MILWAUKEE — Like most softball teams around the nation, the Bryant and Stratton College (WI) softball team has begun their fall schedule. However, when the Bobcats take the field on  Sunday, it will be a bitter-sweet moment for Bryant & Stratton head softball coach Dean Herman and his daughter, former Bobcat softball player Bella Herman, who is entering her final season with UW-Green Bay.

It won’t be the first time the two programs faced each other in the fall. The Bobcats and Phoenix clashed last year and it was significant for Bella. 

“It was fun playing them last year because I was able to play against the people I was playing with at BSC,” Bella said. “It’ll be cool to see them…but this year, it’s a whole new team [and] I’m excited for that.”

It was also important to Dean who’s seen her grow as a softball player.

“Going into the second year facing her is going to be special for me because it’ll be her last year taking the field collegiately,” Dean said. “There's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years … so it’s just nice to see everything come to fruition and see that everything came together and hopefully she goes out there and has a fun season and ends her four-year softball career on a high note.”

Bella is coming off a successful junior season where she recorded a .303 batting average (led the team), a .983 fielding percentage, a .353 on-base percentage, a .712 OPS and led Green Bay with 43 hits. She also started in all 45 games for the Phoenix.

We had not one but two diving catches this weekend from @GBPhoenixSB's Bella Herman! ��

That's your @mycellcom Play of the Week!#RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/BcW8F8V8of

— Green Bay Phoenix (@GBPhoenix) April 8, 2024

Bella is also recovering from off-season surgery, but that isn’t going to affect her ability to play this season. She is just focusing on the next games ahead. That includes the one against the Bobcats and her dad. 

“I’m really excited to see him in his element,” Bella said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing their new team and how things are coming along."

It will also be exciting for the Bryant & Stratton College softball program to see Bella back on the field. She’s one of the top record holders for the softball program. She’s currently the career leader in batting average (.493) and triples (7), so the coaching staff knows what she is capable of in the batter’s box and out in the field. 

Congratulations to Sydney Birling and Bella Herman on being named to the NFCA Midwest All Region First Team. pic.twitter.com/bWBUpHARQN

— Bryant & Stratton College Softball (WI) (@bscsoftball_wi) June 1, 2022

“I want to beat her and I’m sure she wants to beat us,” Dean said. “I guess there’s parts of me that want her to do well against us, but we win. That’s the dad in me, but as a coach, I want our players to [do well]. Bella is a very special kid. She’s a dang good softball player, so if we do get her out, that’s a credit to our pitchers and our defense so although I want her to do well, [so] if we do well, I know that we did something against a very good ballplayer.”

Between the two, Bella and Dean have seen a lot of softball, but it’ll be the last time they face each other as opponents. Neither of them is going to take it for granted and it’ll undoubtedly strengthen the bond between father and daughter. 

“It’ll be pretty cool to see her going back out there,” Dean said. “She’s worked a lot this offseason with the surgery on her calves so every day is just another step back [in the right direction]. She doesn’t take it for granted anymore. For her, I think this is going to be a special year where she goes out on that field and does what she does best.”