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New Prague softball's 'promising future' arriving early

By Mike Hendrickson, Star Tribune, 05/13/17, 4:37PM CDT

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New Prague softball is playing like one of Class 4A's top teams.


In a game that New Prague won 12-4,Catcher Taylor Koehne,10, was solid at home.]The New Prague softball team takes on Delano in a home game.Richard Tsong-Taatariiïrichard.tsong-taatarii@startribune.com

For the New Prague softball team, everything has been clicking.

The Trojans (17-0), ranked 10th in Class 4A, are scoring plenty of runs, their defense is excelling and their pitching hasn’t allowed more than four runs in a game in over a month.

Mia Kraimer, the team’s primary starting pitcher, is helping lead the team as a sophomore. Kraimer pitched a shutout with the Trojans’ stellar record on the line against Prior Lake, then ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, on May 3, while also hitting a two-run double in the 3-0 victory.

“Thinking ahead,” New Prague coach Anna Borwege said, “I think we have a promising future with Mia in the circle.”

Kraimer is one reason New Prague has reached a new level of success this season, Borwege said. The team is playing more together than Borwege can remember in her five years of coaching the team. Last season the team finished 18-10. New Prague last reached the state tournament in 2015.

The Trojans put their phones away before bus rides to away games, and there is an emphasis on practicing throwing with different partners, senior first baseman Nichole Reed said.

“This year has been a big difference compared to last year,” Reed said. “We’re focused on what’s going to happen next instead of dwelling on the past.”

Without designated captains this season, New Prague relies on its five seniors to help lead the team, Borwege said. Even as a sophomore, Kraimer is part of that group.

“She’s not as much of a vocal leader. I think she’s kind of coming into that role a little bit more,” Borwege said. “But as a sophomore, she is a true leader by example.”

For Kraimer, that means preparing for her next at-bat by practicing her hitting with three or four hitters ahead of her, even though her primary role is as a pitcher. Taylor Koehnen, a senior catcher, said it’s hard to tell whether she is a senior or a sophomore.

Kraimer’s teammates describe her as someone whose composure has grown since last year. She’s able to forget the bad pitch quicker as Kraimer has become more mature.

“She really knows how to stay focused during a game and uses our enthusiasm to stay focused as she’s pitching,” Reed said. “It’s really cool to see such a young player be as composed as she is.”

In the past year, Kraimer said, she’s throwing the ball faster and has worked on spinning the ball more.

Off the field, Kraimer’s focus remains on softball, as she said it’s all she can think about.

“I’m completely a softball fanatic,” Kraimer said. “I’m always outside practicing, trying to make myself better in any way possible.”

The game against Prior Lake was New Prague’s biggest test of the season, and the team was clearly nervous, Borwege said. The Trojans committed three errors in the first inning but were able to bounce back with Kraimer in the circle.

Kraimer proved to her teammates they can rely on her in a tight game against a tough opponent.

“Having the ability to have that confidence in our pitcher to start and finish a game like that is huge,” Borwege said. “It relieves the pressure off the other players.”

 

Michael Hendrickson is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.

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