring practices, taking cuts in the batting cage and off the tee to work on form.

That, combined with a new mindset at the plate, is paying off.

“It’s understanding situations in the game and being mentally tough,” Krause said. “If I have a ground ball out but I advanced the runner, that’s a good at-bat. Last year, it was all about what am I going to do to get on base? Now it’s what can I do at the plate to put us in the best position to win?”

Delisle, who leads the team in batting average, said she feels comfortable knowing her teammates will come through when it matters most.

“We need to keep in mind that other teams are working hard to get to where we are, and we can’t stop at where we are,” Delisle said. “We have to keep pushing to get better.”

A lot can happen between now and June, but the early-season success is raising Mound-Westonka’s confidence. Pouti said she was once worried about producing offensively. Now, the White Hawks are poised to make run at the conference title.

The team’s belief in one another is a big part of that transformation.

“They’re a very tight group,” Krause said. “They’re always talking. It’s nice, because when we get in between the fences it’s business. When we’re outside we like to have fun and keep it loose.”