The Fastpitch Chronicle

Wilmot

Division 1 – Enrollment this school year is 1042 – Sectional #5 At Badger
Conference – Southern Lakes
Head Coach – Jenny Jacobson – 3rd Year (39-9 overall) – 2 Regional titles, 1 sectional title, 1 state tourney  trip, 1 Final four – Runner-Up in 2017
Assistant Coaches: Ryan Dahl, Heather Jacobson, Brittany Althoff
Wilmot returns six starts from a season ago including Haley Lamberson, Anna Wischnowski and Madison Zerr who  were all selected to the Southern Lakes All-Conference team in 2018.  Two of those returners are the team’s pitchers. “Those players give us strength on the field and with leadership,” said coach Jenny Jacobson. Three of the five seniors this year are three-year varsity letter winners so Jacobson certainly will lean on them for leadership. “We have some big infield positions lost to graduation so we have some gaps to fill and find the right combinations for,” she added. The Southern Lakes is a strong conference with the likes of Wilmot, Burlington. Westosha Central, and Elkhorn. At the sectional level we can add in Fort Atkinson to that list.

DeForest Norskies

Division 1, Enrollment this school year is 1017 – Sectional #3 at Verona for Final
Conference – Badger North Division (Portage, Reedsburg, Mount Horeb, Beaver Dam, Baraboo, Sauk Prairie)
Co-Head Coaches – Lori Grundahl and Jerry Schwenn – 17-5 last season, 13-1 in conference action and 58-4 in Badger North over past five seasons – have won five consecutive Badger North titles
DeForest will hunt for their sixth straight Badger North title but will have to do it without pitcher Kennedy Wittman and centerfielder Shelby Olson who graduated last spring. The sister/brother team of Co-Head Coaches Lori Grundahl and Jerry Schwenn will call upon a group of capable pitchers to move in and handle the duties in the circle. Those pitchers  are  senior Taylor Shaw, junior  Taylor Tschumper who was a first-team selection as an infielder in 2017 and again in 20-18. Also in the mix is sophomore righthander Jordan Marty. Other reports out of DeForest indicate that there is also an excellent 9th grade chucker. Joining those players in the battle to defend five straight titles will be junior catcher/Utility player Cammi Riemer who was second team in 2017 and first team last season; Avery Melter a senior honorable mention infielder in 2017 and 2018; Julia Winters a senior infield honorable mention selection last season and senior Kaylee Ramierz an honorable mention infielder last season. The rest of the returning letterwinners are: senior outfielder Emily Hron, utility player senior Aleah Grundahl, senior outfielder Lexi Blaski,  junuiors Lexie Newman (OF), Sam Schaefer (OF/IF), Taylor Von Behren (OF/C) and sophomore Kylee Jansen (OH/IF).  “We want to compete at a championship level every season,” said Schwenn. “This year’s group must overcome the loss of those two graduates so we are keeping our focus on the details of how our program plays the game.” When asked about other thoughts Lori Grundahl answered, “To be successful we will need to be consistent on defense and aggressive on offense. Our roles within the team and depth are questions we need to answer early in the season.” Both coaches agreed that this years’s success will be based on the effort they get every day in practice to improve as players and how close they play to their presumed potential. It won’t be easy as teams like Portage, Beaver Dam and Waunakee are always knocking on the door to reach the top of the conference. “We expect to be in that mix,” said Schwenn. “Those teams will challenge us with good pitching and a number of key returning players on each of those teams.

Tomorrow you can look forward to some insight into the Division 1 programs at Kaukauna, D.C. Everest, Wauwatosa East, West Allis Central and Whitefish Bay. Also Division 3 outlooks on Columbus, Lakeside Lutheran, Brillion, Bloomer, Northland Pines . In Division 4 a report from Grantsburg and Boscobel are still to be posted and in Division 5 we have one about Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.