Take it to limit: Hayfield’s Heydt set to play at Luther next year

Published 7:41 pm Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Hayfield senior softball player Kyal Heydt was just an eighth grader when her teammate Dani Wagner signed her national letter-of-intent to play softball with the University of Minnesota. Heydt was a little awe-struck to know that a kid from Hayfield could go on to play for the Gophers, and she was also pretty inspired.

Heydt is also on track to play college softball as she has made the commitment to play at Luther College, a Division III school in Decorah, Iowa, next season.

“When I was in eighth grade and Dani decided she was going to the U, I decided I wanted to do that and I wanted to play in college,” Heydt said. “She inspired me to want to play college athletics.”

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The Norse are off to a 13-1 overall record to start this season and they went 41-5 overall in 2017, which was one of the best seasons in school history for Luther. Heydt was drawn to Luther after her first visit and she’s very excited to have the chance to play for the Norse next season.

“I love the coaching staff at Luther; it felt like home and I love the community,” Heydt said. “Decorah just reminded me of Hayfield. I can’t imagine not going to Luther.”

Heydt burst on to the scene for the Vikings as a freshman shortstop when she hit .372 with 16 extra base hits and 32 RBIs, but she suffered a major hurdle in her sophomore season when she suffered a knee injury and didn’t play a single inning of softball. Instead, Heydt spent most of that season doing physical therapy in Rochester.

Last season, Heydt moved to second base and she found her groove at the mid-way point in the season as she finished with a batting average of .422 to go with 17 extra base hits and 33 RBIs as Hayfield advanced to its third straight Minnesota Class A State Softball Tournament.

Kyal Heydt warms up with the Hayfield softball team before a scrimmage with Austin in the dome at Wescott Athletic Complex Tuesday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Big things are expected from Heydt this season as she played dome ball in Rochester all winter and she’s fully recovered from her injury.

“I played in a dome league in Rochester and I’m hoping that helps me get into things quicker than last year. It’s going pretty good so far,” Heydt said.

Hayfield senior outfielder Maggie Streightiff said that Heydt gives the Vikings a big boost in all aspects of the game.

“She’s a big impact player for us,” Streightiff said of Heydt. “She’s really vocal and she leads our team, not just offensively but defensively too. She’s always talking and she gets us where we need to be.”

It’s been a tough senior year so far for a strong group of Hayfield senior girl athletes. The Hayfield volleyball team and girls basketball team both were knocked off in the Section 1A tournaments after successful regular seasons. Heydt and the Vikings are hoping the softball team can make up for some of that heartbreak.

“I think it’s motivation. This is our last sport together and we need to push each other every day to get to that next level at the state tournament,” Heydt said. “We’re all real excited for our senior year and it’s going to be bittersweet. We’re all going to work hard to get to that state tournament again. That’s our goal.”

Hayfield is scheduled to host Randolph in its season opener 3 p.m. Monday.