Media Releases

Media Releases (2008)

Powerhouse Player New Fastpitch Softball Coach

Aug.6, 2008
St. Scholastica star Laura Heise brings winning tradition to Blue Knights.

Laura Heise Laura Heise

As a fastpitch softball player at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Laura Heise rewrote the records books. A proven winner, Heise is taking the helm as head coach of Dakota County Technical College's fastpitch softball team for the 2008-2009 season.

Heise, 23, of Richfield, Minn., played on a team that lost only one Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game during her four-year college career. She pitched and played first base for the CSS Saints. She holds the NCAA Division III career strikeout record with 1,125. The record earned her a place in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the Aug. 21, 2006, issue of Sports Illustrated.

A right-handed pitcher and hitter, Heise also owns several Saints fastpitch career records, including:

  • Pitcher
    • 95-21 W/L record
    • 0.87 ERA
    • 10 no-hitters
  • Batter
    • .456 batting average
    • 217 hits
    • 30 home runs
    • 151 RBIs

Heise's list of honors as a Saint is truly impressive. She was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA 1st Team All-American in 2006. Two years earlier, she was an NFCA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 2nd Team All-American and an NAIA 1st Team All-American.

She was NFCA 1st Team All-Region in 2003, 2004 and 2006. In 2004, she was NAIA Region Player of the Year. She was also UMAC Player of the Year every year she played at St. Scholastica. After graduating from CSS, she served as an assistant coach on a Saints fastpitch team that took the 2007 UMAC championship.

"We will work to build a competitive team during my first season at DCTC. From there, we will be aiming for a national title."

As a member of the 2004 Midwest All-Star Team, she pitched one inning against the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team, retiring the side after giving up only one hit. Hands-down the best team in the world, the U.S. took home the gold at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Heise played for renowned coach Kim Niederluecke at Richfield High School, where she graduated in 2002. She went on to earn both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in exercise physiology at the College of St. Scholastica.

"I'm used to winning," said Heise, who is looking forward to her head coaching duties. "We will work to build a competitive team during my first season at DCTC. From there, we will be aiming for a national title."

Blue Knights Fastpitch Softball


The Blue Knights fastpitch softball team practices at the Irish Sports Dome, a premier indoor athletic facility in Rosemount, Minn. All home games are played at Erickson Park, also in Rosemount.

The schedule for the upcoming 2008-2009 season is under formulation and will be released shortly.

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