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Two sports, two titles for Stillwater star

The Ponies' Allison Eder-Zdechlik heads to Gustavus, where more hockey and softball await.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune

July 14, 2012 at 4:53PM

Stillwater’s Allison Eder-Zdechlik showed the umpire the ball after tagging out Wisconsin’s Emily Holldorf during the Border Battle all- star doubleheader against Wisconsin on July 11. Photo by Kyndell Harkness • kharkness@startribune.com (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Not too many people can say they've won a state championship. Even fewer can say they've done it twice. Fewer still have done it in different sports.

Allison Eder-Zdechlik is in that smallest club.

The two-sport Stillwater standout's career included winning a hockey state title in 2009 and a softball state championship in June with a victory over Maple Grove in North Mankato.

Her latest title still rings fresh in her mind.

"I think about it a lot," she said Monday, a day before taking the field for the Border Battle all-star doubleheader in Eden Prairie between top high school players from Minnesota and Wisconsin. "I just remember the last inning when we were out in the field. The score was 6-2 at that point. We were winning. We had two outs, and I was just out there thinking, 'Let's just get this last out.'

"I couldn't wait to just celebrate with my teammates. It was a great moment for us."

Great moments bookended Eder-Zdechlik's career. The dynamic hockey forward and all-around second baseman was named team MVP for both Ponies squads this past season. This fall she's off to Gustavus, where she'll suit up in both sports.

Eder-Zdechlik originally was recruited to play hockey for the Division III school in St. Peter, Minn. The speedy, crafty forward is described as a pure goal scorer who makes everyone around her better. She had 36 goals and 21 assists for 57 points last season. The 2012 campaign included two hat tricks, including a four-goal game and a five-goal game.

"Allison is a selfless leader that only concerns herself with what she can do to help the team win. She really gets it," Stillwater girls' hockey coach Tony Scheid said.

Once winter is over, she gladly exchanges her skates for a pair of cleats. Eder-Zdechlik led the Ponies with a .431 batting average and staunch defensive play. She competed in both the Border Battle and Minnesota Softball All-Star Series.

Initially she didn't expect to play softball at Gustavus. But this past spring she asked the coaching staff if she could suit up for the college club. She was told that the team's second baseman would be graduating this spring, leaving an open spot in the infield. Perfect timing -- and position -- for Eder-Zdechlik.

The two-sport lifestyle suits her best. It's all she ever has known, and she couldn't pass up the opportunity to play at the college level.

"Playing one sport, I'd probably get bored of it and burnt out," she said.

The daughter of two runners, including University of Minnesota cross-country and track Hall of Famer Jody Eder-Zdechlik, Allison learned she wasn't cut out for the same path after giving up sprinting in ninth grade. Hockey and softball were more her thing. Championships, too.

Scheid is confident that she will find success at the next sporting level, and in other aspects of her life.

"She will commit herself, sacrifice personal gains and do whatever it takes to help her team win," Scheid said. "That's why she is a champion."

For Allison, her prep career won't be soon forgotten.

"It's kind of hard to believe. It's been the best years of my life so far," she said. "Two state championships, one in each of my sports. That's amazing."