Softball 2003: All-around talent
Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 7, 2003
NEW RICHLAND &045; If it seems like Erin Anderson is a candidate for a Tribune Player of the Year award about every other season, it’s not your imagination.
It’s true.
The talented, three-sport standout has helped New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva maintain a winning tradition in girls’ athletics and, though the 2003 softball Panthers endured a rare sub-.500 season, Anderson was as strong as ever.
Anderson, who just completed her junior year, may have had better seasons on the field or even in other sports, but nobody in the area was better this spring, and it makes her the Tribune’s Softball Player of the Year for the second time in three years.
As a pitcher, Anderson logged 111 of the Panthers’ 151 innings, striking out 119 batters while walking 30 and posting an earned run average of 1.14. Offensively, she batted .324 with three doubles, five triples, one home run, 18 runs batted and 12 runs scored. She had an on-base average of .453, and led the Panthers with a slugging percentage of .549.
When not pitching, Anderson played shortstop or third base.
While Anderson’s athletic ability is apparent, NRHEG softball coach Wendy Schultz said she has the work ethic, desire and intelligence to go along with it, and that’s what makes her a great player.
&uot;She has worked hard,&uot; said Schultz. &uot;She’s our captain, she’s always at practice, she has a great attitude.&uot;
Schultz described Anderson &045; who has a grade point average in the 3.9 range &045; as a quiet leader who’s respected by her teammates both on and off the field.
&uot;Her teammates voted her MVP for the fourth year in a row, or the third time in four years for sure,&uot; said Schultz. &uot;She has a good work ethic, and it carries over to the team.&uot;
Anderson’s best overall season in softball may have been last year, when she hit .463 with 24 RBIs and struck out only four times in 54 at-bats while striking out 113 and walking 33 in 99 innings of pitching, with an ERA of 1.13. She had two no-hitters last year after throwing six of them as a freshman.
The 2003 Panthers were young, with no seniors in the starting lineup, and Schultz said their defensive miscues cost them some wins as they finished 10-12 overall and 5-7 in the Gopher Conference. But Anderson, according to Schultz, always gave the Panthers a chance to win whenever she pitched.
&uot;She always did her job,&uot; said Schultz. &uot;She kept us in every game with her pitching.&uot;