It’s a new season with several new looks for the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk softball team tonight when they take the diamond against the Keokuk Chiefs. Mid-Prairie was 7-24 a season ago, 5-13, sixth in the River Valley Conference South Division. The Golden Hawks hit .277 as a team with a .364OBP and .358 slug with 163 runs scored on 221 hits, 132RBI, 76 walks and 136 strikeouts. They had a team ERA of 5.71 with a WHIP of two, and .353 opponent average on 310 hits, 153 earned runs 72 walks and 72 strikeouts. The Golden Hawks had three All-River Valley selections last year with one returning. Catcher Sophie Miller is back after a sophomore season with a .329 average, .412OBP, 23 total hits, 21 RBI and runs scored. The Hawks do have to replace team leaders Dakota Mitchell with her .404 average, .518OBP, 36 hits and 35 runs and Gabi Robertson with a .300 average, 27 hits, 13 runs and 11 driven in. Kadence Grout is back in the circle after a 6-16 year in 126 innings with a 5.15 ERA. New to the Hawks is their head coach Danielle Williams, a Danville High School graduate, with coaching stops at West Burlington, Iowa Wesleyan, Wayne State, and Ellsworth Community College. She spoke at practice with KCII Sports about her coaching experience and what she’s looking forward to this season.

Williams said, “My coaching career didn’t start until maybe two or three years after college. I knew in the long run I wanted to coach, that was my senior year of high school, long story short, I had an injury and I said ‘one day this has put me in a position to give back to the game’. I persevered. I didn’t know if I was going to play on or not. I got the opportunity. I worked through it. Just opportunity for the girls on this year’s team. The opportunity is there for all the girls to be competitors since it’s such a young team. My job is to place the girls in positions on JV and varsity.”

The Keokuk Chiefs were 11-19 last year, 7-8, fourth in the Southeast Conference. The Chiefs hit .268 as a team with a .344OBP and .353 slug, scoring 143 runs on 189 hits, 105RBI, 75 walks and 155 strikeouts. Three players hit .300 or better for the Chiefs last year and they all return, led by Ada Wood at .430 with a .521OBP, 34 hits, 23 runs scored and 19 RBI. Suzie Whitaker is also back after a team best 35 hits and 27 runs. They had a staff ERA of 4.60 with a WHIP of two on a .241 opponent average, 220 hits, 114 earned runs, 124 walks and 183 strikeouts. Wood is the leader there with a 7-9 record in 103 innings and 3.26ERA. Keokuk returns all of their pitchers. These two teams have split their last six meetings, with the Golden Hawks winning the most recent in 2023, 12-8. Action starts tonight at 7p.m. At Joyce Park in Keokuk.