File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye’s Paige Haala looks to advance on the basepaths during a Tomahawk Division softball game against New Ulm Cathedral on April 21 at Harman Park in New Ulm.

SLEEPY EYE — After a stellar prep career at Sleepy Eye, Paige Haala will be taking her softball talents to Bethany Lutheran College next year.

“Bethany is obviously really close to home,” Haala said. “Which is something kind of important to me, I didn’t want to go far. And on top of that, I’ve known I’ve always wanted to play softball, and Bethany’s program is really good … Their program is one of the best in the UMAC. Just trying to be a part of something that good is awesome to me.”

BLC has had a strong softball program for some years, with the team reaching the NCAA DIII Regional Tournament this year after winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference with a 29-14 overall record, 15-3 in conference.

“Joining a program like that is very important to me,” Haala said. “Even if I’m not succeeding as an athlete, just being able to be a part of that atmosphere, I know it was a big thing, my brother [Zach Haala] playing college baseball [with Bethel University], his team made it to regionals a couple years while he was there. It was just, like, being part of the process, being with your team, and just growing up seeing that has made me realize that even if I’m not playing, that my team is still doing well and being successful, that’s important to me.”

Haala will be joining several other area athletes on the Vikings, including 2024 Sleepy Eye graduate Katelyn Tauer, along with Wabasso graduate Avery Carlson, Minnesota Valley Lutheran graduate Becca Kuck, and New Ulm graduate Anna Lee. However, Haala said that familiarity with the roster wasn’t a driving force in her decision, though it would be nice to play with Tauer again.

“That’s a great thing, being able to play with an old teammate,” Haala said. “But that was not necessarily a factor in my decision.”

Haala said she is hoping to compete for a spot in the middle infield in her freshman season.

“They graduate both their shortstop and second baseman, and I’m a middle infielder,” Haala said. “I’m trying to get a little there, but otherwise wherever I can play, wherever I can get an opportunity, I can try to work my way up. It doesn’t really matter to me, but to start out with, I’m going to try to get one of those middle infield spots that they’re graduating this year.”

Haala is looking forward to being a part of the competitive atmosphere in college.

“Honestly, I just think that everyone wants to be there,” she said. “In high school, most people just play it to have fun or to just get out and do something. But being surrounded by everyone who wants to be there and loves the game as much as me and have that extra passion for it is something that I was definitely looking forward to.”

To play up to the college level, Haala is looking to become more consistent as a hitter.

“Just being more consistent,” Haala said. “Hitting-wise, just putting the ball into play more. Right now I’m doing pretty well, but at the college level I’ll be facing better pitching. I think just upping my game on the hitting side will definitely take me to the next step. Fielding-wise, I feel like I’m pretty solid right now, definitely a few tweaks I’m going to work on, but other than that, just putting in that extra work hitting.”