Sophomore Bekah Kastning, the first Charger softball player to record five home runs and five triples in a single season since 1995, talks about her team’s goals for for this season.
So you had a stand-out game over spring break?
Yes, in a game against Dominican College. I hit a walk-off triple to win the game. To be honest, before that, I was playing terribly. I had popped up twice, and struck out once, so when I got up to bat, I was not very confident. It was the bottom of the seventh, there was one out, and we were tied. The winning run was on first base. When I was in the dugout before going up to bat, I turned to my teammates, and was like, ‘Guys, can somebody please tell me that I can do this? Because I’m completely doubting myself right now.’ So I got up there, I got my pitch, and I swung at it. It happened to be a good hit, and it scored the winning run. I was really excited. It’s reassuring to know that even if you’re having a bad game, you can still come out on top. It’s also a good reminder that even if you’re playing poorly individually, as long as you win, how you played doesn’t matter.
How did the rest of your team do?
Fairly well—we went 6-6. We lost some games that we should have won, but we learned from those. The beginning of the season is always a little bit rough, but we are definitely going to be better than 6-6. It’s a good time to be on the dirty end and see a lot of pitching, as well as not being indoors. Overall it went well, and we learned a lot.
Do you have any pre-game rituals — both personally, and as a team?
Before games, I put in my headphones and I just blast music. Obviously, softball games aren’t really all that hype, but I have to personally get myself excited for the game and get myself focused. When I’m listening to my music, I like to visualize myself hitting the different pitches, and making first base, just so I can get myself in the right mentality for the game. I have in game rituals, and just overall rituals — for example, I wear a bow every time, I have to be wearing earrings, and I have a certain routine that I do every time I get in the batter’s box. As a team, we take what’s called “lines” before a game — infielders take ground balls, and outfielders take fly balls. After we finish that, we gather in our respective areas, and we run at each other, high-fiving as we circle around.
When did you start softball?
I believe I was 6. I was back home, and I did what was called KGSA, a girls softball league. I started playing softball off of a pitching machine, and so I never actually played Tee ball. All the girls in my family played, so it was just something that we all did, and that we all did together.
What made you want to start softball?
My mom played softball in high school, and she wanted us to all play softball. All of us played softball at one point in our lives. Me, and one other sister, we’re the only ones that continued with it; everybody else went off to play their different sports. But yeah, it was just a family thing. All of my five sisters played softball, and my two brothers played baseball for a year or two, but my brothers ended up being more into running.
Do you have any goals for the season?
For the team, we definitely want to make it to the GLIAC tournament and do really well in the tournament. I have my personal goals: I want to hit a certain batting average. Honestly, I personally don’t care about my stats. I care about helping the team in clutch situations. So, if I have a low batting average, but I’m hitting well in clutch situations, and scoring runners, and getting RBI’s in a way that’s helping the team, that’s what I’m concerned about, and that’s what I’m focused on.
What is your favorite aspect of being on the softball team?
Being on a team is a great way to learn how to live with and work with and be around different personalities 24/7. But I just love being on a team because it’s such a family. We do so much together, and we always have somebody to go to when we need somebody to cry with, or somebody to do stupid stuff with. You just always have people. When I got to school freshman year, I instantly had a family, and I didn’t have to worry about making friends.
How were you recruited to play at Hillsdale?
I’m from Idaho, and my coach here used to coach at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, which is 45 minutes away from my house. He was initially recruiting me there my freshman year, and he recruited me there for about two years. Then, he got the job here in Hillsdale, and so he kept recruiting me here. I initially would not look into it. I was like, ‘This is a tiny school, in the middle of nowhere, that I never heard of somewhere in Michigan, 2,000 miles away. No thanks.’ He kept bugging me to look into it though, but I wouldn’t. So finally he went to my dad, and said, ‘I know you guys would be interested — please make her look at it.’ My dad knew about it because he listens to Rush Limbaugh. So he made me look into the school after that, I did a ton of research, and fell in love with it. It was everything I was looking for, and so I actually committed to play here before I even visited the school. It was one of those things where I just knew it was right, and there was no question in my mind. It is my absolute dream school.