Soderberg, Canada Qualify For Worlds
November 20, 2006 | Softball
Wisconsin softball player Katie Soderberg (second row, third from the left) helped lead the Canadian Junior National Team to a 6-3 record and a fourth-place finish at the 2006 Pan American Championships last week in Puerto Rico.
With its performance, Canada qualified for the 2007 Junior Women's ISF World Championships next summer in Kunto, Poland. Soderberg, a native of Delta, British Columbia, is in her first season with the UW softball team.
'It was exciting and a great learning experience,' said Soderberg. 'I had so much pride in stepping on the field wearing a Canadian jersey. Our team was great and we had so much fun together. You'd think we'd known each other for over a year.'
Canada went 6-2 in round-robin play to advance in the championships, but lost to Puerto Rico in the semifinals. The hometown team then beat Venezuela, who finished third, before falling to the United States in the gold medal game.
Soderberg started eight of nine games for the Canadians at second base and had two multi-hit contests. She hit .263 (5-for-19) with a double, two RBI and three runs scored and had an on-base percentage of .391 in her first international event.
Soderberg had two hits and two starts for the Badgers during the fall season. She also scored three runs and stole a base.
During her high school career at Seaquam Secondary, Soderberg was a two-time softball MVP. She also competed in volleyball, basketball, soccer and track and field and has already been inducted into her school's Hall of Fame.
