By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32
From running up and down a rectangular field to running around a diamond field, some things remain the same while others are completely different for Katharina Marx.
Marx, a sophomore from Saarbrucken, Germany came to Hutchinson Community College to be a forward for the women’s soccer team. Already a collegiate athlete, Marx can officially call herself a dual-sport athlete. Marx’s primary sport at HutchCC has been soccer, but she has also found her way to the softball field.
With the softball team having a small roster and down on numbers, Blue Dragons coach Jaime Rose was on the lookout for a pinch runner for her team.
Although it began as a joke between Marx and her softball friends, a discussion soon evolved into Marx being a potential person to bring onto the team, specifically to be a pinch runner.
“We were talking about it with our team,” Rose said. “They were like, ‘Coach, she would she would definitely fit into our culture’. Not only is she fast and capable of doing this, but I think most importantly, she would fit into our culture.”
Before coming onto the team, Marx knew a few rules of softball, but not the whole knowledge of the game.
“In my freshman year, I watched a bunch of softball games,” Marx said. “I’ve watched some softball, but I never completely understood it.”
While Marx was aware of some rules, there were others that she was not sure of.
“If you hear you’re just a base runner, you think you just have to run,” Marx said. “But actually, there are some things you have to think of. It’s a ground ball, if you want to run, if you don’t want to run, if you have someone behind or in front of you, it is a lot of other things you actually have to keep in mind. Or if you steal a base, actually staying on the base and not stepping off.”
Despite never playing softball before and having little knowledge of the sport, Rose does not regret her decision and continues to have confidence in Marx.
“She continually asks questions and wants to learn,” Rose said. “She’s a very competitive person who hates to do anything wrong. So she’s always asking questions, trying to learn the little things here and there, and she’s caught on very fast.”
Only playing in eight games so far, Marx has a batting average of .182 along with three runs, two RBIs and one stolen base.
Even though Marx may not be the best softball player on the team, she has been an important contributor to the team.
“Getting to know her over the last month and a half, I think she’s a natural leader,” Rose said. “She doesn’t really know the game of softball that well, but she’s very good at picking people up when they’re down and seeing when they need a pep talk or not.”
After all, a little knowledge can go a long way, especially with the attitude Marx has. While playing the game of softball is fun, Marx is more focused on the experience and helping the team out when they need it.
“I’m just really thankful for the opportunity and thankful to help them out,” Marx said. “I really enjoy being a part of soccer as well as softball.”
The softball team will travel to Dodge City for the 2025 NJCAA Plains District Tournament. The Blue Dragons will match up against Seward County Community College at 2 p.m. on May 2 at Legends Park
