The No. 4 ADM softball Tigers will take on another ranked opponent Thursday night when the No. 7 Norwalk Warriors visit Adel for non-conference action. The Tigers have held their own against ranked competition, going 4-3 against other ranked teams from several classes.

ADM’s strength all season has been its pitching and defense, though the Tigers have at times flashed considerable power. ADM’s 17 home runs rank third in Class 4A, and some of those long balls have come from unexpected sources, including sophomore Kate Collins.

“Kate’s power has actually been a pleasant surprise for us,” said Tigers head coach Rick Dillinger. “Last year, actually, we DP’ed for her and put her in the flex spot, so Kate played varsity second base and only gotta hit JV. Kate worked really hard in the offseason; she was one of the kids that did the 5,000 hits [challenge], and I think it’s just her work ethic is why she’s improved.

“We’ll take any power we can get out of her right now.”

Put in the No. 2 hole for her bunting skills, Collins has hit three home runs and four doubles this year to go along with a .259 batting average. She hasn’t lost any of that bunting ability either, as she leads the team with 11 sacrifices.

You can catch Thursday night’s game against Norwalk on K107 and raccoonvalleyradio.com, with pregame coverage beginning at approximately 7:15 and first pitch to follow around 7:30.