A winning class for TMP-Marian
By CONOR NICHOLL
Head coach Alan Billinger and his three seniors on the Thomas More Prep-Marian softball team have one final wish in the final month of their high school careers.
They want to finish with a state title, the same sendoff that the Monarchs' lone senior, catcher Katie Gottschalk, earned when TMP-Marian won the Class 4A title in 2007.
"What a great gift and reward for all of their hard work, four years in the program for those three to go out with a state championship," Billinger said.
A state title would punctuate arguably the most decorated senior class in Monarch history.
The trio, Chelsea Fieler, Kelsey Flax and Maddy Mall, won four straight Mid-State Activities Association softball titles, went to state the past three seasons and captured the state championship last year.
The seniors have compiled an 81-13 record in their careers and have a chance to earn two more wins and set another school record today against Colby. TMP-Marian faces the Eagles (18-1) in a senior day doubleheader at TMP field. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Billinger called Colby one of the toughest teams on the Monarchs' schedule, along with Salina-Sacred Heart, Great Bend and Larned.
Two more wins would give the Monarchs a 19-1 regular season record and break the school mark of two losses set in 2007 and 2004. It would also provide further momentum for regionals next week and a run at another state title.
"From Colby here on out, they have to play sterling ball for us," Billinger said of the team. "They have got to really play better defense and hit the ball. We have got to get ready for the state tournament."
TMP-Marian is the top seed in the Larned regional and has a first-round bye. The Monarchs will play the winner of Holcomb (5-13) and Hoisington (5-13) in the regional semis on Monday afternoon in a 4:45 p.m. start. Larned is expected to meet TMP-Marian in the finals.
"It crosses my mind every day about how it could be the last game any second, so we have to really push ourselves and do the best of our ability and play like we know how," Mall said.
That ability has yielded consistent winning.
Mall and Fieler, who both play basketball, won four straight conference titles on the hardwood, advanced to back-to-back sub-state championship games and finished their four-year career with a 62-27 record.
The pair are also four-year starters for softball and all three seniors have earned all-conference or all-state honors.
"They can be very proud of being part of these accomplishments," Billinger said.
However, the basketball season didn't end the way Mall and Fieler wanted this past winter. Hurt by sickness, the 15-7 Monarchs lost to Norton in the sub-state semifinals. Mall wants to erase that bitter taste and enjoy the same finish to her four years that Gottschalk received.
"I know that I wanted it a lot in basketball and not being able to finish with a state title in basketball, it was really hard on me," she said. "I know what that feels like and I know that I don't want that in softball. I just want a state title."
Fieler and Mall started playing together when they were on the under-12 Strikers traveling team with Abby Maska. Flax joined the duo two years later. This fall, all three will attend Fort Hays State University.
"We have all improved and all got through it together," Fieler said.
"I think that will help us even more to go out with a bang," Mall added.
They entered the program when Billinger had just started to resurrect a basketball program that recently undergone a winless season and the softball squad was once a sub-.500 team.
Fieler and Mall saw varsity action their freshman year on a basketball squad that won conference, the second of five straight MSAA crowns. In softball, Fieler and Mall started immediately for a team that finished fourth at state.
"We don't even know what that is like (to rebuild) because we came into the program and just kept improving and improving," Fieler said. "Now that we are here, it is like, sweet. We didn't have to go through that.
"Coach B, I couldn't imagine how his temper was," Fieler said with a smile and a laugh when she discussed her fiery coach.
Fieler and Mall both earned first team all-conference as sophomores at shortstop and first base, respectively, on a runner-up state title squad.
As juniors, Fieler was named as a first team second baseman, while Mall was honorable mention at three different positions.
Flax earned second team all-state as an outfielder and was a clutch player at state.
This past winter, Fieler and Mall were starters all season and each were named to the all-conference squads, including first team recognition for Mall, the defensive leader for TMP-Marian.
This spring, all three have enjoyed career-highs in batting average. Fieler, the No. 2 hitter, has overcame knee injuries and ranks second on the Monarchs with a .482 average, 130 points higher than her junior year.
"I think her whole game has really improved," Billinger said.
Flax and Mall have each upped their marks over 100 points from 2007 to .404 and .352, respectively.
Flax has been a solid outfielder and is called an "intelligent player" by Billinger.
"She is a heads up ballplayer," he said.
Mall has seen time at five positions, center field, catcher, pitcher, shortstop and first base.
"Maddy Mall is just of those unique ballplayers," Billinger said. "She can pitch, she loves to catch, she just loves defense, she can play anywhere and she has really helped us out a lot in pitching.
"Had she not been on this team, she could be the starting pitcher for any team in this league easy and a lot of teams that we have played against," he added. "She is a tremendous person to have on the team because of all the positions she can fill."
And Mall, coupled with Flax and Fieler, are a few weeks away from a second state title -- and capping a tremendous career.
