Renita "Toni" Closner enters her second season as the head of softball program.
Closner coached two Heart All-Conference players in the 2023 season.
Shortstop
Ellie Ohlde (Fairbury) and catcher
Carlye Rothschild (Eros, La.) were selected Heart All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Ohlde played in 44 games this season with 21 runs, 35 hits, six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs. She had a batting average of .263 an on base percentage of .347 and a slugging percentage of .383. She also stole three bases.
Ohlde had a fielding percentage of .882 and had five double plays on the year.
Rothschild played in 36 games with 10 runs, 20 hits, four doubles, one home run and four RBIs. Rothschild had a batting average of .235 an on base percentage of .316 and a slugging percentage of .318. She stole one base.
Rothschild in the field had a fielding percentage of .983 with 93 putouts, 11 runners caught stealing and only two errors all season.
Closner's program got it done in the classroom during the 2023 season. Five Bobcat softball players were selected to the 2023 CSC Academic All-District® Teams NAIA.
Ellie Ohlde (Fairbury),
Maddie Howard (Council Bluffs, Iowa),
Morgan Wilke (Bakersfield, Calif.),
Bailey Bitz (Ravenna) and
Cheyenne Leach (Wymore) were the five Bobcats selected for the honor.
Six Bobcat players were named Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes last May.
The six players are
Autumn Dixon (Stillwell, Kan.),
Maddie Howard (Council Bluffs, Iowa),
Ellie Ohlde (Fairbury),
Cheyenne Leach (Wymore),
Morgan Wilke (Bakersfield, Calif.) and
Bailey Bitz (Ravenna).
Closner is a Peru State alum where she attended the college from 2011-2015 and where she played softball under the late head coach Mark Mathews. Closner collected a plethora of accolades in her time as a Bobcat, including Omaha World-Herald All-NAIA Honorable Mention in 2015 along with Heart All-Second Team in 2015.
Closner has great coaching experience at the high school and club level. She coached summer softball for Nebraska Gold. She was the assistant coach at Lincoln North Star from 2017-2020. Then from 2020-2022 she was the head coach at Lincoln Southeast.
She led the Knights to a district championship in 2020, taking the team to the state tournament in her first season finishing in fifth place. While at Lincoln Southeast, Closner was named Female Coach of the Year in 2020-21.
Closner earned Bachelor's of Science with an emphasis in Criminal Justice from Peru State College in 2015.
Closner was hired September 1, 2022. Closner is married to Cody a former Peru State football player. The couple have one daughter, Nora.
