Kihn announces commitment to Valley City

The Eastman Wildcats softball program continues to grow.

Another player has announced an American college commitment, as catcher Pascale Kihn announced she will be attending Valley City University beginning next September.

“It’s been my goal since I can remember, I want to play at the highest level that I could, and continue to play as long as I could,” Kihn said.

“This was the goal, and now that I’ve achieved it I’m super pumped and super excited to see where it takes me.”

Kihn said she was considering and talking with other schools, but a visit to Valley City convinced her it was the right program to attend. The fact Valley City is only four hours away from La Broquerie in North Dakota didn’t hurt either.

“I ended up really loving it,” Kihn said on her visit to the campus.

“Everybody there was awesome. The coaches were great, the other girls on the team were great. Everybody that I met was amazing, and I just thought ‘wow this is a really nice campus.’ I liked everything about it, it checked all the boxes.”

It will be a weird summer softball season for Kihn next year, as she will play U19 ball with the Wildcats before beginning her collegiate career.

While her softball talent is obvious, Kihn prides herself on being the ‘quarterback’ of a softball defense, directing traffic and rotations throughout a defensive inning.

“You’re in charge of the diamond,” Kihn said when describing the role of a catcher.

“You need to make sure your fielders are good and now where they’re going with the ball. I think I’m pretty good at managing the diamond.”

Kihn will be busy this winter, not only training to keep up her softball skills, but also suiting up for the Southeast Sharks AA hockey team.