Lutheran Junior Comes Up Big for Lady Cougars

junior softball outfielder Sami Liefer proved to be valuable in . 

Liefer’s two-run double in the fifth gave hear team an 8-4 lead. It was a lead Lutheran would maintain until the end of the contest. 

“I’ve been struggling all year,” Liefer said. “The high school season tends to be tough for me and I don’t know why. I struggled on the previous two at-bats so I focused on the fact that I had runners on and we had to score.” 

Lutheran’s offense set a season-high for runs scored in the game. In addition, Lutheran also banged out 11 hits. The junior felt her team’s pitching supported the hitting. 

“Rachel (Tharp) did a great job of pitching today,” Liefer said. “And that carried over to our bats.” 

Liefer is hitting .400 so far this season.

“I want to be more consistent at bat,” Liefer said on her season goal. “On the field I’m pretty solid, but I want to hit more consistently.”

And the junior has a plan of action when it comes to hitting well. 

“It takes focus,” she said. “I want to focus on getting that big hit and hitting it in the gap.” 

The outfielder said she feels her team can improve by the end of the season. Lutheran currently has a 2-6 overall record and a 1-2 record in the AAA Conference. 

“Hopefully, our record will be good, better than the last two years,” she said. “I think we have a chance at winning some conference games and doing well in conference.”    

The junior started playing recreational softball when she was five and moved up to select at the age of 10. Liefer ran track her freshman year but has counted herself as a softball specialist since she was a sophomore.

Like most of today’s prep athletes, Liefer plays her chosen sport year around, as she currently plays select softball with the Missouri War Cats, a St. Peters based select team. The outfielder said she’s unsure if she wants to continue to play in college after high school.