Winonan’s Matt Huss spoke with the Winona State University softball team’s star centerfielder, Chelsea Rosenow.
WINONAN: You’re leading the Warriors in average (.381), runs (30), hits (37), doubles (9), home runs (4), RBIs (25), total bases (58), slugging percentage (.598), on-base percentage (.478) and stolen bases (12). Are you on steroids?
ROSENOW: (Laughing) No, I’m not. You can test me; I will not come up positive.
WINONAN: You make hitting a softball look easy, but is it easier than hitting a baseball?
ROSENOW: It’s hard for me to say because I’ve never hit off a baseball pitcher before. But I’m going to say it’s harder to hit a softball because I play it. Boys think it’s easy, but I think hitting a softball is harder. The ball comes at a different angle. In baseball, the ball is always going down. In softball, it can go down or up.
WINONAN: Your coach, Greg Jones, seems to have some weird superstitions and rituals on the field. What’s he like?
ROSENOW: He is crazy (laughs). Between every single pitch, on offense or defense, he has a set routine he does; he’s insane. He’ll tell people, “If my routine gets off, then I think it’s my fault you don’t get a hit.” After he gives signs to the catcher, he rubs his hand in the dirt and then throws the dirt down and then wipes it on one of his legs. He does it every single time; there isn’t a pitch he doesn’t do that. When we’re on offense, he’ll give you a sign, and then he bends over, touches his knees and then takes three steps backward as the pitcher is pitching (laughs).
WINONAN: How did you get your nickname, “Chip”?
ROSENOW: I’m just kind of a bubbly type of person, and when I came in as a freshman, one of the juniors was just like, “Well, we’re going to call her ‘Chip’.” And it just kind of stuck. I’m from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, but that really doesn’t have anything to do with it (laughs). It’s just a coincidence.
WINONAN: Did you cry when Brett Favre retired?
ROSENOW: I didn’t cry, but I was pretty sad. One of the girls on our team is from Green Bay, so she might have shed a tear or two (laughs).
WINONAN: You play center field and catcher. How did that come about?
ROSENOW: In high school I was always a catcher; I caught every single high school game I ever played in. When I came to WSU, Sarah Carlson had the catcher’s spot pretty much held down; she was pretty good (laughs). So I was just trying to find a home for myself so I could play. I’m fast, and I can throw and catch, so I thought it was a pretty logical decision. (Eds. Note: Carlson, who graduated in 2006, is WSU’s all-time leader in home runs.)
WINONAN: If Jones gave you the choice right now, which position would you choose?
ROSENOW: It’s hard for me to say, because I like things about each position. Catching is so fun because you’re in the middle of everything; you’re kind of in charge; you can be vocal. But I like center field because I like running, getting balls in the gap, stopping triples and home runs. He asks me that every year, and every year I say, “Whatever is best for the team; wherever you need me to play is what I’m going to do.”
WINONAN: What’s your favorite feeling in softball?
ROSENOW: Of course, when you make a diving play, that’s pretty sweet. But I’d have to say my favorite thing is bunting for a base hit. I like it when you drop one down the third-base line and beat it out. It makes the other team so mad, because bunts should be outs. It’s so sweet when you get one, because it’s like, “Haha, I’m faster than you” (laughs).
WINONAN: What’s it like playing on the football field?
ROSENOW: Being an outfielder, I actually love it. But there are ups and downs to it, like our fence, obviously, because it falls down all the time (laughs). And the turf is really fast, so if the ball gets in the gap, it gets there pretty quick. It’s also nice to slide on, and you can run faster on it because your cleats aren’t digging into the dirt. But, you know the little rubber pebbles in the turf? We fill up bags with those, and that’s what is holding the fence down. We fill every one of those bags — it’s one of our days of practice, just filling up those bags and setting up our fence.
WINONAN: What did you think of the field when you first saw it as a recruit?
ROSENOW: I was just like, “Um, OK. This is your field? Don’t you have any money here?” (laughs).
WINONAN: I’m sure you’d be happy to play anywhere right now. How frustrating is this weather?
ROSENOW: It’s a total bummer. Every day I just want to go outside and have it be warm enough where I don’t feel like I want to wear mittens and a hat and 18 pairs of pants and 18 sweatshirts. Softball is not meant to be played in 30-degree weather. But we do it, and we do it well.