Playing with the University of Minnesota softball team over the past four years has taken Dani Wagner all around the country. But her heart remains in Hayfield.

Wagner, a 2014 Hayfield grad, was able to share the field with her hometown team on Saturday when the Gophers took the field against Nebraska right before Hayfield played Byron in Jane Sage Crowles Stadium. Wagner has often helped coach the Vikings with her mom Jana, who is Hayfield’s head coach, over the past few years, but this time she was able to do it in the Gophers home stadium.

“It was definitely an exciting and cool opportunity for them to see us and get to play on our field, especially when they haven’t gotten many chances to play yet due to the crazy weather,” Wagner said. “Just like we always do when it comes to softball, we were just having fun, cracking jokes and playing a great game.”

Wagner’s impact on Hayfield softball has been huge. Ever since she graduated, the Vikings have gone to three straight Minnesota Class A State Sofball Tournaments, including a fourth place finish in last year’s state tournament. Hayfield senior Carrie Rutledge was an eighth-grader in the last season that Wagner played for the Vikings and she said Wagner’s success has had a major effect in Hayfield.

“Dani has been a huge inspiration for our softball program. All her success has put Hayfield softball on the map,” Rutledge said. “All of her hard work and success makes us work harder so we can keep up the strong tradition that Dani started.

Dani is great to have around [as a coach] in the post season,” Rutledge continued. “She gives us great input and she is always so positive. It’s nice to have someone with her experience in the dugout.”

Wagner has received a lot of support from the Hayfield community over the years and she was glad to see plenty of familiar faces in the crowd during Saturday’s game against the Cornhuskers.

“It was amazing to see how many people came out to support me and Hayfield softball,” Wagner said. “When I go home to visit, I always hear people say they watched on TV or were following the updates, but it was a whole new thing to see them all in the stands. It was incredible to share this part of my life with friends and parents I grew up with as well as the kids and other community members I’m getting to connect with through coaching and working in Hayfield.”

Minnesota is having another solid season this year as the Gophers are 29-14 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten with eight regular season games remaining. Minnesota went 148-30 overall in Wagner’s first three years with the team and last year was a break-out year for her as she became the team’s every day starting center fielder. This year, Wagner is hitting .333 with four homers, six doubles and 21 RBIs.

She said the Gophers are ready to make another strong push this spring as they look towards the Big Ten Tournament, which begins May 10.

“We’ve definitely been battle-tested, especially in the beginning of the season, with the level of competition and strength of schedule we faced in pre-season, but I think we’re all finding our groove and getting the pieces to fall together as a team on both sides of the ball,” Wagner said. “We’re just looking to continue improving in terms of execution and gaining confidence as we finish up conference play and get closer to the playoffs.”

Wagner will be headed back to Hayfield this summer as she will be taking over the Hayfield Summer Recreation coordinator where she’ll be working with kids varying from pre-school age to coaching the 16U Blugold softball team.

“After the summer, I have a couple different plans in the works, so we’ll see which one ends up falling into place,” Wagner said. “In terms of coaching, I always love to continue to work with kids in our community, but I’ll have to wait and see if an official opportunity presents itself.”