Cyclone softball standouts sign college letters of intent

 HARLAN -- Harlan Community seniors Emily Brouse and Julia Schechinger made their college decisions official on Monday, November 2, signing national letters of intent to play softball at the juco level starting next fall.
 Brouse signed with Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs while Schechinger will take her talents to Southwestern Community College in Creston. Both Cyclone players have been starting at the varsity level since they were eighth-graders. They helped HCHS finish 28-8 and win a Hawkeye Ten Conference title in 2019 and were major contributors on a 2020 squad that finished 15-5 and reached the regional finals for the first time since 2013.
 Brouse, a pitcher and first baseman, was named third team All-State in Class 4A by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association this past summer and was also a unanimous first team all-conference selection. She batted .333 in an abbreviated season, totaling four doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI and a .600 slugging percentage. Brouse shared the pitching duties with Tianna Kasperbauer and went 9-4 with five saves in the circle, a 2.11 earned run average and a sparkling WHIP of 1.01. She allowed 49 hits in nearly 70 innings, walked 21 and struck out 119.
 Schechinger, the Cyclones’ rangy center fielder the last two years - when she wasn’t handling spot duty at catcher - was named first team All-Hawkeye Ten Conference this past summer after batting .348 with a team-leading 17 runs scored and 24 total hits. She hit four doubles, had 12 RBI, stole five bases and added three outfield assists.