Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Minot State pitcher/infielder Karlee Coughlin goes through her windup before throwing a pitch in a collegiate softball game played this past season inside the MSU air-supported dome at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot.

Karlee Coughlin never shied away from taking matters into her own hands. Such was the case Feb. 23 against the Northern State softball team.

Frustrated after a dropped third strike tag out, a Wolves player lashed out.

“Our catcher came out and put the glove on her,” Minot State head coach Nat Wagner said. “The kid kind of grabbed the glove and pushed her. The first one in there was Karlee, who basically told the kid to sit down… Just feisty. She is the one you want in the clutter.”

Coughlin added: “She was trying to talk some crap to my catcher, and I was like, ‘Nope, that’s not happening.’ I got into it and was like, ‘You got to go back to the dugout. You don’t talk to my teammates like that.'”

Whether she had to log innings inside the circle or prevent a possible fight from breaking out, Coughlin went all-in for her teammates. Her competitive nature helped the West Coast transfer make her mark in the Magic City in a relatively short amount of time.

The Oregon trail

Coughlin picked up a bat and was winding up pitches at an early age.

“Baseball and softball runs in my family,” she said. “My dad’s dad played catcher, my dad played catcher and my brother also played. So, yeah, I was kind of forced into it.”

Coughlin was a three-time team MVP and earned All-State honors with Sutter High School in the outskirts of Yuba City, California. She signed to play college softball at Southern Oregon University, a four-year NAIA program.

The Raiders reached the NAIA World Series in the two seasons Coughlin spent with the team.

In her freshman campaign, Coughlin knocked in both runs and pitched a complete game in a 5-2 season-ending loss to Columbia (Missouri). Coughlin finished the year with a 19-3 record in the circle.

Coughlin and the Raiders were bested again by Columbia a year later at the World Series, 6-2. Had Southern Oregon won that contest, they would have played for the NAIA national championship.

Regardless, the experience was everything Coughlin had imagined.

“It was incredible,” she said. “That’s what you dream about as a little girl playing softball like I want to be at the World Series like these girls. It was amazing. I can’t even describe it.”

After setting numerous team records and putting together two memorable seasons with the Raiders, Coughlin was forced to look elsewhere and find a new home with more financial stability.

“It was very expensive for me, even with my scholarship,” Coughlin said. “I was paying for school with not very much help. So, I had to figure something else out.”

With some guidance from her high school coach, Coughlin found her way into the Yuba City to Minot pipeline that former MSU women’s soccer coach Jason Spain had constructed.

“They were good friends,” Coughlin said about her high school coach and Spain. “So, (Spain) talked to (former MSU softball coach Dave) Kivett about me, and I ended up here with a scholarship within a month. It was kind of quick.”

The North Dakota country landscape was a welcomed sight.

“It made me feel like I was at home,” Coughlin said.

Immediate impact

Making a move from one of the premier NAIA programs to Division II didn’t seem to faze Coughlin. Backing up third base, she started all 49 games for the Beavers in 2019.

Coughlin hit an even .400 with 13 doubles and six home runs. She led the team with a .600 slugging percentage.

She didn’t expect that kind of production right away.

“In this game, you are expected to fail,” Coughlin said. “That’s the name of the game, really. Honestly, transferring, I just wanted to be the best that I could be and have fun with it — not really knowing what could happen. I think I do my best when I get into the box and I’m nervous.”

Hitting line drives to calm her nerves, Coughlin became a reliable middle of the order hitter for the Beavers. Then, the next season, she found herself back in the circle.

After failing to pick up a win at the 2019 NSIC Tournament, Kivett was replaced by new head coach Nat Wagner. Looking for more pitching depth to aid the greater good of the team, Wagner turned to Coughlin.

“Karlee is fiercely competitive,” Wagner said. “She wants to take the ball and stick it to you. As a pitcher, she wants the ball and wants to beat you. And the same thing as a hitter. It’s almost personal when she is in the batter’s box. She has very high standards for how the game should be played — a gritty kid.”

Returning to the center circle after taking a season off from pitching, Coughlin tossed 38.2 innings with a team-leading 1.52 WHIP before the 2020 season was canceled 16 games in due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coughlin was also batting .306 with 13 RBIs.

All of which was accomplished with a nagging arm injury, which Wagner speculates was bone spurs and a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).

“There were some pitches that she couldn’t throw physically,” Wagner said. “There were a lot of things stacked against her, but she made sacrifices for the team. She probably would have rather liked to play in a corner position (first or third base). But she worked hard to get ready to pitch this year, and I thought she threw well. Especially down the stretch after a rough start… For a while, she only had one pitch to rely on, and we were able to expand her repertoire.”

Time to think

Stepping off the rubber, Coughlin is debating a possible return to the Beavers softball team next season.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do yet, honestly,” Coughlin said. “I have a lot to think about.”

The necessity to finish school and rehab her arm are two major factors that could see Coughlin decide to step aside from the sport.

Wagner and the Beavers will have a spot open for her if she wants to give her senior season another go.

“I’m not the type of coach who is going to push her to come back to play,” Wagner said. “But we absolutely would have her back. She is a stud. But it has to be the right decision for her.”

The ball is firmly in Coughlin’s glove.

“I have to think about what’s best for me,” she said. “And what’s best for the team.”

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.