GILMAN SOFTBALL PREVIEW - Pirates have experienced crew and add some young potential

GILMAN SOFTBALL PREVIEW

After coming up one bad day short in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference title chase and one hit short of a potential WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal comeback win to end last season, the Gilman softball team is back at it with a fairly experienced and versatile squad, but also some young talent to break in as the Pirates wait for the spring sunshine to arrive.

Except for last Friday afternoon when they got on the field for a bit, the Pirates have been doing their due diligence indoors since practice began on March 17. They’ll start their season indoors Friday across the border at the Stillwater Dome, facing North Branch, Minn. and Cumberland starting at 4:30 p.m.

Head coach Brian Phelps is back for his 32nd season and leads a squad that brings back nine players from last year’s 13-8 team that went 10-2 in conference play. Five members of a strong freshman class of female athletes bring some depth and the Pirates get a former varsity player back for her senior year as well.

Phelps said the 15player roster has been drilling the fundamentals in the first week and a half.

“We’ve gone back to the basics,” Phelps said Tuesday. “We’re working on throwing motions, fielding skills, kind of going back to the beginning. Defensively we have six or seven stations that we rotate through. Offensively, we have six or seven stations we rotate through, putting in a couple of new ones every night.”

Like every spring in northern Wisconsin, the indoor life can get tedious, but Phelps said the Pirates so far have been all-in, asking all the necessary questions if they’re struggling with something and building the teamwork necessary to be a contender again.

“Our goals haven’t changed,” Phelps said. “We want to work hard, improve every day, improve with every pitch and at the end of the season we’ll see how we test out.”

Leaders on this year’s club include seniors Kayleigh James and Kenlyn Kroeplin, both of whom were first-team All-Eastern Cloverbelt Conference picks last spring, along with senior Abby Chaplinski, a second-team All-ECC pick. All three have been with the program for four years.

Junior Allie Olynick returns at shortstop after earning All-ECC honorable mention last spring and junior outfielder Mylie Stephens is back. Sophomore Raygen Soper is back and is at full strength. The time she got on the field last year came after she recovered from a basketball leg injury. Seniors Paige Daley and Lila Altamirano are back competing for time and senior Alison Krizan is welcomed back and will likely fill a valuable role after a year away.

Gilman’s top pitcher is expected to be junior Scarlett Stuner, who steps up to the top spot after getting some quality work last year behind the graduated Danielle Mann. Freshman Norah Noonan fills the number-two spot to start the spring.

The goal for those two will be to throw strikes and let the defense go to work.

“We should have a solid infield and a solid outfield,” Phelps said. “With our pitchers being more pitch-to-contact pitchers, we have to. We expect a lot out of our defense.”

Up the middle, Gilman will start with James at second base and Olynick at shortstop and Kroeplin in centerfield. That trio should be about as good as any in the conference. Chaplinski has played the challenging third-base position throughout her career.

The infield changes come at first base and behind the plate. Soper, who did some pitching last year, is moving to first base after getting some quality work there in summer ball. The Pirates are turning the all-important catching position over to two freshmen, Averie Olynick and Kaitlyn Madlon.

“Both are strong girls,” Phelps said. “Kate has really impressed me with how she’s been picking up. She doesn’t have as much experience. Averie has done a lot of catching before.”

Freshman Olivia Szemraj backs up Chaplinski at third, Noonan and Stuner could see time at second base if needed. Freshman Reece Weir is another capable middle infielder that Phelps said has strong potential.

Offensively, Gilman expects to be able to hit the ball hard and score runs. Phelps said he tried to improve the nonconference schedule this season to try to give Gilman a chance to see more good pitching to prepare for what the Pirates might see in the post-season.

“We need to see that come tournament time,” he said.

James hit .426 in league play last spring, Kroeplin hit .409, Chaplinski hit .400 and Allie Olynick had a .389 batting average.

As for Friday’s first two games, Phelps said the plan is to do a lot of shuffling and experimenting. Without having much time on actual playing field dimensions and having to break in five new freshmen, some rough patches are to be expected.

“Our main goal is to have fun, play hard and whatever happens, happens,” Phelps said.

Gilman is currently scheduled to get some outdoor game action soon. The Pirates are scheduled to host Cameron Tuesday in their home opener, though that could be dicey considering the forecast for a wet weekend. The Pirates are hoping to make the short trip to Flambeau April 3 and go to Cadott April 7. In between, they hope to get in their annual trip to Poynette for two games on Saturday, April 5.

In conference play, Columbus Catholic remains the favorite. The Dons went undefeated in league play last spring, including a surprisingly-dominating doubleheader sweep over Gilman with scores of 16-1 and 11-0. The Pirates would love to make amends for that when they host the Dons in a May 6 doubleheader this year. Phelps sees Loyal-Greenwood and Neillsville-Granton being potential challengers as well.

Also among the good non-conference teams the Pirates have lined up on their schedule are Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on April 14, Thorp on April 17, Rib Lake on May 19 and Colfax on May 20. The Gilman-Thorp Slamfest is set for May 10.

When Division 5 tournament play begins, Gilman is in a sectional halfbracket that includes Thorp, Rib Lake, Immanuel Lutheran and Athens.

“We’ve been telling the girls that we want them to trust the process,” Phelps said. “It’s not about how we start in game one. We want to be our strongest at the end.”