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Sun Prairie ranked #1 to open season in Wisconsin

The 2020 Watch List for February 16th

02/16/2020, 6:45pm CST
By Bob Tomlinson

Sun Prairie, led by Maddie Gardner is the Pre-Season #1 team in Wisconsin

Ellsworth, Poynette, Horicon and Blair-Taylor head the D2 through D5 lists

Sun Prairie heads the list of all Wisconsin teams in the pre-season. Returning to the Cardinals is Maddie Gardner. The senior pitcher led Sun Prairie to the Division 1 state tournament as a freshman. As a sophomore she was the workhorse again for the Cardinals leading them to the state title. Last season as a junior she went 24-3 and led them back to the state tournament, into the Final Four then the title game where they were beaten in extra innings by an unbeaten Oshkosh North team. Since Gardner twirls nearly every pitch for Coach Jamie Olson's team they are the favorites to get back to the the title game. Situated in the Oregon Sectional the Cardinals will be closely watching teams like Elkhorn, Burlington during the season as those two could give them a run for their money. The always unknown factor, that being top notch freshmen pitchers at another school could bump other teams up as the season moves along. 

In Division 2 our top ranked team at this time is Ellsworth. The Panthers advanced to the Final Four in 2019 before being beaten by an aggressive Seymour outfit, 4-2. Returning in the circle will be Avery O'Neil who went 18-2 last season. The senior recorded a season-long 2.10 ERA. Seymour will look to replace Paige Weyer in the circle who went 21-1 last season. If they find that kind if pitching they will be in the thick of things. Also looking good in Division 2 is New Berlin West who returns pitcher Andrea Kuhne who went 11-3 in 2019 along with a pair of now sophomore pitchers who combined to go 9-0 last season. They are Ella Wyshochil and Elena Barnes. 

In Division 3 Poynette has won back-to-back state titles and went 30-0 last season. The Pumas return WFSCA Division Player of the Year Casey Fountain in the circle. The senior went 23-0 last season with 16 shutouts including both games of the Final Four. She had an ERA of 0.24. The Pumas also return RF/Pitcher Molly Anderson who went 5-0 along with a couple of very promising freshmen. Poynette lost two-time all state third sacker Ashley Hellenbrand and catcher Zoie Ramberg to graduation but return the other eight starters along with a host of top flite substitutes. There are always surprises though and 2020 could be one of those years as several very strong teams have dropped down into the division from the D2 ranks, Turner being one of them. 

With back-to-back state titles and a pair of WFSCA Hall of Fame coaches (Roger Schliewe and Cindy Suess) leading the way Horicon is easily the pre-season favorite to win the D3 title. According to information a the coaching clinic the coaches will welcome back nine seniors including the WFSCA D4 state player of the year in pitcher Allison Tillema who went 23-1 last season. Horicon will, as usual play a very tough schedule to ready themselves for a tournament run. There are a couple of surprises in the Division 4 field however. Westfield, which just three years ago was a D2 school has dropped into D4 and features a top-flite pitcher Hannah Hockerman who is good enough to hold off good hitting teams. Also in the division is Random Lake. 

In D-5 The Fastpitch Chronicle is picking Blair-Taylor as the pre-season favorite to be in the state finale. With a senior pitcher who has led the Wildcats to the last three Final Fours they surely are the favorite. Lauren Steien has pitched the Wildcats to nearly 70 victories thus far. Gilman has an excellent returning crew in 2020 including both of their pitchers in Katie Webster who went 11-1 and Addison Warner who went 9-4. Gilman also has a veteran coach and future Hall of Fame in Brian Phelps who is entering his 27th year at the helm (368-207).

Beginning with Division 5 here is a long list of teams on The Fastpitch Chronicle watch list as we know it today (February 16th). The closer March 16th gets here the more teams we will know about.

Division 5
These are listed by the sectional they are in and not ranked in an order.  
McDonell, Athens, Hurley, Drummond in Sectional 1; Tri-County, Wausaukee, Assumption in Sectional 2; Independence/Gilmanton, Pepin/Alma, Highland, Greenwood, Loyal, DeSoto, Elmwood/Plum City in Sectional 3; and in Sectional 4 the teams we are considering are Oakfield, Randolph, Southwestern, Blackhawk and Belmont. 

Division 4
In Sectional 1 Grantsburg has been a tough program since the inception and the Pirates expect to be very good in 2020. Thorp has been to back-to-back Final Fours and will figure into the mix up there. We are including Fall Creek because Brad Ceranski, former coach at Thorp has taken over the fastpitch reins there.  In Sectional 2 Mishicot represented that area in the Final Four last year but will have to find pitching this year. Random Lake, a conference foe has dropped down into the division and will pose issues for all the rest. Lourdes could be team to keep an eye on as well. Algoma has a rich history as well. In Sectional 3 we are giving the nod to Westfield with Pacelli right on their heels. Also in that sectional we need to watch Luther and Necedah. Finally, in Sectional 4 is where Horicon rests along with the likes of Parkview, Johnson Creek Deerfield, Boscobel, Cuba City, Mineral Point, Juda/Albany and Wisconsin Heights. 

Division 3
Sectional 1 is loaded with good teams in this division to keep our eyes on all season. Prescott has been to back-to-back final fours and figures to be the favorite but Arcadia has been bumped north and will loom large. Others are Bloomer, Northwestern, Altoona and Elk Mound. In Sectional 2 Tomahawk, Stratford, Oconto, Kewaunee, Chilton, Amherst, Bonduel, Nekoosa and our sectional favorite Wautoma with sophomore all state pitcher Bri Handel. In Sectional 3 lies Poynette but Turner has dropped down into the division. Also there are Lake Mills, Dodgeville, Columbus, Lakeside Lutheran, Aquinas, River Valley, Richland Center, Prairie du Chien and a former coach has returned to lead a young, talented Brodhead outfit. In Sectional 4 look for Mayville to be the pre-season favorite but others are Campbellsport, Lomira, Laconia, Oostburg and Shoreland Lutheran.

Division 2
This Division is really wide open with lots of really tough programs. After Ellsworth we list Medford, Rice Lake, Merrill, Mosinee, Shawano, New London, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Delavan-Darien, Jefferson, Monroe, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum, Waupun, Winneconne, Denmari, Luxemburg-Casco, Pius XI, Cudahy, New Berlin West and Whitnall

Division 1
After Sun Prairie we our D1 watch list includes Wisconsin Rapids, Onalaska, Hudson, Elkhorn, Verona, Oshkosh West, Kimberly, Pulaski, Ashwaubenon, Kenosha Bradford, Wilmot, Waukesha North, Stevens Point, Chippewa Falls, Hortonville, Kaukauna, Watertown, Beaver Dam, DeForest, Slinger, Burlington, Arrowhead


 

 

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