Coe softball team seeks return to NCAA Division III Championships

CEDAR RAPIDS — The very high national ranking to begin this season was sort of a distraction for the Coe College softball team.

Once it went away, the Kohawks honestly were OK with it.

“Our girls really got back to not focusing on that and focusing on other stuff,” said head coach Jake Koolbeck. “Don’t worry about what everyone else is saying, just continue to do what we did last year. One thing they’ve always done is believe in themselves and believe in each other.”

From fourth-rated to unrated but back to an NCAA Division III super regional for Coe, which plays No. 7 Case Western Reserve in a best-of-3 series this weekend in Cleveland. Game 1 is Thursday at 1 p.m. (Central time), Game 2 noon Friday and an if-necessary Game 3 immediately following the conclusion of Game 2.

The winner advances to the NCAA Division III Championships next week in Marshall, Texas. American Rivers Conference mate Central also is in a super regional, at Linfield (Ore.).

“I think coming off the year we had last year, a lot of us had high expectations,” Koolbeck said. “I think there’s a little bit of some of that pressure kind of off now with what we’ve accomplished so far this season. Understanding that we kind of backed up what we thought we could do and what we set out to do.

“Now we’re in a spot where it’s two games, potentially three games, win two out of three games to see if we can’t get back down to Texas. Enjoy the moment, go play good softball and hopefully end in a really good spot.”

Coe (34-9) made it to Marshall last season for the first time since 2009, winning a pair of games before bowing out. Seven fifth-year seniors decided to return to school and the team in hopes of making it an NCAA repeat.

The Kohawks got off to a so-so 4-3 start, lost two one-run games early in the ARC season to Central, dropped three of four in late April but regrouped to win the ARC tournament and build an eight-game win streak going into this weekend.

Coe went unbeaten in last week’s regional in Greencastle, Ind., beating each of the other four regional teams (DePauw, Saint Mary’s (Ind.) and Baldwin-Wallace once). Heather Bockenstedt, a former Dyersville Beckman prep and one of those super seniors, had four hits as Coe outscored DePauw to clinch the regional, 12-9.

“Not trying to speak for them or anything, but I think there have been times where we’ve felt pressure,” Koolbeck said. “When you start the year ranked fourth in the nation, coming off of that, I think, it’s always a process. We knew we were going to take some losses early in the season, not because we didn’t think we were a really good team, but because we had to figure out what this year’s team was, despite the fact we returned so much.”

Bockenstedt was joined on the all-American Rivers Conference first team by teammates Shaylee Dodd (a fifth-year senior infielder from Belle Plaine) and outfielder Ruby Kappeler. Fifth-year senior Kappeler was named ARC Position Player of the Year.

Fifth-year senior pitcher Ellie Thurow was a second-teamer, with senior catcher-outfielder Bree Mangelsen and fifth-year senior utility player Madi Parson.

Case Western Reserve is 38-7 and has one of the top offenses in Division III. It was facing elimination in its regional but won back-to-back games against No. 25 Calvin on the final day to advance.

“We’re not trying to do too much. Not overthinking stuff,” Koolbeck said. “We have our scout, but a lot of our focus has just been on continuing to play to our strengths and trust each other, believe in each other, and executing in whatever the situation requires.

“It’s a really good group. They’ve put in the work all year. It’s just kind of that time now for us to enjoy (the situation) and not really overthink anything.”

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