Prep softball teams looking for encores to recent successes

Are their successful second acts?

Tri-County Area prep softball sure hope so, especially for those teams which saw great success in 2024.

This includes defending WIAA Division 4 State Champions Fall Creek. The Crickets finished 30-2 last season on their way to the state title. They return 11 letter winners from that team including their starting battery, senior pitcher Grace Herrem and catcher Emma Westrate, conference and state award winners last season in leading FC to first-ever first place in its first state tournament.

Yet, the Crickets lost several key players from that team as well including Averie Barka, Ava Haskins, Sophie Johnson, Maissy Nall and Elena Raffesberger. It takes time to adjust and bring in new players into the line-up. In fact, the Crickets have more losses, going 0-3 in a spring break trip to play teams in southern Wisconsin.

But FC has quickly even its overall record with wins last week as the season is now underway. Ard their newcomers: senior Anna Dougherty and freshmen MaKayla Coleman, Kendyl Haynes, Arabella Knuth, Izzy Kuehn, Lu Larschied, Avery Luedescher, Gracie Saastad, Ary Woodford and Zoey Yule, will provide plenty of depth for the team this spring, a necessity in what head coach Brad Ceranski believes will once again be a tough from top to bottom Western Cloverbelt.

Another team looking for a great second act is Eleva-Strum. The Cardinals are coming off a historic 2024 season, finishing with a 12-9 record and securing the program's first-ever regional championship. Their playoff run ended in a hard-fought 2-0 loss to Auburndale in the sectional championship, but the Cardinals are hungry for more in 2025.

With eight returning seniors and a talented core of underclassmen, Eleva-Strum brings a wealth of experience to the field. Junior pitcher Ruby Bartholomew will be a major force after earning first team all-conference, first team all-district, and all-state honorable mention honors as a sophomore. The senior class includes: Olivia Norby (2nd base); Cedela Lonetree-Rindahl (1st base); Lizzie Nordstrom (catcher); Kenny Turenne (outfield); Terris Quick (outfield); Jaelyn Knutson (outfield); Abi Birdsill (utility); Brenna Turenne (utility) Returning juniors also include: Adie Jaskowski (utility). The Cardinals also welcome freshmen Karli Hart and Braylin Lueck, along with sophomores Maddea Brown (shortstop/pitcher) and Mariah Steffenson (third base), who are expected to contribute immediately.

The Cardinals will rely on their defensive soundness and strong pitching, with Bartholomew leading the charge in the circle. The team is focusing on developing more offensive power and manufacturing scoring opportunities to complement their defensive strengths. With a deep, experienced roster, the Cardinals have their sights set on competing for a Dairyland Conference title, as the league breaks up into Large and Small divisions like for basketball and making another deep playoff run

"This is a close-knit team. They trust each other to get their jobs done, have each other’s backs, and focus on controlling what they can while maintaining a positive mindset." head coach Amanda Pronschinske said.

Augusta wants to keep the momentum it had from the midway point until end of last season when, after an 0-6 start, the finished with an 8-7 record. So far so good as the Beavers have a 2-1 record at the beginning of the 2025 season.

AHS returns six letterwinners from last year in Cece Schroeder, Rachel West (2nd Team All Conference in the Dairyland), Maddi Meyer, Stella Zank, McKenzie Macioesek and Brooklyn Krueger with only Olivia Meyer having graduated. But it may well be freshman pitcher Laney O'Brien, along with four other freshman in Haley Strauch, Rilee Bethke, Sophie Berhman and Breliegh Bruder who will lead the way for Augusta this season.

"We have five freshmen this season and all five of them are looking to make an impact on the varsity team," head coach Joe Zawacki said. "I believe they will all start at some point and play important roles on our team. Laney O'Brien is looking to make a big impact in the circle as well as being a positive influence on our team. Our freshmen: Sophie, Rilee, Breleigh, and Laney all played Legion Softball with us last summer, and played a big roll in our success and helped lead our team to the Legion State tournament. They are not only great players on the field, but just great teammates overall and will make those around them better just by their positive attitudes."

Osseo-Fairchild hopes moving into the Large Dairyland Conference this season from the Western Cloverbelt will help them get back to the encore regional championship teams they had in 2022 and 23. The Thunder return letterwinners Brylie Johnson, Hailie Knutson, Bryssa Johnson and Elizabeth Zimmerman while having to replace the graduated Hallie Colby, Chloe Gunderson
Addie Koxlin, Hanna Giacomino and Taryn Kittelson. Newcomer who can make an impact to the team this spring are Alexis Ness and Maddie Laffkey. head coach Justin Johnson sees Eleva-Strum and Melrose-Mindoro as the top two contenders in the LDC this season. O-F lost to the Mustangs in their season opener.