Katie Goetzinger Voth: Iowa native inducted into Wayne State Athletic HOF

Former Harlan softball player Katie Voth recently was inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame after a stellar collegiate softball career.

“It is very special to me to have been inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame,” Voth said. “Softball was the biggest part of my life for as long as I can remember, and its been 11 years since I played my last game, so it was pretty cool to still be remembered and honored for a career that I'm very proud of.”

Voth fell in love with softball at a young age and has had members of her family that played the game before her to inspire her along the way.

“I started playing coach pitch softball after second grade, so when I was 8 years old,” she said. “Softball runs in my blood. My grandpa was a men's fast pitch player, my mom was a pitcher and played in college, and many of my cousins played softball as well as pitchers and catchers, so it just came naturally to me and I was hooked from the start.”

Voth comes from a strong family background that has supported her throughout her life and has encouraged her to achieve success at the highest levels.

“They saw my passions when I was a little girl and sacrificed so much to help me achieve my dreams of playing college softball,” she added. “My parents worked tirelessly to support me and we spent many holiday weekends and vacations at softball fields, and they never made it seem like a burden and truly just wanted me to be happy and live my dreams, and I am so incredibly thankful for all they did for me.”

During her college career, Voth was part of six no-hitters, with two perfect games, three individual no-hitters and three combined no-hitters. In 2010, she went 32-10 with 1.11 ERA, recording 358 strikeouts, which was the 2nd-most in NCAA Division II. She also led Wayne State to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2010, 2011) and the 2010 NSIC Tournament title during her four years (2007-11).

On top of playing her heart out on the diamond, she also juggled the life of a college student.

“I don't think anybody really understands what the reality of being a college athlete entails until they are in that position,” Voth added. “It really forces you to understand your priorities and learn time management, and pushes you to the extreme physically, as well as mentally both on the field and in the classroom. It really requires all out effort all the time to be successful in your sport and in the classroom.”

Even though her collegiate days are behind her, Voth hasn’t gone too far from the game as she watches softball and baseball on television often.

“It has also been really fun watching South Dakota State Softball the past couple years, as that's where my former head coach Krista Wood is now, so it's fun to cheer for them and see her doing great things for their softball program,” she said. “As far as professional sports go, MLB is my favorite and the Minnesota Twins are my team.”

Voth also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the diamond in some capacity in the future.

“I'm sure as my daughters start to get older and more involved in sports and activities, I will likely get involved with coaching in some aspect,” she said.