Senior Annabelle Schutte said she started playing softball around age six, started pitching around age nine and became a varsity pitcher during her freshman year.

“It was a big deal. We don’t have a lot of pitchers in our program, so it’s kind of cool to pitch on varsity and play on varsity for four years,” Schutte said.

Schutte said her favorite part of her position is its leadership aspect.

“As a pitcher, I like being kind of the leader, because everything kind of falls on you, which is stressful at times, but it’s also really rewarding,” Schutte said.

According to softball head coach Trent Seaman, Schutte is one of the best high school softball players in the Twin Cities.

“That alone brings a bunch of credibility to herself, but she’s also been a captain for the last two years. She’s a great leader,” Seaman said. “We will go as far as she carries us this year. She has the potential to take us to State. She’s that good, and we will be riding her the whole season.”

Varsity catcher and junior Maddy Schmitz said Schutte leads the team and some of the conference with her pitching abilities.

“Annabelle adds confidence and is probably our MVP every year due to her phenomenal pitching,” Schmitz said. “She’s always present at practice so she leaves quite a large role model for the younger girls (who are) constantly seeing her at practice and working hard.”

Seaman said Schutte has a great desire to win and encourages her teammates to work hard.

“People follow her lead. She leads by example more than, you know, yelling and screaming. Her work ethic is what separates her from the others,” Seaman said.

Schutte said she hopes to show the team to work for what they want and to lead by example.

“(I hope) that when I leave, somebody else will step up and do it too and be even better than I was, or be a better captain than I was and learn from what I’ve done,” Schutte said.

In addition to Park softball, Schutte said she plays for the Minnesota A’s club and enjoys volunteering and traveling. She said she looks forward to playing softball next year at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.