Lauren Bierwirth, Mandy Garner, Krystal Gary and Kate Stake have chosen Illinois State to continue their athletic and academic careers as members of the Redbird softball team, signing national letters of intent this past week.
All four of these girls bring versatility and depth to our program, head coach
Melinda Fischer said. Lauren and Mandy bring speed which can help beat out hits, Krystal has a rise-ball pitch that is unbeatable and Kate has a pure mind for the game of softball.
Bierwirth, a native of Mundelein, Ill., and Mundelein High School, was voted best female athlete in her school as a junior. She led her team in game-winning RBIs and was named all-area, all-conference and all-county that same season. Bierwirths summer league is the Illinois Typhoons.
Lauren will be a huge addition to our outfield, Fischer said. She tracks the ball really well and has an extremely strong arm that could allow her to play every outfield position, although she is strongest in center.
Garner, a native of Hudson, Ill., and Normal West High School, is a member of the Bloomington-Normal Angels Blue, which finished tied for 49th in the ASA A National Tournament held in Normal this past summer. As a junior, her high school team was an Elite 8 member including regional and sectional champions. A member of the all-conference team, Garner also plays basketball at Normal West.
Mandy is a great all-around defensive player, Fischer said. She is really versatile with the ability to play several positions well and certainly make an immediate impact on this program. She will be able to help us out in the infield.
Gary, a native of Tomball, Tex., and Tomball High School, is an all-district softball player who also participated in volleyball in high school. Her summer softball team is the Cy-Fair Intruders, an 18-Gold Team which is the highest division of ASA softball.
Krystal will be an important part of our pitching unit, Fischer said. She brings great work ethic to the rest of our group and is a hard thrower whose best pitch is a riseball. The great thing about Krystal is that not only can she pitch, but she is great in the infield. She could play first base and even be a contributing hitter for our program.
Stake, a native of Buffalo Grove, Ill., and Buffalo Grove High School, rounds out the four recruits. An all-conference, all-area, all-lakeshore softball player with a .373 batting average, Stake was named team defensive MVP her junior campaign. Her summer team, the Barrington Canes, placed second in the ASA Regionals while Stake led the team in RBI, runs scored and fielding percentage.
Kates best position is second, which is one of the reasons we recruited her because after this year, that position will need to be filled, Fischer said. She is a real hard-nosed player who likes to get down and dirty. Her bat is very consistent as well.