The Rundown

This week on The Rundown we catch up on the NCAA Women's Softball season with a little Big 10 opening weekend recap and some NSIC chatter. In our second segment we are joined by two Junior studs from Saint Cloud State University, C/OF Reese Holzhueter and (P) Emma Eickhoff.  Both of these women are off to a heck of start this season and we get into why the pack is howling up in Husky land. Thank you for listening to The Rundown!  

This week on The Rundown it is full on Minnesota State High School League Girls Softball! Mike is joined by our high school contributor and friend Brent Anderson of the TC Blitz for another spring season of contributions!  This episode is the 411 on the 2024 season. We have state champion picks for each class and go deep into the sections and teams to watch across the state. Class A to AAAA...this is a show you want to hear! As always thank you for listening to The Rundown! 

On this episode of The Rundown Tori and Mike sit down with one of the good guys in our game of club softball, Nick Reimler Head Coach of Minnesota Moose 16U National Orange. Nick and his squad of Moose (or is it Meese?) are one of the best teams in our region, and are doing a great job of growing their organization. We chat on a number of topics in this tangential, yet relevant conversations. On a non-softball related note, Tori and disagree on a the recent success of a certain professional franchise in MN that I refuse to include in this description. Can we say the bandwagon drove by and Holt jumped on board!! I can't believe it. As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown.

On this episode of The Rundown we are joined by College of St. Benedict Head Softball Coach, Rachel Click. Rachel joins us for the duration of this episode as we recap the S&C Winter Bash Alliance qualifier and talk all things CSB! This is a solid episode with some fun twists and turns along the way! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!

On this installment of The Rundown Tori and Mike recap a busy and successful fall season for the Midwest Speed 16U National Holt team. It was a fall to remember and our team worked very hard for the results they achieved. Couple of proud coaches here folks! We also find some time between classes to catch up with former Midwest Speed standout Brooklyn Jones who is halfway through her first year attending school and playing ball for our Minnesota Golden Gophers! Brooklyn shares the experience and challenges she has faced in her first semester. From the sounds of it she is doing quite well! As always thank you for listening to The Rundown! Merry Christmas to all!  

On this episode of The Rundown your hosts recap another busy tournament weekend from the USSSA Minnesota Fall State Tournament. We cover the tournament's high finishers from a weekend of quality softball! As if tournament coverage is not enough for you...we also are joined by Gustavus Adolphus College Head Softball Coach and 2017 national champion Coley Ries! Coley shares  amazing experiences from her 2017 championship season and gives us an understanding of what drove her and her teammates to greatness! In our conversation we also talk training pitchers and Gusties prospects for the 2024 MIAC season! Thank you for listening to The Rundown!

On this episode of The Rundown  Mike and Tori are joined by teammate, catching instructor, and friend Bryan Ludwig. Bryan now has the honor of becoming a returning guest of the show, and once again goes deep on the importance of the catching position and its critical role in our sport. We talk more about receiving, and give you some great insights on how to better leverage practice time for your catchers! It is a great conversation that will get you thinking about the position and how as coaches we can be better. As always thank you for listening to The Rundown. 

On this episode of The Rundown Tori and Mike welcome the 18U Tier II Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series National Champions - Midwest Speed 18U Koltes! We are joined by Head Coach - Jim Koltes, Associate Head Coach and Pitching Coach - Bob Beedle, Assistant Coach - Audrey Benderski, and Tournament MVP - Macy Borowski! We go in depth with this amazing panel on their once in a lifetime Championship season and their team's  run to close out the Championship in Southern California! This was a special team to us and we are very proud of each and every one of you! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!   

On this Episode of The Rundown we return with a banger of a show from the great state of California! Recorded on the mountains just outside of beautiful Lake Matthew we bring you the latest and greatest from the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series! Tori and I are joined by a few of our Program's national level coaches in Sean Hall, Jim Koltes, Bob Beedle, Audrey Benderski and Tuscany Ballot. We talk about winning national tournaments, a players perspective of battling in the AFCS, club tryouts, and so much more. After a hiatus, we are pumped to bring you such a packed episode! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!   Music Bed "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa 

On this episode of The Rundown Mike and Brent give you our third MSHSL Softball postseason breakdown featuring an exhaustive preview of the 2023 State Tournament. On this show we give you some inside predictions on which teams to watch and some excellent games to put on your watch list on June 8th and 9th at Caswell Park in Mankato! This season has been a blast to follow and the final few games in Mankato are going to be must see softball! Enjoy the show folks! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!   

This week on The Rundown Mike and Brent bite off a big chunk of MSHSL Section play coverage and give you the skinny on a great week of play! We cover all the sections in Class A to Class AAAA! We cover the walk offs, the blow outs, the underdogs, and If you want to be the smartest fan in the stands you need to listen to this show! Some amazing performances happened this week! Get yourself up to speed folks! This is an hour of High School softball GOLD! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown! Music Bed Unexpected Journey Alex Zavesa

On this episode of The Rundown Mike and Tori cover a ton of ground bringing you insights into all three NCAA softball divisions. We will preview the Division one NCAA tournament bracket and make our predictions on which teams will make it out of regional play! We cover the division two NSIC Tournament and breakdown the excellent games played by UMD, Augustana, and SCSU! It was a great tourney. Wrapping up the collegiate segment we cover the amazing season that Bethel University had, going undefeated in conference play, repeating as MIAC Champions and their prospects in the Division three NCAA tournament - Go Royals! Our guests on this week’s show are the Minnesota Magic’s Coach and Director Christina Pickett and the University of St. Thomas’ Summit Conference Freshman of the Year - Avery Wukawitz. Christina and Avery talk about their special relationship as coach and player and give us a great example of how a loving, and accountable program can help a dedicated and talented athlete achieve their dreams. As if that is not enough, our final segment brings on a friend of the podcast and now our High School contributor, Brent Anderson. You know Brent from his time with the TC Blitz, and he is now joining our staff at The Rundown as our contributor for all things MSHSL softball. Brent and Mike go deep into the upcoming section tournaments and give you some amazing detail and insight on which teams to watch! This is truly our most jamb packed episode! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!    Music Bed - "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa     

This week on The Rundown Tori and Mike get busy and bring you a four segment mega show featuring a returning guest, editor of Breakdown Sports, Tim Kolehmainen! Another MSHSL softball season has begun and we get into the weeds on predictions, analysis, and all things high school softball. We are also joined by friend and colleague, Jim Koltes of the Maple Grove Crimson! We talk all things Maple Grove softball and relive some great memories about their 2019 MSHSL 4AAAA State Softball Championship! This is a packed episode of The Rundown and one you do not want to miss! As always, thank you for listening to The Rundown!Music Bed "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa    

On this episode of The Rundown we recap an amazing fundraiser held in the name of our friend and coaching colleague at Midwest Speed, Rick Thomas. Rick was recently diagnosed and is now battling a rare form of cancer and the amazing community of softball players, families, and coaches really showed up to help Rick during this difficult journey he finds himself on. It was truly amazing to feel the love and support for such an excellent man! God Bless you Rick. The whole state of MN Softball is in your corner for this fight! On this episode we also have the honor of talking with another Minnesota Softball legend, MN Bombers Director and Founder, Bob Makela. Bob shares some of his amazing experiences in the game of fastpitch and gives us some great insight into why he is so passionate about this game! It is all about the athletes for Bob, and that is exactly why he has been so successful and respected in our game! This is another gem folks! Thanks for listening to The Rundown!    

On this episode of The Rundown Tori and Mike talk shop with State Cloud State Husky softball captains Raven Vandenlangenberg and Sydney Trees about their experiences as collegiate athletes. Raven and Sydney share some great insights about how to manage your time, treat your teammates, and prepare yourself for your future career. These collegiate athletes have raised the bar for success both on and off the field! Enjoy this week’s episode of The Rundown!   Music Bed "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa

This week on The Rundown Tori and Mike connect with one of Tori’s old friends and colleague Lauren Gardner. Lauren has since built an amazing career in sports broadcasting and now works for the MLB and NHL Networks  hosting her own show, Off Base, and as one of the many female hosts of Quick Pitch, On the Fly, and NHL Tonight! In this episode, Lauren and Tori share some stories of the past, and Lauren talks about her road to building a successful career! We hope you enjoy this episode of The Rundown! Thank you for listening!    Music Bed "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa

On this week’s episode of The Rundown we talk with ASA/USA Hall of Fame pitching coach Doug Gardner about his amazing career in fastpitch! Doug shares a little bit about what it takes to make it in our game and about how he is helping raise funds to help a young Wisconsin athlete recover from injuries sustained from a traumatic car accident. Doug is an amazing coach and has helped many young women achieve their dreams!  We hope you enjoy this episode of The Rundown. Thank you for listening!

This week on The Rundown Tori and Mike connect with Sr. Account Executive at Blast Motion to talk about hitting data and how Blast Motion is helping players and coaches benchmark success and create development plans for athletes. Jon shares best practices and some great insights from his professional career as a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and as a front office member responsible for bringing data into the player development mix! Enjoy this week’s show and thank you for listening to The Rundown! Music Bed "Unexpected Journey" Alex Zavesa

On this episode of The Rundown Mike and Tori relive the last MN Vikings game of the 2022 season, and Tori makes a solid case to defend his beloved Kirk Cousins. More importantly, we sit down with former MN Gopher and owner of Catalyst Softball Academy, Erika Smyth. Erika shares the acquisition story of purchasing the softball arm of Starters Sports Training, and gets into the details of how Catalyst is pushing the development envelope with her athletes. It is a great conversation and Erika is doing a fantastic job transforming the softball landscape in Minnesota and beyond. Thank you for listening to The Rundown!   Music Bed - Unexpected Journey - Alex Zavesa

On this Christmas week episode of The Rundown Tori and Mike relive their recent memories from an unbelievable and record breaking Minnesota Vikings victory over the Indianapolis Colts. It was truly a game to remember and Ol’ Coach Holt got to witness it live! We also get to hear from Tori about his life’s journey in faith, and how his struggles as a young man led him to the Lord and to his calling - coaching, mentoring, and spreading the Good News to all! We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for listening to The Rundown. We are blessed!  Music Bed - Unexpected Journey - Alex Zavesa