Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The opening pitch at the state softball tournament is just a few days away.

It was another strong season for teams in the Your Prep Sports area.

Liberty High, City High and Clear Creek Amana all advanced to regional finals and the Clippers and Little Hawks each had their highest win totals in several seasons.

Before the state tournament action gets rolling on Monday at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge Your Prep Sports takes a moment to look back at some of the best performances, players, moments and games from the 2025 season while also handing out some postseason honors following another amazing season.

Best individual pitching performance: Kaelyn Rickels against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Liberty High senior right-hander was as efficient as she was effective in a 1-0 shutout of the Cougars needing just 83 pitches to fire a one-hit shutout with six strikeouts.

Best individual pitching performance part 2: Lily Nibaur against Anamosa. The Regina sophomore standout was sensational in a 2-1 extra-inning win over the Blue Raiders allowing just one run on six hits and striking out 11 in a nine-inning complete game.

Best individual offensive performance: Molly Carlson against Dubuque Hempstead. Only three players in the state had six hits in a game this season and Carlson was one of them as the City High junior catcher went 6-for-6 with a double and three RBI in a 16-6 win over the Mustangs.

Best individual offensive performance part 2: Kyla Schulte against Marion. Schulte filled up box scores all season but the Clear Creek Amana slugger was at her best against Marion going 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored in a 14-4 win.

Best individual offensive performance part 3: Olivia Freidhof against Cedar Rapids Washington. Freidhof went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in four runs to help West High hold on for an 11-10 win over the Warriors.

Best individual all-around performance: Lander Malloy against Bellevue Marquette. The West Branch freshman was outstanding all over the field in a 2-0 win over a 20-win Defender squad. Malloy tossed a complete game two-hit shutout with four strikeouts and also went 2-for-3 with two doubles.

Best individual all-around performance part 2: Reese Litton against West Branch. The Regina senior leader had one of the best games of her career in a 7-2 win over the Bears. Litton allowed five hits and two unearned runs in a complete game in the circle and also went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base.

Best clutch performance: Eve Vitense against Cedar Falls. It doesn’t get much more clutch than coming up with the best performance of the season in the biggest game of the season. That’s what Vitense did when the City High freshman third baseman went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and five RBI in a 7-6 regional final loss at Cedar Falls.

Best game: Regina against Anamosa. Lily Nibaur was excellent in the circle as noted above but the Regals’ 2-1 nine-inning road win at Anamosa was a thriller from the first inning. Harper Erwin singled, stole second and scored the game winning run on a Reese Litton sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.

Best comeback: Clear Creek Amana against Maquoketa. Down 6-0 early in its regional opener against the Cardinals the Clippers chipped away, erasing a 7-2 deficit with six unanswered runs. Clear Creek Amana scored three-runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend its season with an 8-7 win.

Biggest hit: Vivienne Heller against Dubuque Hempstead. There is no bigger hit than a hit that keeps the season alive. That’s what Heller did for City High in the regional semifinals when she lined a single into right center field for the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 5-4 win.

Biggest defensive play: Maeve Obermueller against Dubuque Hempstead. Heller’s game winning hit was made possible by Obermueller’s running catch of a Luci Weber line drive at the center field wall that ended the seventh inning and kept the game tied.

Most reliable player: Liberty High senior Kennedy Connor. Whether she was at third base, behind the plate at catcher or in the batters box Connor could always be counted on to make a play. The senior batted .394 with eight doubles, 16 RBI and 20 walks and was one of the corner stones defensively and in the dugout for a Liberty High team that advanced to a 5A regional title game.

Best stat line: Maeve Obermueller against Marion. Obermueller was 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs and three RBI in City High’s 12-0 win over the Wolves but that isn’t want stands out about the box score for the sophomore center fielder. Obermueller had triples in each of her first two at bats, both coming in a nine-run City High first inning.

Most fun player to watch: Liberty High junior Kelsey Kaut. Kaut led the Lightning with a .405 batting average and 26 runs scored from her leadoff spot but the speedy centerfielder has built a reputation for the ability to make an incredible play at any time whether she’s at the plate, in the field or on the bases.

Under the radar standout: Solon sophomore Keegan Kleppe. In her second season in the Solon lineup Kleppe quietly put together a monster season leading the Spartans in runs (32) and walks (17), while ranking second on the team in hits (43), batting average (.387), on-base percentage (.481) and stolen bases (10).

Best finish to a career: City High senior Lianna Hull. What an incredible career it was for the North Texas recruit who led City High in batting average for five consecutive seasons. A career .490 hitter, Hull batted .449 as a senior leading City High with 43 runs, 19 walks, nine stolen bases and a .529 on-base percentage. Hull had nine extra-base hits and drove in 11 runs.

Most versatile player: Clear Creek Amana junior Elizabeth Timmerman. Yes, Timmerman hits and pitchers, and does both very well but her versatility doesn’t end with the position she plays. Timmerman can hit for average (.398), she showed power this season (six extra-base hits, 19 RBI) and she has tremendous speed (38 runs scored and a team-high 29 stolen bases). On top of that Timmerman was 14-5 with a 3.02 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 109 innings in the circle and is a dynamic defensive outfielder.

Most improved player: Solon freshman Liv Nelson. A starter at shortstop last season as an eighth-grader Nelson looked like a different player this season nearly doubling her batting average and raising her fielding percentage by nearly 100 points. A year after batting .161 with no extra-base hits and eight RBI Nelson flourished as a freshman hitting .312 with eight doubles, 17 RBI and 18 runs scored.

Most improved player part 2: West High freshman Olivia Freidhof. After being thrust into the lineup as an eighth-grader last season Freidhof emerged as a consistent run producer in the middle of the West High lineup this season as a freshman. Friedhof hit .179 with five runs and two RBI last season but jumped those numbers to .253 with 10 runs scored and led West High with six extra-base hits and 18 RBI this season.

Most consistent player: Solon senior Addie Miller. Few players in the state have consistently produced the way Miller has over the past four seasons. A career .390 hitter, Miller has batted .398 or better each of the past three seasons while leading Solon in extra-base hits, home runs and OPS every year during that span. Miller was at her consistent best as a senior recording a hit in 28 of 37 games while batting a career-high .427 with 21 extra-base hits, seven home runs, 34 RBI and a 1.277 OPS.

Breakthrough player of the year: Solon sophomore Emerson Miller. While her older sister Addie was wrapping up a brilliant career Emerson Miller was enjoying a breakthrough season that saw her establish herself as one of the top two-way players in the WAMAC conference. A year after hitting .253 with 17 RBI while posting a 3.68 ERA in 19 innings Miller hit .375 with 28 RBI as a sophomore while going 6-10 in the circle with a 4.91 ERA and 68 strikeouts in a team-high 97 innings.

Breakout star: City High freshman Iyana Merino. After getting a taste of varsity softball last season Merino flashed her massive potential in her first season as a full-time starter ranking in the top 25 in Class 5A in both home runs and RBI. Merino batted .339 with a team-high 12 home runs, which ranked ninth in 5A, while driving in 37 runs and scoring 28 runs.

Emerging star: West Branch freshman Karly Shelton. Last season as an eighth-grader Shelton hit .225 in 40 at buts but she showed her potential this summer as she hit .355 and led the Bears with 12 extra-base hits including four home runs. Shelton led West Branch in runs (26), doubles (6), total bases (49), slugging percentage (.645) and OPS (1.061) and ranked second on the team with 14 RBI.

Unsung hero: Regina senior Laci Chambliss. Looking on paper it’s easy to overlook the impact that Chambliss had for the Regals but the stats don’t tell the entire story of what the senior catcher meant to her team. Chambliss was a veteran leader behind the plate on her way to earning second-team River Valley all-South Division honors.

Coach of the year: City High’s Jeff Koenig. Koenig guided a Little Hawks squad with five underclassmen in the lineup to a 23-15 record and a spot in Class 5A regional title game. The 23 wins came after City High won 14 games a season ago and were the most for the Little Hawks since 2021.

Rookie of the year: Clear Creek Amana eighth-grader Turner Patrick. One of the best pure hitters in the area, Patrick had an incredible debut season batting .442 with eight extra-base hits, 27 RBI and an OPS of 1.106 in her first season of varsity action.

Newcomer of the year: Clear Creek Amana freshman Addilyn Scheetz. Another young standout in a loaded Clipper lineup Scheetz thrived in her first season of extend action batting .363 with 24 runs, 20 RBI and 23 stolen bases.

Silver slugger: Clear Creek Amana junior Kyla Schulte. Schulte continued to build on her reputation as one of the state’s best all-around hitters with a monster junior season in which she led Clear Creek Amana in batting average (.467), hits (56), doubles (15), extra-base hits (26), home runs (10), RBI (52), slugging percentage (.858) and OPS (1.376).

Cy Young: Clear Creek Amana senior McKenna Kelley. Kelley could have fit onto several categories on this list including breakout star, most improve and breakthrough player but her work in the circle for Clear Creek Amana was a huge key in the Clippers posting their highest win total since 2012 (31) and advancing to a 4A regional title game. Kelley went 16-3 with a team-best 2.27 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 111 innings.

Most valuable player: City High junior Molly Carlson. Few players have as large of an impact in every facet of the game as Carlson who emerged as a leader in the field, at the plate and in the dugout for a City High team that posted its best season since 2021. An excellent defensive catcher, Carlson led City High in batting average (.449), extra-base hits (25), doubles (15), RBI (46), slugging percentage (.803) and OPS (1.303) while helping City High to a 23-15 record and a spot in a 5A regional title game.

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