Klein's "perfect year" comes from lessons learned

For Jen Fisher, there was no risk involved.

She had the Colorado 3A player of the year who wanted to walk on to her already-full roster. The kid could hit, was a great athlete and just as strong in the classroom. A recommendation came from Chris Hutton, a club and high school coach Fisher not only trusted, but had also produced a third offspring for the Colorado State softball team.

Five years later, the Rams continue to reap the rewards of Danni Klein's arrival.

"I really don't think we'd be where we are without her," Fisher said. "At our team banquet, we asked each player to talk about a most inspirational moment or person, and there were four or five who said Danni Klein was the most inspirational person."

"Where the Rams are" is the NCAA Regional tournament hosted by No. 6 Arizona this weekend, set to face Auburn on Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. They are the Mountain West champions after finishing seventh in 2018 and were picked to stay there in a preseason poll. It's been a battle, and a whole lot of believing in themselves.

Which, in a nutshell, mirrors Klein's story.

The night before she was to move to Fort Collins for the first time, she figured one last session with her hitting coach was in order. Getting out of her car, he left knee gave out. Odd, she thought, her right knee did that occasionally, too. A trip to the doctor before leaving home turned out to be a smart call, as X-rays found dislodged bones in both of her knees.

Her introduction to the softball team was two knees surgeries to attach the bones, then a month on crutches. She was healthy enough by the end of the season to pinch run a bit, scoring nine runs and stealing a base.

She was excited for her sophomore year and giving it all she had in a practice at the indoor practice facility just eight days before the season-opening road trip. Fisher was timing a drill, and as Klein was running full steam to a base, she saw the throw was going to carry then-shortstop Haley Hutton into her path, so she tried to avoid the crash. The result was a torn left ACL.

She spent four years at Strasburg High School always in the lineup, playing where ever she was needed. She set the record for most games played and best batting average. Now, she was headed to an unfamiliar spot on the bench.

"Before I came to college, my health was rainbows and butterflies," Klein said. "I had two state championships, the first at my high school. It was hard. I had never had to deal with anything like that before. I've been a hard worker my whole life, but having to go through the grilling pain of ACL surgery, it was tough.

"I came here as a walk-on, and my sophomore year, I had just gotten a scholarship. It felt like everything was falling together. I'm getting healthy, I'm doing really well at practice, then it felt like it got ripped from under me. That was really hard, because I felt like I could have really contributed that year. It just wasn't in the cards. I had some lessons I had to learn."

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That's the point where Klein's influence on the program really started to take hold. She was down, and for the briefest of moments, wondered if she should go on. Then her signature characteristic started to shine brighter.

The Rams were about to experience rainbows and butterflies.

"The biggest thing that stands out to me about Danni is just her smile about everything," said CSU volunteer coach Hannah McCorkhill, who was part of the recruiting class Klein walked on to join. "No matter what's thrown at her, she always has a smile on her face. It could be the greatest day of her life or the worst day of her life, and she'll still have the biggest smile on her face, and that just spreads joy among so many people."

Klein will tell you it was more grin-and-bear-it during rehabilitation sessions.

She loves hitting in the cage, shagging balls in the outfield. Fisher said she is the key to the communication from left field, and even found a way to make short pop-ups work with shortstop Haley Donaldson, who is deaf.

Rehab, she did not like. It's hard. It hurts, and people make you do things you do not want to do and she found she had to force herself to go. Her love of the game kept her coming back for more, adding in extra lifting sessions when the team was on the road.

Her lessons were far from over. She was ready to go mentally the next year, but not physically. She didn't realize fully until later, but she picked up more about the game and finding her spot. It was to be a good teammate. She was an All-American cheerleader as a prep – which her coach and teammates do not miss a chance to chide her about – and she was the one who would provide the encouraging word or a pat on the back to any and all who needed a pick-me-up.

The team loves to dance after wins, with Klein considering herself one of the pioneers of the festivities.

"If there's anybody on the team that's hurting in any way shape or form or struggling, she immediately seeks them out," Fisher said. "She doesn't need someone to ask her to do that. It's her role, and we tease her a little bit that's she's grandma. A couple of times, I've asked her to check on somebody, and she's already done it.
"Having that on your team, having somebody who absolutely cares more about the team than their own accolades and cares about people, each person having a quality experience, that's just invaluable."

As a junior, she earned more of a shot. She hit her first collegiate homer against Fresno State and ended up starting 30 games, but her timing and feel for the game were still recovering a bit, hitting .174.

This season, the Rams can't get her out of the lineup. She has started all 48 games, batting .293 and leading the team with 41 runs scored. She's slugging .550 with 18 extra-base hits (including seven home runs) and has done it from the top and bottom of the order.

Fisher notes the program places an emphasis on defense and putting the ball in play, but a third category of importance for her is what wins games – scoring runs. Klein has a knack with an on-base percentage of .374.

The fifth-year senior – the last of her class -- has found her season complete. She is still a valuable role player in the dugout and locker room, but she's also a starter on the field. She can't be viewed as an afterthought in a deep lineup, no matter where she's slotted, and she's tied for the team lead with five outfield assists.

Her career started out rocky; this season anything but. Her dad, Dave, is a freelance videographer. He brought his projection equipment to Rams Field the first week of class, and the team had a personal "drive-in" movie one night, watching "The Benchwarmers." Even then, long before the first game, the Rams felt something special.

"Coming into this program, we talked about it. The entire time I've been here we have, but we've really made that a reality this year," Klein said. "What a way to go out for us seniors, and the mark we left on this program, I'm really excited to see what it means for the future. I couldn't have picked a better way to go out my senior year."

In fact, everything about her final chapter is perfect. She's already landed her "dream job", starting June 10 at KUSA Channel 9 in Denver as an advertising producer in sales/marketing.

"It's the reason I coach. I tease her parents, she's gainfully employed," Fisher joked. "She's great, because she wears her emotions on her sleeve. We know one another, and I've hugged her so tight so many times this year. There's been so many great moments. These seniors, I'm really happy for them."

It was not the story Klein had in mind when she first walked on with the team, and for that, she's glad. The additional hurdles she had to clear have her feeling much better equipped for what is still to come.

Everything she is celebrating with the team, the job which awaits her, she worked hard for it all to happen. Better yet, she's glad she experienced it all.

No, she wouldn't wish an ACL tear on anyone, especially not the rehab which follows. The rest, her advice is to dig in.

"I think it was really rewarding to go through all that and have this year. For future Rams, I hope they go through what they need to to grow as a player and as a person," Klein said. "Collegiate sports, they're tough and you'll learn so much. I wish this for everyone, to have this feeling of having a championship and get a job.

"What I hope for every single young Ram is that they learn what they need to, and I hope they learn things about themselves and about the game."

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