Photo by Jake Olson: Front row: (left to right) Kyla Irmiter, Brylie Deim and Olivia Price. Second row: Lexcy Snyder, Carlynn Zotz, Shallie Walders, Ainsley Ulrich, Ariana Giddings and RaeAnn Leach. Third row: Briley Henriksen, Olivia Kruse, Marissa Nielsen, Natalie Walders, Maisey Bierstedt, Aslynn Sobolik, Jacie Johnson, Madisen Bunkofske, Lucy Dryer.

SWEA CITY – The ability to lose only a handful of seniors is considered a luxury in high school athletes. But to retain an entire team? That’s simply unheard of.

For North Union softball head coach Kim Price, this dream is a reality. The Warriors bring back the entire roster from last season’s team. A team that finished the summer 22-7 before ultimately falling to St. Edmond in the semifinals of the Class 1A – Region 7 bracket, coming up just short of a trip to the Iowa Girls High School State Softball Tournament.

Now, reloaded and ready for action, Price expects another strong campaign with a now veteran core of players. These juniors and seniors have been with Price since they were nine and 10 years old. She calls this year a culmination of their time on the field together.

“It’s been cool to see the older girls who are now juniors and seniors be legitimately in that leadership role. They were last year, but now they have a title to their name,” Price said. “I can tell they’ve already developed some of that leadership in some of the younger girls.

“I’m just excited for the season to get started, and I have a very good feeling about our overall success this year.”

Pitching wins games in high school softball. A powerful arm will simply carry the load for innings on an entire season. This year’s North Union team brings back not only one of its strongest pitchers from a year ago, but one of the best hurlers in the area.

Ainsley Ulrich enters her third season as the Warriors’ ace in the circle. The now junior is coming off her strongest statistical output after finishing 2025 with a 2.48 earned run average on nearly 160 innings pitched. She was not only a workhorse but flat-out efficient.

“Ainsley has been working on really just honing in her pitches,” Price said.

Ulrich also brings her fair share of offensive firepower to a loaded North Union batting order. She led the team this past season in batting average (.427), RBIs (33) and OPS (1.130). But Ulrich is simply the tipping point of Price’s lineup. A lineup that averaged over eight runs a night in 2025.

The Warriors return eight batters who hit over .315 from the dish last year, with names such as Shallie Walders (.422), Aslynn Sobolik (.376) and Bryle Deim (.375) adding their pristine bats to a very talented offensive group.

Price’s focus right now is not to reteach this group the basics of the sport. That’s one thing individuals pick up over multiple seasons of playing with one another. The goal is simply to improve. And with a team that already has a floor of substantial success, the only thing left to do is elevate.

“There’s not a ton of questioning each other. They know what to expect of each other, themselves, and working together as a team,” Price said. “All that’s left is growth and to go up from here, rather than having to restart everything.”