{"id":57000,"date":"2026-04-28T13:08:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/57000\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:08:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:08:30","slug":"softball-claire-kohlman-leads-lake-zurich-as-only-senior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/57000\/","title":{"rendered":"Softball: Claire Kohlman leads Lake Zurich as only senior"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claire Kohlman became the Lake Zurich softball team\u2019s only senior when a couple of players decided not to return this season.<\/p>\n

Kohlman, a fourth-year starter, understood what that meant for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I found out mid-February that I would be the only senior,\u201d she said. \u201cI took from that that I need to be a leader for the girls on my team, help give them some sort of help, so they have someone they can look up to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the loudest on the field, but through my work ethic and just by staying positive, I think my teammates have bought into that concept. I was a little nervous, but the coaches have been really good helping me fill that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Nicole Pieper said Kohlman has filled it well for the Bears (9-7, 6-2), who have been one of the best teams in the North Suburban Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaire brings good leadership and a strong work ethic,\u201d Pieper said. \u201cShe\u2019s a kid you want leading young players. Last year, we had five seniors leading the team. Claire knew she would have to step up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an easy transition for her to take on that role. She works hard every day and is mentally very strong. She is always positive and energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teammates like junior first baseman\/catcher Camryn Krysciak, who called Kohlman \u201can amazing senior leader,\u201d and junior middle infielder Kendall Hull agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaire is constantly leading by example and being a role model,\u201d Hull said. \u201cShe is a very selfless player and always is showing how much she cares for us and the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hull noted that Kohlman is a productive player too. A Colorado School of Mines commit, Kohlman is batting .333 with four doubles and 10 RBIs and has a .949 fielding percentage at third base. She batted .398 and had a .957 fielding percentage\u00a0last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaire is a consistent player who we can always count on,\u201d Hull said. \u201cShe can always pull through with a clutch hit when we need it, and she is always locked in at third base, making unbelievable plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pieper said Kohlman is particularly good at the hot corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is so solid defensively with such quick reaction skills at third base,\u201d Pieper said. \u201cShe makes a ton of challenging plays. Offensively, she puts the bat on the ball and is very disciplined in the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LakeLake Zurich third baseman Claire Kohman, top, tries to to tag Grayslake Central’s Emma Andrews during a nonconference game in Grayslake on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Rob Dicker \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n

Pieper and Krysciak also highlighted Kohlman\u2019s ability to handle pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always stays level and doesn\u2019t let anything bother her,\u201d Pieper said. \u201cShe\u2019s a good role model for our younger kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kohlman, who said she has a 4.57 GPA and intends to major in chemical engineering at Colorado School of Mines, wants to continue to be that figure for the Bears. They begin the second half of their conference schedule this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing really good and have some good conference wins,\u201d Kohlman said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see what we\u2019re going to do in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Claire Kohlman became the Lake Zurich softball team\u2019s only senior when a couple of players decided not to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6610,8504,8505,8506,8507,4573,899,51],"class_list":{"0":"post-57000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zurich","8":"tag-high-school-sports","9":"tag-illinois","10":"tag-lake-county","11":"tag-lake-county-news-sun","12":"tag-lake-county-news-sun-sports","13":"tag-lake-zurich","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-zurich"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116482493988240440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}