Le Mars Community junior Charli Grosenheider hit a pair of home runs in Thursday’s doubleheader sweep of Council Bluffs Abe Lincoln. The home runs were her 10th and 11th of the season breaking the program’s single-season home run record of nine in 2007 by Kayla (Koopman) Clarey.
Grosenheider knew she was getting close when she came up to bat throughout the last week of games. She says that did not change her approach at the plate which was just looking to get a hit and get on base.
That approach has been consistent all season. She says the secret to her home run hitting is not looking for home runs but just looking to make solid hard contact.
Her 11 home runs came as a bit of a surprise considering she hit just one as a freshman and doubled that to two as a sophomore. Grosenheider says this year’s result is due to an offseason of lots of work on some small tweaks to her swing.
Grosenheider is a multi-sport athlete participating in volleyball the last few seasons, but softball has been her go-to sport. As the catcher she gets to be the quarterback of the defense and sees everything. She says that involvement makes softball her favorite sport.
The Bulldog softball team has been good to Grosenheider who has been a member of the varsity roster for the last three seasons. That has allowed her to make some great relationships with all of her teammates. She says their support has meant so much to her in this record chase.
The Bulldogs sit at 17-13 overall and 14-10 in the MRAC heading into the final week and a half of the regular season. The Bulldogs will then face off with Humboldt in the regional opening round, and a win would send them to No. 4 Fort Dodge. If the Bulldogs want to have a long tournament run, Grosenheider says it will take everyone doing their part to get the job done.
The Bulldogs take on Sioux Center on Tuesday in their next game. KLEM will broadcast the game live with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM.
