(Guthrie Center, IA) — Last year, AC/GC Softball won 13 games but lost five senior starters coming into 2025 including their ace pitcher Emerson Van Meter and the Chargers had trouble replacing those key parts. In his first year as head coach, Tyler Merical’s club only won two games but he had to use a lot of younger and inexperienced players
Van Meter was difficult to replace for AC/GC — Senior Jayla Hoover and Junior Camdyn Richter shared most of the pitching duties but the Chargers had a combined 105 walks with only 34 strikeouts and a team ERA of 10.35. Richter will be back along with Freshman Megan Underwood and 8th grader Jerzee Huss and Merical says it will be a challenge to get improvement in the circle
The Chargers were led offensively by Junior Karli Kautzky who hit .308 but AC/GC basically has a young core that Merical is hoping will take a step forward next year — Sophomore Olivia Mahaffey and 8th graders Kailee Kautzky, Trinity Calhoun, and Huss
AC/GC loses three seniors off its 2-21 squad — Paige Van Meter, Jayla Hoover, and Belle Fagan.
Complete Interview with Head Coach Tyler Merical
