1/27/15 • By Zach Chriswell / zchriswell@columbustelegram.com

COLUMBUS -- Two Lady Vikes will be taking their talent just down the road.

Tuesday at Lakeview High School, Lizzy Cunningham and Monica Gotschall signed their letters of intent to play softball at Central Community College.

"I think they are rightfully confident," Lakeview head softball coach Nora Kmiecik said. "I don't think they'll feel like they need to take a back seat just because they're freshmen. They'll jump in and start pushing their teammates from the get-go."

The two Lakeview seniors are excited at the opportunity of playing together for at least two more years.

"I'm so excited because Monica, over the years, has kept me motivated to be in there," Cunningham said. "She kept me in line. We really worked well together. We're like the mom and dad of the squad. Our personalities just mesh really well, and I'm excited to join a new team and see what they can do for us and what we can do for them and really just win something later on."

"It makes me feel excited," Gotschall added. "Lizzy and I have been together for the last four years and we bring out the best in each other. It's going to be so much fun playing at the next level with her."

Central head softball coach Jack Gutierrez knows the type of players he's getting in Cunningham and Gotschall.

"I've seen them play a lot in the summertime," Gutierrez said. "They're the two best senior players on their team, and they like to play, which is important. Sometimes, even if their high school team doesn't do well, there's always one or two girls that are pretty good. That's what we saw in these girls."

Despite the losses and the departure of some teammates throughout her high school career, Cunningham is satisfied that she stayed involved.

"My favorite accomplishment is definitely sticking with my team," she said. "Through my high school career, it was very tough for my team. We went through a lot of losses and a lot of the team left us. It was really sad, but for me, it was that I never left my team. I stuck with them and loved them until the end."

Now, she gets to start another chapter in her softball career.

"I had scholarship offers from other schools, not just for softball," Cunningham said. "But softball was where my heart was.

"I expect to become part of another team," she added. "Softball players are the best people around. That's my favorite part, and obviously playing -- I'm hoping to play and really show people what I've got."

It's Gotschall's speed that caught the eye of Gutierrez.

"You're always looking for speed and Monica brings that," Gutierrez said. "She's a slapper from the left side -- that's hard to defend. Speed in the outfield is a good thing with Monica."

That speed is part of what Gotschall hopes will contribute to more success for the Raiders.

"I want have a starting role. I want to contribute," she said. "(Some goals are) being able to play well, being able to make the team and being able to help Central continue with their regional championships and being able to bring them to the next level."

Kmiecik believes Gotschall's tough, hard-nosed attitude will help her succeed for the Raiders.

"Monica is just a pistol," she said. "She's dedicated, she's hard-nosed, she's tough. She can take a licking and keep on ticking. That kind of attitude is awesome and it's in short supply."

Gotschall's father is the campus president at the Columbus campus and her familiarity with Gutierrez helped nudge her in Central's direction.

"My dad works there, so that kind of caught my eye first, and then coach Gutierrez has taught me a lot about softball and that brought me even closer to Central," Gotschall said.

According to Gotschall, patience and adaptability are lessons learned at Lakeview that can help her in the future.

"All of our teams, whether it's basketball or softball, have had some ups and downs," she said. "(I've learned) being able to work with that and bring out the best of it."

Cunningham's choice of Central came down to softball and her desire for a small school.

"I was looking for places that were smaller," Cunningham said. "I'm from Platte Center, which is a town of 300. I'm not used to big things. It's smaller, there's going to be people I know there. Also, the softball team has done really well, obviously, and Jack, I've always looked up to him."

Through softball, Cunningham learned quickly to have a positive attitude toward whatever she does.

"I learned to be patient, and that sometimes it might not be good at that second, but if you believe that it's always going to be terrible, then it is," Cunningham said. "You have to have that positive outlook."

Cunningham and Gotschall mark Gutierrez's third and fourth recruits from a Columbus school for next year. Columbus High's Samantha Legler and Scotus Central Catholic's Hannah Krings were the first two.

"It brings fans to the game," Gutierrez said of recruiting softball players out of Columbus. "It generates interest with some of the younger girls in the high schools that we might be recruiting next year or the following year. They can kind of use these girls as role models."

Cunningham hopes to go into business with a marketing emphasis, while Gotschall is looking into Wildlife zoology.