Posted: 5/8/02

Full Count: Former Rangers fuel Hamline

When Amanda Gage and Lindsey Miller last were teammates, they helped lead the Forest Lake softball team to its best season ever.

It was 2000 and the duo were key components in Forest Lakeís 23-5 season which finished with a 2-0 loss to Minnetonka in the AAA state championship game.

Miller was second on the team in batting average (.312) and RBIs (9) and was named to the all-tournament team at state. The same year, Gage was third on the team in hits (44) and first in runs scored (16) and stolen bases (14).

Fast forward to 2002 where Gage, a freshman, and Miller , a sophomore, are teammates again and ñÝweird ñÝthey led Hamline University to its best season in school history.

Coincidence? Fourth-year Hamline coach Janelle Tieken says it isnít.

ìTheyíve been a huge part of our success,î she said.

Itís been a breakthrough season for Hamline, which finished the season over the weekend with a record of 24-12 overall and 12-10 in the MIAC, which gave them a tie for sixth place. The best season prior to this at Hamline was 1997 when the Pipers went 17-17.

While several factors came into play this season for Hamline, two of the biggest were Gage and Miller. Their names litter the MIAC category leaders chart.

Miller, the Pipersí clean-up hitter, finished second in the MIAC in hitting with a .456 average. She also finished first in times hit by a pitch (4), sixth in on base percentage (.492) and runs scored (32), eighth in hits (47) and ninth in RBIs (25).

Gage, who batted second for Hamline, finished in the top 10 of nine different categories.

She was second in runs scored (36), third in sacrifice bunts (8), fifth in RBIs (31), and doubles (11), sixth in hits (48), seventh in total bases (71), ninth in total plate appearances (134) and 10th in batting average (.417) and slugging percentage (.617).

Not only have Gage and Miller both been important parts to Hamlineís success, they both never had any real intentions of playing for the Pipers while at Forest Lake.

Miller wanted to pursue her college career at a Division II school, but then changed her mind and decided to attend Hamline for a better education.

Once she landed at Hamline, she got a call from Tieken wanting her to play softball and the rest is history.

After playing as a freshman, Miller burst onto the MIAC scene this year due in large part to her plate discipline.

ìHaving watched her play her senior season (at Forest Lake), I thought she would put up better numbers than she did last year,î Tieken said. ìIt was her pitch selection. She was too aggressive at the plate.

ìThis year she has had more ñÝbut not enough ñ patience at the plate and sheís been a lot more consistent.

ìThis is the Lindsey we thought we would have.î

Tieken initially didnít think she would have Gage this season. Even though she heavily recruited her, Gage wanted to go to school at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Gage, too, had a last-minute change of heart and e-mailed Tieken late last summer to see if she could still play for the Pipers.

After Tieken quit doing cartwheels in the hallway, she said she welcomed Gage with open arms.

ìWe really needed somebody to come in and solidify the infield,î Tieken said. ìShe was a gift. I thought I had lost her, but here she is.î

There Gage and Miller are ñÝat Hamline, a place they never thought they would be, leading the Pipers to where theyíve never been before.

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