A mid-season look into the Highland Park softball team

April 28, 2023 HPSH Plaid Line Leave a comment

By: Abby Altman

Strength up the middle is one thing most softball teams have learned to prioritize. A strong shortstop, center field, and pitching staff are essential to the success of a team.

For Highland Park’s softball team, this season could very well come down to how well they perform up the middle.

The pitching staff for the 2023 season is identical to that of last season, with junior Ella Johnson and sophomore Morgan Johnson (no relation) as the starters, and junior Lydia Breuber as the team’s relief pitcher.

The 2022 pitching staff had a combined ERA of 7.67, giving up 79 total runs over the season.

Through 5 games this season, Highland Park has already allowed 46 runs, with 11 games still remaining.

Age is another big change on the 2023 team this season. Of the 11 members of the Varsity lineup, there are only 5 upperclassmen, and the majority of the team is either freshmen or 8th graders.

Freshmen twins Analiese and Scarlett Schneider are key players in strength up the middle. With Scarlett at shortstop and Analiese in center field, the twins are looking to secure their places in the field for the rest of their high school career.

Joining Analiese in the outfield is senior Abby Altman in right field, as well as a combination of senior Bella Jack and 8th grader Willow Sadowski in left field. Speed and awareness are essential in the outfield, and Highland’s combination should meet, and hopefully exceed fielding expectations.

On the corners in the infield are sophomore Hannah Gliedman at third base, and a wide variety of players at first base, including Lydia Bruber, Morgan Johnson, and junior Kate Ruebish, when she’s not behind the plate.

Overall, for defense, the team has more than enough weapons to succeed.

On the offensive side of the field, Highland has been even slower at getting things moving.

Through the first 7 games this season, Highland is 3-4, with blowouts from Richfield, Two Rivers, and South Saint Paul, and a close 5-6 loss against Saint Paul Academy.

Highland also handed losses to Humboldt, Johnson, and St. Paul Central.

In their first 3 games, Highland scored only 2 runs, both in the first game of the season against Richfield.

Since then, Highland has had a few blowouts of their own, scoring 19 runs against Humboldt and 26 runs against Johnson, but the majority of those runs were propelled by walks.

Highland Park is one of 7 teams in the St. Paul City conference. Over the past 2 seasons, Highland has taken 1st and 2nd place in the conference, losing to Central in 2022. This conference has struggled in the past, with nearly every team having a losing record each season.

Highland Park and St. Paul Central are once again likely to be the top 2 contenders for the 2023 conference title.

On Thursday, Highland defeated Central 5-3 in a tight showdown, led by exceptional pitching from Ella Johnson, and an abundant number of bunts laid down by Highland’s offense.

Over the next 6 days, Highland has 5 games, including the teams last 3 conference matchups.

Fashion/Make-Up

Nail salons MN

April 28, 2023 HPSH Plaid Line Leave a comment

By: Audrey Smith

I’ve gone to several different Salons in Minnesota, and I decided to put together a list of some of the best and worst places from my experience. I will be taking into account the pricing, the service, and the overall product.

The first place I will be reviewing is Natural Nails in Saint Paul, on Grand Avenue. Overall, Natural Nails is an affordable option, with most pricing for an acrylic set at about $35. The service was good, and the overall product was also very good, especially considering the price it was at. The only downside of my experience was the nail technician requiring me to get a more expensive shape of nail, and then charging me extra. I would rate Natural Nails an 8/10.

Another place I have gone to is Duluth Nails and Spa. This is located in the Miller Hill Mall in Duluth, Minnesota. I have gone here two times, and the wait time before appointments is usually very long. The employees are very nice and the prices are aIso fair, at about $35-$40 for an acrylic set. The first ever set I got was definitely not well done at all, and it looked really chunky. The second set was well done, and so I would rate Duluth Nails and Spa a 5/10 overall.

Another place I have gone to is Happy Nails on Snelling Avenue. The service here was very good, and it is a very well run business. My final product was super nice looking and lasted a very long time. The downside that I had however, was that the price ended up being $80 which is twice as much as other salons and not affordable for me. I would rate Happy Nails a 6/10

Overall, I would say that Natural Nails was the best salon. Happy Nails is very good quality, but hard to give a good rating to because of the price, and Duluth Nails is affordable but not as good quality.

Travel/Food

Making accordion potatoes

April 28, 2023 HPSH Plaid Line Leave a comment

By: Hannah Gliedman

A recent trend taking over food TikTok and Instagram, is accordion potatoes. It’s a form of cutting the potatoes so they make a sort of accordion shape. It’s a very simple and creative way to incorporate a bit of flavor and uniqueness to a dish or meal.

They are very easy and fast to make. They only require simple ingredients and a couple of utensils. Adding this form of potatoes to your meal is a way to visually spice up a plate. They are also very customizable, adding different spices and sauces can change this side. The way of cutting the potatoes is also popular in other foods, such as cucumbers.

What you need
The only ingredient essential to making this side is potatoes. However, I will be sharing different sauces to add to the potatoes. Other things you’ll need, include an air fryer or stove top.

How to make the accordion potatoes

Wash as many potatoes as you would like; each potato can make 2-3 accordions.
Cut the potatoes into about 1⁄4 inch slices, the thinner the slice the more stretch you will get.
Then place the potato on the counter and put 2 chopsticks or skewers on either of the longer sides.
Then cut a lot of lines perpendicular to the skewers; make the cuts close together
Then cut a lot more lines in the same way but diagonal
Then stretch out the potato to create the accordion

To cook

Oven: Add potatoes to a tray, preheat oven to 355 degrees, and bake for 30-40 mins, or until golden and crispy
Air fryer: Add potatoes to the air fryer and fry at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Sauce
Garlic and herb butter
Heat 1⁄4 cup of butter and add 2 tbsp of chopped parsley, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1⁄2 tsp paprika, 1⁄4 tsp black pepper, and salt to taste. Brush on potatoes before cooking.

Homemade Canes sauces
Add in a bowl 1⁄2 cup of mayo, 1⁄3 cup of ketchup, 1⁄2 tbsp of pickle ranch, 1⁄2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1⁄2 tsp of paprika, 1⁄4 tsp of salt. Whisk together.

Other sauces to use can include ketchup, sriracha mayo, ranch or BBQ sauce.

Books/Art

Graphic novel recommendations

April 28, 2023 HPSH Plaid Line Leave a comment

By: Tasha Cudinski

There are many graphic novels in the world, each waiting to be picked up and read. Recommendations can help sort through the piles and piles of options and find ones that you might enjoy reading. This article is a list of some graphic novels, and their summaries so that people can find a new book to read.

‘Lumberjanes’ by Shannon Watters, Gus Allen, Grace Ellis, and ND Stevenson is a fantasy book about a group of young girls who are at an all girls summer camp. Within their first few days there they notice that this camp is not as normal as it seems. They notice strange creatures with three eyes, a grumpy old woman who has the ability to turn into a bear, and a strange warning that says “Beware the kitten holy”. The group of friends break camp rule after camp rule all while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of this camp while still completing as many camp activities as possible.

‘Amulet’ by Kazu Kibuishi tells the story of a young girl named Emily. After her father dies in a car accident Emily and her family (her mother and younger brother) move out to a house that once belonged to their great-grandfather, Silas Charnon. While cleaning up the old house Emily finds a strange amulet; deciding it looks cool she decides to put it on. Later that night her mother goes to investigate a strange noise in the basement and ends up being captured by a strange monster. While fleeing the monsters, Emily hears a voice in her head, telling her how to keep her and her brother safe. Following the instructions of this voice they manage to make it to safety.

They are found by friends of their great grandfather’s and they tell Emily that the voice she heard was the voice of the amulet. She is told that they are now trapped in another world and that her amulet once belonged to her great-grandfather and she is now stuck with its power and the danger that comes with being a stone keeper. In this world, stone keepers, or the owners of the amulets, are regarded as very powerful beings of great importance. However, many hunt down those people, either in search of an amulet of their own, or in fear of the danger of stone keepers.

The amulets themselves are often dangerous as well, and many stone keepers lose their minds to the power of the amulets, and one of these insane stone keepers is known as the Elf King. He is after Emily, because he sees her as a threat to his power because she is a stone keeper. Emily soon finds herself fighting against both the stone and the Elf king in the hope that she can one day return to a peaceful life with her family and friends.

For more information, including where to buy these books, please visit: