This year, ‘so close’ won’t cut it for Cedar Rapids Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was a silver lining, yes. It also was shallow consolation.

“We were so close,” Cedar Rapids Xavier pitcher Braylen Conlon said, in reference to the Saints’ 2-1 loss to Carlisle in a Class 4A softball regional final last year. “Then Carlisle went out and dominated at state.

“It could have been us.”

Could have been, then. Could be, now.

With eight returning starters, Xavier is well-equipped to make its first trip to Fort Dodge since 2018.

And more.

“The expectations are there,” said Nikki Gahring, who is beginning her 13th season as the Saints’ head coach. “We’ve got some quality pieces returning.”

It starts with a highly charged all-senior battery.

Conlon and catcher Katie Pilcher both are returning 4A first-team all-staters.

Bound for Western Kentucky, Conlon posted a 23-7 record last season with a 1.06 ERA. She struck out 323, against 90 walks, in 179 innings.

If those numbers drop this summer — particularly the innings — that could be a good sign.

Maddyn Gates has transferred in from Solon, and her arrival gives the Saints as good of a No. 2 pitching option as anybody around.

“It definitely relieves some pressure on me,” Conlon said. “Coming into that second game ... (Gates is) a competitor.”

According to Pilcher, both pitchers share a similar mentality.

“Braylen definitely has a killer instinct. She wants to go get every batter,” Pilcher said. “Maddyn gives us a fierceness.

“There’s a lot of diversity between the two. That will throw the batters off.“

Pilcher has been a varsity performer since eighth grade and has signed with Truman State. She’ll go down as one of the program’s best power hitters.

She hit .457 last season with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs.

“It definitely comes from lifting. Braylen and me ... Cedar Rapids Performance makes us bigger, faster, stronger,” Pilcher said.

“I want to be in the .400 range again. The goal each year is one home run better (than the previous year).”

Conlon was the team’s top hitter last year at .471, and contributed 34 runs and 34 RBIs.

Shortstop Carly Jonker, now a senior, batted .381, and is one of three returning infielders, along with junior Claire Walter and freshman Callie Luerkens.

The outfield returns intact — freshman Abby Driscoll, senior Alaina Luerkens and junior Jaselle Lang, from left field to right.

“We have the drive, and we have the skill. That’s going to take us really far,” Conlon said. “We have such an unbreakable bond. I trust them with my life.”

Lang was a starter on Xavier’s basketball team that won a state championship in March.

“I’m a shoot-for-the-stars kind of person,” Pilcher said. “When you compete, you want to be No. 1.

“I saw the basketball team get their pink (championship) shirts. We want that opportunity, as well.”

There is plenty to think about between now and July, between here and Fort Dodge.

It starts Tuesday, when Cedar Rapids Kennedy comes to Bob Erusha Field for a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Pilcher said. “We’ll get to see good pitching. It’s going to make us better.”

The MVC is going back to a 28-game conference schedule this summer. It’s going to be a grind.

“Dog-eat-dog,” Gahring said. “We're going to get everybody’s best.

“We’ve got to rise up. There is going to be pressure. But as the old saying goes, there’s a privilege to that pressure.

“We did a lot of preseason work on the mental side. When things don’t go our way, how are we going to respond? We’ve got to stay tough and stay positive.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com