Softball: Wayne State ace leads All-Nebraska team

Wayne State coach Krista Unger was happy to hear that pitcher Katie Goetzinger was named captain of The World-Herald's All-Nebraska Division II softball team.

As long as the Wildcat defense got an assist.

The junior-to-be was 31-15 this spring, with 347 strikeouts and a 1.55 ERA. She had two perfect games and 12 shutouts as Wayne (41-21) made it to the NCAA Division II region finals for the first time.

Behind her, making things easier, was a group that ranked first in the nation with a .982 defensive percentage.

“It took so much pressure off me, knowing they were there to back me up and make the plays,'' Goetzinger said.

Goetzinger was voted captain by the Division II coaches in the state.

Unger said Goetzinger, a first-team Northern Sun and Central Region selection, is a great pitcher who kept Wayne in every game. But the task of pitching 294.1 innings also left Goetzinger exhausted. So, her coach has ordered her to take it easy this summer.

“I had no problem with that,'' Goetzinger said. “My whole body felt like it was going to fall apart.”

Goetzinger, the school's all-time strikeout leader in just two years with 489, has squeezed in some extra sleep around babysitting and working at the local Dairy Queen in her hometown of Harlan, Iowa.

She's feeling much better and has some big goals for next season. With everyone but right fielder Kiley Peterson returning, she'd like to see Wayne advance even further in the postseason.

She's aiming for the pitcher of the year award in the Northern Sun Conference, which she said this year was won by a deserving Amanda Johnson of Southwest Minnesota State.

She's also like to develop a knuckleball to further confound hitters. Right now, she relies on a curveball, a screwball and a riseball with a change-up or drop ball occasionally thrown in the mix, and she wants to perfect each of them.

Whatever she throws, though, she knows that she's got backup.

“I have a good defense back there if they try to hit it,'' she said.

Contact the writer:

444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com