In two-plus years at Marist, junior Soleil Tate has established herself as one of the state’s best all-around softball players.
The Wisconsin recruit is a dominant pitcher and hitter.
But a sneaky part of what she brings to the RedHawks?
Her inner cheerleader.
“I’ve done every other sport but cheerleading,” Tate said with a laugh. “If we need a cheerleader, I’ll do that. If we need a hit, I’ll get a hit. My leadership, it’s definitely more as a pump-up role, leading cheers, getting everybody up, having command on the mound.”
Tate went 5-for-5 with a home run, double, three singles, three RBIs and two runs on April 8 as host Marist won 17-7 in six innings over Oak Park-River Forest.
Also starring offensively were senior Ellie Holmstrom (two doubles, three RBIs, two runs), juniors Mary Fortner (two hits, double, three RBIs, two runs) and Layla Peters (two hits, home run, three RBIs, two runs) and sophomore Madison Rogers (three runs). Freshman Kayla Holmstrom scored two runs.
Freshman Savannah Jones earned the win. She threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks with a strikeout.
Though the RedHawks graduated a strong senior class, including Gabi Novickas (Georgia), Bree Hanik (Penn State) and Gianna Hillegonds (Bradley), the roster is as packed as ever with Division I recruits.
Tate has seen a different identity develop with this lineup.
“We all kind of have our different powwows,” Tate said. “It’s everyone all around. We all have the spirit to hit. We want to hit just as much. We have more experience where we’re a little older. We’re all together.”
Tate showed off her bat against Oak Park, ripping singles, blasting a double to right-center and then ending the game with a walk-off solo shot in the sixth.
Tate said she tweaked her overall approach at the plate coming into the year.
“I’m feeling good. I’m in that four-position again this year,” she said. “I can pick up a hit, get a home run, I’m just trying to help out the team. It’s more selfless hitting than individual hitting. Sometimes we struggled with that last year. It’s really important. We’re definitely pushing for team hitting.”
Marist finished with 21 hits and two walks.
Coach Colleen Phelan said Tate is a true team player.
“From the bottom of her heart, she truly, truly wants to do it for her team. That’s really special,” Phelan said. “When she’s pitching or having a bad at-bat, she’s not taking a break. She’s back on the fence as everyone’s cheerleader.”
As for her college recruiting, Tate said she always had a connection with Wisconsin because her mom, Paula, and several aunts are Badger alums.
“It really felt like family. That’s something Marist taught me,” Tate said. “It’s the family of the softball team. It felt like that at Wisconsin. They want to be a family. It’s a great place. The coaches can help me with my skills and help me improve over my four years there.”
Holmstrom, a Saint Louis recruit, said she’s psyched to see how the lineup develops this spring.
“We knew we had the power to hit home runs last year,” Holmstrom said. “We do this year too. This year, we’re more of a contact team. We’re faster, especially with some younger players. We can hit the ball and everyone scores is the way it feels.”