Mayo softball standout has made the switch to slap hitting look effortless

ROCHESTER As just an eighth-grader, Chelsea Putzier more than held her own for the Mayo varsity softball team.

She hit approximately .270 against pitching in the Big Nine Conference that was as stout as ever that year.

ADVERTISEMENT It included Winona pitchers Makayla Steffes and Ava Hamsund, Century's Morgan Erickson, Mankato East's Kylinn Stangl and Red Wing's Bri Tix all of whom are playing college softball or committed to play college softball.

Thus, Mayo coach Aaron McNallan was a little surprised to see Putzier, a right-handed hitter, step into the left-handed batter's box on the first day of practice last year.

"We didn't talk about it because she was doing so well hitting right-handed," McNallan said with a bit of a laugh.

But Putzier thought she could have done more in her first varsity campaign.

She discovered she was hitting the ball on the ground a lot and possessed good speed.

So, she figured, why not switch sides of the plate and become a lefty slap hitter? In the fall of her freshman year, she went to work, studying YouTube videos and getting plenty of tee work done at home and in the cage at the Strikezone Sports facility in Eagan.

She also had a pretty good mentor in former Mayo standout Tiegan Mancuso, who hit .516 her senior year as a slap hitter and has made 74 starts her first two years at Division II Winona State University.

She took Putzier under her wing.

ADVERTISEMENT "I looked up to her a bunch, especially since it was my first year on varsity," Putzier said.

"She really included me in the team and made me feel better.

And she helped me out a little bit with slapping when I first started, too, kind of got me a little bit better.

"Every time, she was in the field.

I could learn something from her just by watching her." "She had a great leader, Tiegan, who taught her how to slap," senior Santanna Heise said.

"She loves her so much." It wasn't a seamless transition at first.

McNallan recalls Putzier going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the first game last year.

"I was about to have a conversation with her like, 'Hey, I love you slapping, but we may need to do this in the off-season,'" the fourth-year coach said.

But Putzier was determined to get it down.

ADVERTISEMENT "I really struggled, but tee work, honestly, a lot of tee work," Putzier said.

"Then I got hitting lessons and I started going up from there." Putzier went on to have a freshman year to remember.

Her 38 hits were the most by any Mayo player in the last nine years, and she finished with a .479 average and a .486 OBP in her first season hitting as a lefty.

She also scored 19 runs and stole 14 bases.

She paired that with great defense at second base to earn Post Bulletin All-Area, First-Team honors.

Her teammate put it best.

"She's awesome," Heise said.

Putzier plays softball year-round with TC Blitz while also running cross country for Mayo.

She has gotten into trap shooting and is playing flag football for Mayo this spring as well.

The middle infielder's soft hands and great speed make her a stellar wide receiver.

"We're learning the fundamentals and how the game works," Putzier said.

"It's going pretty good." ADVERTISEMENT Right now, things with the Mayo softball team are also not too bad.

The Spartans are off to a 6-0 start, 5-0 in the Big Nine Conference.

That includes a 5-0 win over Mankato West, Mayo's first against the Scarlets in at least a decade.

Putzier has had a hand in that, hitting well over .500 this year.

She has set the table for the likes of Heise, Kate Price, Ani Shank, Amelia Okeson and Lauren Chon, who are all off to solid starts for an offense that averages just fewer than 10 runs per game and is hitting for a .429 average as a team.

Heise, meanwhile, has been on a tear.

The Division III St.

Scholastica commit is hitting better than .800 after going 3-for-3 against John Marshall.

She is establishing herself as one of the more feared hitters in the area.

"I've just been putting in so much work in the off-season, just using the tee, front toss," Heise said.

"I'm just seeing the ball and smashing it." Sophomore Amber Condon has been terrific in the circle, becoming the team's ace.

She has tossed back-to-back shutouts against Mankato West and John Marshall and has allowed just one run in her last 19 innings.

She also struck out 16 against the Rockets on April 15.

ADVERTISEMENT Her development and the surge of the offense have helped the Spartans get off to the best start in recent memory.

The culture that has been established is also a big reason why.

This group seems to have fun and generally like each other.

That sounds obvious, but it isn't always a guarantee in sports.

"I think that this year we kind of came in and we're just looking for more of the fun aspect of softball," Heise said.

"Just being able to come out and play the game and have fun, and not being stressed to not make mistakes.

I feel like all of us trust each other a lot.

"We are not just teammates.

We're actually like a family this year." "We are all like a family, kind of what Santana said, we're all clicking a lot better," Putzier said.

"We're bonding a lot, we're not excluding anyone.

Everyone feels included.

Helps us do even better in the field." They are hoping it all adds up to a special season with a deep postseason run.

It appears this group is more than capable..

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