The Manhattan Indians softball team (7-16) finished their season in Topeka on May 21, falling to the Topeka High Trojans 9-3 in the first round of the class 6A west Regionals.
“We had one really rough inning where they were just hitting the ball in places that we couldn’t get to in time,” senior Jocelyn Harms said.
Despite the season ending before the team would have hoped, the Indians improved a lot over the course of the season, especially at the plate.
“[The] first couple games were a little rough with hitting. It was slow and we weren’t able to string together hits as well,” Harms said. “And towards the end, we got really good at stringing hits together, even if they were straight to people. We had a significant amount of less strikeouts towards the end.”
Freshman Josie Alesana made a big statement in her first season, with a team-leading seven home runs and tied sophomore Gracen Neitzel for the most RBIs with 16.
“I guess as the season went on, I got more confident at the plate and started to be less nervous,” Alesana said.
All three of the Indians pitchers this season were underclassmen including Alesana and sophomores Solveig Chase and Harper Bailey. Returning position players who started on Varsity include Neitzel, junior infielders Kat Ball and Keylee Schartz, sophomores Tierra Young and Maryn Meusborn, and freshmen Lydia Wassenberg and Celia Courtright.
“I think having the younger team this year is going to help them for future years, because they have so much time to develop together and learn each other, rather than just being thrown in with a majority older team,” Harms said. “So I do have full faith in them next year and in the coming years that they’re going to be really good, especially considering how pretty decent we were this year.”
Harms will continue her softball journey at the college level where she has committed to Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I was playing in a national tournament in Colorado, and the [Simmons] women’s coach happened to be there, and she was talking to me about it, and invited me out for a visit,” Harms said. “And the second I stepped off the plane, it just felt right. I loved the city. The coach was so sweet, and the campus environment was just awesome. And I had toured a couple schools previously for softball, but nothing really compared to the feeling I got from Simmons.”
Seniors Harms, Haiden Gaither, Kaitlyn Lagabed, Isabelle Peabody and Jaiden Vogt were honored in between the games of the Indians double-header against Washburn Rural on May 13 at Twin Oaks Sports Complex.
“I’ve made so many good friendships through sports, and not just softball, also in volleyball and basketball,” Peabody said. “I’m just grateful for all the memories I’ve made.”
Peabody, who led the team in hits with 24, is the only student in the 2025 graduating class at MHS that will be playing sports for Kansas State University, where she is committed to the rowing team.
“I went on a visit and I really loved all the coaches and girls and I just felt like it was where I was supposed to be,” Peabody said.
For first year head coach Jori Bellas, the seniors had a big leadership role in the team.
“This senior class has just been great leaders, both preseason stuff, during the season,” Bellas said. “Isabelle, especially on the field, off the field, she is just a great presence.”
Bellas was assistant coach for seven years before taking the lead role and learned a lot from this season.
“[I learned] that not everything happens the way you want it to, and that they just have to come out and play and their effort is key,” Bellas said. “But it’s fun to watch and see them from the beginning to where they are now and the progress that we’ve made, it’s huge.”
