Season Wrap-up

The 2005 version of Northern State softball finished with one of the best records in the past eight years. The Wolves, under the directions of first year Head Coach Terri Holmes, went 14-29 on the season. The 14 wins ties the 2003 and 1999 seasons for the most wins in the past eight years.

The Wolves finished the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season with a 4-10 mark, which ranked them sixth in the league. The Wolves lost four NSIC games by three runs or less, including three against Wayne State (NE). The Wolves went 1-2 in the NSIC Tournament, with their final game loss coming against Wayne State by the score of 4-2. The Wolves lost to MSU Moorhead in the first game of the NSIC Tournament by a score of 4-1, but rebounded to defeat Bemidji State 12-0 in five innings before falling to Wayne in the double elimination tournament.

The Wolves had only one senior and one junior on this season’s squad. Angie Olson (Sr., IF, Belle Fourche, S.D.) and Lisa Koehler (Jr., IF/P, Waconia, Minn.) were the only upper classmen on the team. Olson finished second on the team in batting with a .323 batting average, while Koehler was one of the top pitchers in the league as she finished with the eighth lowest ERA in the NSIC with a 3.10 over 151.1 innings pitched. Over the past seven years, Koehler had the most complete games in a season (21), the most shutouts in the season (4) and the most strikeouts in a season (86). She also had the most strikeouts in a game when she struck out 12 against Presentation College on March 29 th. Koehler’s best NSIC game of the season came against SW Minnesota State, where Koehler pitched a two hitter in the Wolves 1-0 win.

The Wolves underclassmen were led by Emily Howlett (Fr., C, Eagan, Minn.), who lead the team and finished fourth in the NSIC with a .357 batting average. She led the team in homeruns with four, including three in a single game against Bemidji State. Over the past seven years she has set the single season record for: slugging percentage (.595), runs scored (29), double (16), homeruns (4), RBIs (30), total bases (75), and intentional walks (2).