Athlete of the Week: Addison Wallschaleger does everything for Spectrum softball

Some softball and baseball players are great hitters. Some are great pitchers. Others like Spectrum sophomore Addison Wallschlaeger, are both.

Like what Shohei Ohtani is to the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, Wallschlaeger is a major reason why the Sting is off to a fast start in 2024.

Wallschlaeger threw a no-hitter on Thursday, April 11, in Spectrum’s 6-0 win over West Lutheran. She struck out 13 Warriors batters and nearly had a perfect game if it weren’t for a Sting error. Offensively, Wallschlaeger went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a walk and scored two runs. She followed her no-hitter by throwing a complete game shutout on Saturday, April 20, as the Sting defeated

Maranatha 3-0.

“It was exciting because West Lutheran’s always been a great team,” Wallschlaeger said. “Playing them, you always know it’s a good game.”

The two people who inspired her to play softball are her mother, Stephanie Wallschlaeger, and Katie Schober, who is Addison’s private pitching coach. Schober is the director of softball for Complete Game Baseball and Softball, an 11,000 square foot baseball and softball training complex that has provided athletes with high-level instruction since 2011. She was a pitcher for

Roseville High School and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and served as Elk River’s pitching coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

“Katie has been with me from a very young age,” Addison said. “We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs together. She knows me. She’s helped me with not only my mechanics and how to throw the ball and get good spin on it, but also my mental game when it comes to pitching.”

Sting head coach Rick Marberg said Addison is the hardest-working player on the team.

“She works all offseason at what she’s doing,” Marberg said. “She is determined. Pitching is huge, and she’s really good at it. She backs it up with some good hitting. She’s been a big part of our success the last couple of years.

She doesn’t take a drill off. We do a lot of tee work and she is there focused on every hit on the tee and every hit in the cage. The girls notice that and see that and they want to be up to her standard.”

Addison is also teammates with her younger sister, eighth grader Reagan Wallschlaeger. Reagan said watching Addison pitch is a major inspiration to her.

“She has a lot of spin on the ball,” Reagan said. “She’s confident on the mound. She has a big bat and she hits a lot of gappers (balls

to the outfield), which is helpful for us. It’s clutch during times when we need it. She’s an amazing person.”

With the Section 6-2A playoffs on the horizon, Addison will be called upon to continue to provide clutch moments on the mound and at the plate. Spectrum has yet to have a major postseason run in program history and has never qualified for the state tournament.

Marberg said he hopes Addison can end the season undefeated. “She’s going to pitch in some big games going into sections,” he said. “I’m hoping she’s the girl we lean on to go in there. That’s the plan at this point. Right now, she’s the one doing the tough starts and has done a great job at doing them so far.”