Berkshire’s softball team opens the 2025 season loaded with eight returning starters from last season.
The Badgers, who finished 14-11 last spring, also have a new coach and plenty of reasons to be excited about their potential.
“Being a first-year coach to the program, I did not know what to expect but to say I’m pleasantly surprised would be an understatement,” said Berkshire coach Joe Medlen, who previously coached at Perry and served as an assistant at Madison. “Instilling a championship culture can come with pushback, but it’s been welcomed with open arms. I personally believe these young ladies will smash the mold of the, ‘Ol, It’s Berkshire.’ We are four deep in pitching with a freshman, Moira Wonders, who will stand toe-to-toe with most veteran pitchers. These girls just needed to have trust and belief infused into them. We will see how the season goes, but I can guarantee this is not going to be your normal Division VII team rolling up. Our goal will always be to make a deep run in the playoffs, and if we pick up a (Chagrin Valley Conference) title along the way, great, but it is not our goal; a state championship will forever be our goal.”
Medlen has seen a lot out of his new squad in just a short amount of time.
“We have a very deep lineup with every player absolutely annihilating the ball right now and have completely fell in the love with the short game,” he said. “If our defense can limit mistakes, it will be a very interesting year, and we expect to compete for the CVC title and make a very deep postseason run as our pitching staff and strong catchers will keep us in every game as we will be able to match up well with the lineup presented to us.”
Berkshire, like most other teams, faces its share of challenges.
“The biggest challenge is changing the mentality of winning games to winning a state championship,” Medlen said. “The work ethic and unbelievably great attitudes all these young ladies are bringing daily has been refreshing to say the least. The senior leadership has been something I have never seen. This community prides itself on being one, being a family.”
Medlen has the fortune of returning one of the area’s top underclassmen in sophomore Whitney Davis, who will start at shortstop and see time in the circle. Davis batted .679 last season.
“We are blessed to have one of the top returners in Whitney Davis, who is truly one of Ohio’s best players and only a sophomore,” he said. “She destroyed records last year, and we look for her to continue her onslaught of more records.”
Olivia Masink (.392) will catch, Mallory Durosko (.375) will play first, Bailey Jokinen (.403) is projected to start at second, and Kylie Gleason (.349) rounds out the infield at third base.
“Bailey Jokinen has worked extremely hard this offseason on hitting, and we look forward to her owning the plate,” Medlen said. “Olivia Masink is an absolute stud catcher that has improved already this season. Mallory Durosko will have another huge year, as Mal has been especially happy with everything and working extremely hard. Mal will be a lockdown first baseman. Kylie Gleason is an absolute ‘dirtbag’ at third. Kylie is going to have a huge year as she has been absolutely locked in.”
Kate Miller will start in left field, Jenna Hornak (.397) will patrol centerfield, and Julia Young (.328) will be in right.
“Kate Miller is an incredible athlete and boasted a .426 batting average while being incredible on the basepaths,” Medlen said. “Jenna Hornak is an incredible athlete and is an incredible centerfielder. Julia Young has all the tools to be a game wrecker. She can bunt, hit, great speed, and a very competitive mindset.”
Elise Tiber will see time in the outfield, and new varsity players Delaney Gumm, Leeann Baise, and Kiera Reckart will provide depth.
“(Tiber) has a lot of upside that will help this team in different ways,” Medlen said. “(Gumm and Baise) both are very, very strong hitters, with Delaney being a very good catcher and Leeann being a strong corner player. I see them both logging innings this season, as their bats must be utilized. Kiera Reckart is new to varsity and will be a moving part for us throughout the season.”
Berkshire’s pitching staff starts with Wonders at the top, with depth coming from Davis, Durosko, and Gleason.
“Moira has tremendous upside,” Medlen said. “She is a very solid pitcher, hits the ball very well, and can play tremendous defense with a great glove and a very high softball IQ. Our team strength this year will be our pitching staff, with Whitney Davis, Mallory Durosko, Kylie Gleason, and Moira Wonders spinning it, with all four having different speeds, spins, and overall mechanics. If coaches do their job, we should be able to keep teams off balance.”
Berkshire’s recipe for success this season is simple.
“Control the controllables,” Medlen said. “We must execute the game plan and our defense but minimize errors while we limit any damage our opponent places on us. I’m a coach who honestly cannot worry about who we play as I know if we do what we need to do and battle to the final out and never give up, then we know we did our best and most of the time good things will happen. We must live the ‘so what, next pitch,’ mentality.”
