Shayley Vesel may be the new kid in town, but she’s already made herself known with the Austin U16 softball team.

Vesel, who moved to Austin from La Crescent this summer and will be a freshman at Austin High School this fall, played error-free shortstop and hit an inside-the-park grand slam as Austin beat the Rochester Storm 22-2 in three innings in a nightcap of a doubleheader after settling for a 3-3 tie in the opener.

Vesel, who blasted a line drive down the right field line for her grand slam, said she feels right at home with her new team.

“I like the girls a lot. They’re real nice and they’re good at softball,” she said. “I like it here.”

Austin catcher Sydney Murphy had 5 RBI of her own in the nightcap win and she said that the team has welcomed Vesel with open arms. Murphy, who will be a sophomore in the fall, said Austin’s team may be young, but it helps them get along.

“Shayley’s been very good and she’s helped us out a lot at shortstop. She makes good plays and gives a lot of effort,” said Murphy. “(As a team) we bond together and we can relate to the same things because we’re all the same age.”

Austin (6-4-1 overall) took a 2-1 lead in the opener when Haley Kiefer beat out an infield hit to score a run in the third. The Storm took a 3-2 lead off a pair off two-out errors by Austin in the fifth and Austin tied the game on a pair of Rochester errors in the fifth.

That game was called in the sixth due to time, but Austin head coach Lisa Quednow-Bickler said those are the types of games her squad has to excel in.

“I think winning is a mentality and they need to learn how to win the tough games,” Quednow-Bickler said. “By the end of the season if they start believing in themselves, they’re going to be pretty great.”

Austin broke open the nightcap almost immediately as Murphy knocked in two runs with a single and Abbey Ball knocked in two more runs on a triple. Murphy got to the plate again in the top of the first and she singled in Ball with two outs to make it 12-0.

“We were more aggressive in the second game and we just wanted to attack the ball,” Murphy said.

Austin took second place in the Winona tournament this past weekend after falling to WCCV 7-3. Austin beat the Minnesota Maniacs as Ball went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Austin beat Chippewa Falls, Wis. as Abby Bickler went 2-for-2 and Kiefer had three RBI and Austin beat Onalaska, Wis. 14-12 as McKenna Gleisner picked up the win and had three RBI.

Austin 12 9 1 — 22 12 0

Storm 1 1 0 — 2 3 5

Austin pitching: Abbey Ball (W), 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

Austin hitting: Haley Kiefer, 0-for-1, R, 2 BB, SB; Abby Bickler, 2-for-2, double, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB, 2 BB; Laura Siegfried, 1-for-4, 3 R; Kallie Hart, 3-for-4, 3 R; Ball, 2-for-2, triple, 2 RBI, 3 R, HBP, BB; Sydney Murphy, 2-for-3, 5 RBI; Shayley Vesel, 1-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R; Alicia Sforza, 0-for-2, 2 R, BB; Erin Dankert, 1-for-2, 2 R, SB, BB; McKenna Gleisner, BB

Storm 1 0 0 2 0 0 — 3 7 4

Austin 1 0 1 0 1 0 — 3 4 3

Austin pitching: Gleisner, 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K

Austin hitting: Kiefer, 1-for-3, RBI; Bickler, 0-for-1, R, SB, HBP; Murphy, 0-for-2, SB; Hart, 1-for-2, R; Sam Emanuel, 1-for-2; Haley Newman, 0-for-1, R, HP; Dankert, 0-for-2, SB; Siegfried, 1-for-1, SB, BB