Photo courtesy of Photoworks The 2024 Marshall Tigers softball team includes Naya Grahn, Bailynn Parsons, Jayda Bednarek, Brielle Riess, Sara Dallmann, Mackenzie Olsen, Aubrey Schaefer, Morgan Bjella, Justine Kirst, Jaina Dekker, Halla Casavan, Harley Beek, Alissa Moen and Claire Allen. The team is coached by Stacey Baedke with assistant coaches Ryan Baedke and Derek Smith.

MARSHALL — After graduating five seniors and retiring a pair of coaches at the end of last season, Morgan Bjella and Halla Casavan will lead a group of some fresh faces with the hope of leading the Marshall softball team to another deep run in the 2023-24 season.

The Tigers went 15-8 last season, earning the No. 4 seed in the Section 2AAA tournament. Marshall pulled out a gutsy 1-0 win over No. 5 St. Peter to start the postseason but fell to top-seeded eventual section champions Mankato East 3-0 to fall to the elimination bracket.

Marshall picked up a win over Jordan, 7-4, in their first elimination game before suffering a 2-1 season-ending loss to New Prague.

Bjella leads Marshall in the circle as one of the team’s key returners. The senior pitcher threw a four-inning perfect game in a win over Worthington last year and finished the season with a 1.42 ERA, .902 WHIP and 101 strikeouts.

Through 16 innings over two games this year, Bjella is dealing again with a .438 ERA and a .812 WHIP. She’s struck out 33 of the 63 batters she’s faced.

Bjella was also effective at the plate, slashing .338/.400/.416 with six doubles.

Casavan returns as the team’s leader at the dish. Her 1.107 OPS last season was the highest on the team by .180 points. Her four home runs were tied for the most among players in the Independent’s 12-school coverage area and her 26 RBIs were also a team-high. She’s picked up where she left off so far this year, compiling a 1.67 OPS through her first 12 plate appearances of this season.

The Tigers did lose some key contributors from last year’s team, such as batters position players Lauren Wherry, Randi Wendorff and Regan Loft and pitcher Olivia Houseman. Still, the Tigers remain deep.

Brielle Riess put together a .388 on-base percentage last season and a .862 OPS while catcher Mackenzie Olsen put together a .813 OPS and a hit a pair of homers and a pair of triples. Riess’ five stolen bases were third on the team behind Wherry’s eight and Bjella’s six and her .933 OPS on the year trails only Casavan.

In addition to Bjella, Harley Beek returns as another strong pitching arm for Marshall. Over 35 2/3 innings last year, Beek threw 23 strikeouts while allowing a 1.46 WHIP.

Among the new additions to this year’s team are head coach Stacey Baedke and assistant coach Ryan Baedke. The duo replaced head coach Jack Houseman and assistant coach Bessie Skalicky, who had coached Marshall for 23 years. Baedke comes in after serving as the director for the Marshall Area Fastpitch Softball Association.

This year’s softball team features eight seniors in Bjella, Casavan, Riess, Olsen, Beek, Jayda Bednarek, Jaina Dekker and Claire Allen.