The Minnewaska softball team had a breakout season in 2025, going 9-13 overall and 5-9 in the WCC.  The Lakers started out 2-5, but then went 5-2 to stand at 7-7 after a doubleheader sweep of Montevideo, May 6.

The Lakers went 1-4 to close out the regular season and then opened up the Section 3AA Tourney with a 6-2 win over KMS before losing twice to Morris Area (5-2) and Redwood Valley (3-0) to end the season.

Morris Area-CA won the WCC title this year with a 12-2 record, followed by Melrose (11-3), WCA and BOLD (both 10-4), Minnewaska and Sauk Centre (both 5-9), Montevideo (2-12) and Benson (1-13).

Morris Area-CA and Jackson County Central played in the Section 3AA championship this year.  Morris Area came through the consolation bracket and beat Jackson CC in the first game, 3-2, but then fell in the championship game in 14 innings, 7-2.

Seniors lost to graduation from this year’s team, coached by Luke Barkeim and Jesse Johnson, are Mataya Mix and Lauren Stryhn.

Team awards

The Lakers recently announced their team awards during a season-ending banquet.

Selected to the All-Conference team for 2025 were centerfielder Haillie Schulz and secondbaseman Avery Lewison, while catcher Emma Poegel earned recognition on the honorable mention team.

Schulz, Lewison and Poegel were also all named first-team All-State, while Schulz was named to the All-Area first team, Lewison earned placement on the All-Area second team and Poegel was named to the All-Area honorable mention team.

Named the Lakers’ Team MVP this season was Haillie Schulz, who was also named the Offensive Player of the Year for Minnewaska.

Shortstop Ella Roering earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award, while pitcher Mataya Mix earned the All-in Award (8-10 on the mound) and Emma Poegel won the Blue Collar Award.

Season statistics

The Lakers batted .269 as a team this season and had a team on-base percentage of .336.

Haillie Schulz led the team with a .386 batting average and .442 on-base percentage.  She also had team-highs of 27 hits, five triples, 18 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

Also batting over .250 for the team this year (at least 10 at-bats) were Avery Lewison (.361), Emma Poegel (.324), Lauren Stryhn (.263), Eliana Marthaler (.254) and Ella Roering (.254), while ending the season with an on-base percentage of over .300 were Lewison (.403), Roering (.366), Poegel (.360), Marthaler (.333), Stryhn (.323) and Berlynn Green (.306).

Lewison led the Lakers with six doubles and 21 runs scored, while Poegel had a team-best two homeruns and Roering had a team-high 11 walks/hit-by-pitch.

•  This year’s varsity softball roster included senior Mataya Mix (p) and Lauren Stryhn (if);  juniors Ella Roering (if), Emma Poegel (c) and Carly Jergenson (utility); sophomores Haillie Schultz (of), Avery Lewison (of), Kylie Fenger (c-if), Eliana Marthaler (if), Norah VanZee (p) and Emma Hawkinson (if); and ninth-graders Mileigh Lundebrek (utility) and  Berlynn Green (of).

Meanwhile, the JV softball roster included junior Mahry Wiegman (of); sophomores Claira Frey (if), Ella Aaberg (of), Mariah Shaw (of), Kaylen Blair (if) and Norah VanZee (p); and ninth-graders Miranda Grossman (if), Mileigh Lundebrek (utility), Molly Cassidy (c) and Aubrey Roering (if).