2026 has been a year of ups and downs for Grinnell women’s softball, said head coach Lexy Determan, and the team is currently 6-18 two-thirds of the way through the season. The team is young, with just six combined fourth and third years on the roster, which has come with challenges as they build for the future. Through it all, members of the team said that the Pioneers have maintained a strong culture as they work to make defensive adjustments and fully tap into their offensive potential.
“I think in the beginning of the year we had to understand, okay, we’re a young team, and we have these upperclassmen that we’re looking up to, but we also have to be dependent on ourselves as the underclassmen to maybe fulfill some roles that we weren’t expecting to fulfill,” said Kayla O’Malley `28, outfielder. “Our shortstop came here as an outfielder, and our third baseman, I think she came here as a middle infielder.”
The team has improved defensively over the course of the year as players have built chemistry and gotten used to playing alongside new teammates, said Determan.
“You’re like, ‘okay, this person can cover five more steps than the person that I played next to last year, so I can give a little bit on this side,’” she said. “Talking through some of those, ‘Hey, you can let that ball go because I’m backing you up and I have a better angle’ and trusting that, like, ‘hey, that person actually did back me up, so I can let that go this time.’”
A supportive team culture has been key to the team’s defensive growth, said Bella Nesbeth `26, right fielder.
“We have a lot of great communication, a lot of good times off the field and I feel like that’s translated to on the field,” she said.
Part of staying consistent over the course of a long season has been celebrating the milestones along the way, Nesbeth said. Pitcher Emma Trani `26, who leads the team with a 3.82 Earned Run Average (ERA) across 11 starts, is just two career strikeouts away from her 100th. The team as a whole has hit an impressive five home runs so far.
“I really am proud of our current juniors and seniors for kind of just staying the course and trusting the process the whole time,” said Determan. “For them to kind of stay the course and to trust the process is really going to allow our younger students and athletes to kind of learn what that looks like.”
Determan said she sees immense potential in the team’s offense, which she said has kept the team in games throughout the year.
The team said they are working to unlock their full hitting and baserunning potential through individualized practice and a “small ball” approach at the plate.
“We’re not out there trying to swing for the fences every time,” she said. “What actually puts pressure on the other team’s pitcher is little hit after little hit after little hit.”
Nesbeth said the team has emphasized putting runners on base and advancing them any way they can.
“This year we have worked on bunting exponentially more than we have in past years. But I also think that our first year class, they are so fast, incredible, all of them are running at insane speeds and so that definitely helps us out,” said O’Malley.
Determan said she believes the offense is on the cusp of a breakthrough.
“We’ve gotten to that point where we’ve kind of just been knocking on the door, and I think we’re really close to that door being open,” she said.
But in a sport where players are often measured by their individual statistics, what stands out just as much is the team’s bond with each other.
“There’s so much love on this team, and I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team where we’ve been so close to each other,” said O’Malley. “We’re getting the work done, but when we can, we’re talking. It’s such a nice environment to have.”
