Freshmen fuel Edgar
Pitcher, catcher taking Wildcats to new heights
By Casey Krautkramer
The freshman combo of starting pitcher Makayla Wirkus and catcher Morgan Streveler has helped catapult Edgar’s varsity softball team into becoming a formidable team opponents don’t want to face this season, and beyond.
Wirkus and Streveler developed a strong chemistry playing together on the Plover Fastpitch 14U travel squad before this spring’s high school season began. Wirkus pitched a no hitter in Edgar’s 15-0 home win against Prentice in four innings on Friday, with Streveler catching her pitches behind the plate. Wirkus struck out 11 batters.
“Morgan and I got to spend a lot of time together with our Plover Fastpitch 14U team at hotels during tournaments,” Wirkus said.
Angela Totzke, Edgar head softball coach, said her team is fortunate to have a strong freshman pitcher and catcher duo of Wirkus and Streveler this season.
“They are definitely good friends and the pitcher and catcher relationship is so important,” Totzke said. “This season is truly nice because we not only have Makayla pitching, but we also have Jessica Mucha and then we still have Skylee Manecke who was our starting pitcher two years ago.”
Manecke was pivotal in helping Edgar improve its record to 9-1 this season, following the win against Prentice on Friday and a 21-0 victory against Spencer in four innings on Monday. Manecke reached base on a bunt single against Prentice and she kept running all the way to home plate because of two Prentice throwing errors. Totzke said her team focused on executing good bunts against Prentice.
“We need to lay down good bunts and we did because every bunt they had was pretty legit; bunting for a base hit is always an option,” she said. “There will be close games this season in which we need to play small ball by laying down a bunt to help score a run.”
Edgar downed Stratford, 15-7, last Thursday to sweep the regular-season series. Mucha was the winning pitcher and Ally Zuleger took the loss. Reagan Borchardt batted four for five with two RBIs and three runs scored for Edgar, while Karlin Lipinski hit three for four with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Leadoff hitter Tessa Berg paced Stratford by hitting three for four with four RBIs and two runs scored. Berg belted a homer and Maria Schoenfuss had a two-RBI double.
Edgar fell, 7-1, on Tuesday to No.1 ranked and unbeaten Wisconsin Rapids Assumption at home. Wirkus struck out 10 batters but she still suffered the pitching loss. The Wildcats now have a 9-2 record this season.
Edgar baseball is 10-1
Edgar’s varsity baseball team is off to a roaring 10-1 record this season, following Tuesday’s 18-1 dominating home win against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption. Drew Guden earned the pitching win and Ashton Schuett got the save.
Ashton Schuett blasted a homerun and he finished the game with five RBIs. Jordan Bunkelman hit three for four with three RBIs and three runs scored in the win against the Royals.
Edgar earned a hard-fought 3-2 win at Stratford on Thursday. Konnor Wolf pitched four innings to gain the win and Drew Guden pitched the final two innings in relief for the save.
Guden batted two for two with a pair of walks and two runs scored, while Austin Dahlke hit two for four with one run scored.
Jordan Bunkelman smacked a homer and he also gained the pitching win in Edgar’s 18-0 home win against Wittenberg- Birnamwood in five innings on Saturday. Bunkelman only surrendered three hits in his four innings on the mound, while Ashton Schuett worked the fifth inning to gain the save.
Marathon baseball
Marathon’s varsity baseball team has won three of its last four games to improve its record to 7-4 as of Monday. Marathon began a three-game winning streak with an 11-1 home win against Northland Pines on May 10. Kyle Hollenbeck earned the pitching win and Cooper Hoeksema, Daniel LaQua and Jaden Koeller collected two RBIs apiece.
The Red Raiders then swept the regular- season series against the Wausau Newman Cardinals, 15-2 at Brockmeyer Park on May 11 and 6-3 at home on Thursday.
In the May 11th game, Jaden Koeller struck out nine Cardinal hitters to earn the pitching win. Brock Warren belted a homer and had three RBIs, while Mike Hahn also homered. Brock Warren matched Koeller by also striking out nine Cardinal hitters in last Thursday’s game. Hahn collected a pair of RBIs. Marathon fell to Rib Lake, 4-0, at home on Friday as Grant Warren took the pitching defeat.
Red Raiders softball
Marathon’s varsity softball team has a 6-8 record after Tuesday’s 8-6 home loss to Auburndale.
Andrea Seymour took the pitching loss against Auburndale, but she did bat three for four with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Lyndsay Pintor hit one for three with a pair of RBIs.
Marathon split a pair of games at the Iola-Scandinavia tournament on Saturday. Marathon edged Iola-Scandinavia, 5-4, as Seymour struck out 10 batters to earn the pitching win. Kayla Radtke pitched the final two innings for the save.
Pintor batted two for three with a homerun, two RBIs and two runs scored. Brooke Jourdan and Ella Mader also hit two for three in the victory against the Thunderbirds.
Marathon fell, 15-7, to Waupaca on Saturday. Bridget Salber batted three for four with two RBIs in the loss. Sofia Tylinski hit two for four with a pair of RBIs and one run scored, while McKenna Haehlke was two for four with two RBIs.
Marathon blasted Rib Lake, 18-2, on Friday at home as Kayla Radtke earned the pitching win. Bridget Salber batted two for two with a grand slam, six RBIs and two runs scored. Allison Wokatsch hit three for four with an RBI and three runs scored. Sofi a Tylinski batted two for three with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Andrea Seymour was two for four with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored. Lyndsay Pintor hit two for three with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored.
The Red Raiders downed the Wausau Newman Cardinals, 8-2, on May 11 in Wausau. Andrea Seymour earned the pitching win, while Lyndsay Pintor batted three for four with a homerun and two RBIs. Kali Prihoda hit two for three with three RBIs in the victory.
Athens softball
The Athens varsity softball squad has a 7-7 record this season, following a 9-3 home loss to Cadott on Monday and an 11-9 road loss to Phillips on Tuesday.
Jazelle Hartwig tripled and Siarra Hart doubled for the Bluejays against the Hornets on Monday. Shauna Belter batted two for three with an RBI and two doubles against the Loggers, while Hart was two for four with a pair of RBIs. Paige Westaby, Sophia Coker and Addison Lavicka each had an RBI against Phillips.
Stratford softball
Athens beat Stratford, 9-4, at home on Friday. Siarra Hart earned the pitching win and Ally Zuleger took the loss.
Siarra Hart also led Athens in batting by going two for five with two RBIs and one run scored. Elle Gauerke hit three for four with an RBI and a run scored for the Bluejays.
Megan Wiese led Stratford by hitting two for three with an RBI and two runs scored. Bailey Linzmaier added a pair of RBIs for the Tigers.
Stratford lost to Wausau Newman, 5-4, at home on Tuesday as Zuleger suffered the pitching loss. The Tigers now have a 3-10 record this season.
Tigers baseball
Stratford’s baseball nipped Wausau Newman, 3-2, on Tuesday at home to improve its record to 9-1 this season.
Gavin Kirsch, Kale Weisenberger and Hunter Ford had one RBI each.
Stratford also edged Athens, 5-4 , at home on Friday, as Dillon Kirsch and Cam Daul both pitched for the Tigers.
TEAMMATES PLACE NEXT TO EACH OTHER- Marathon track long-distance competitors McKinnley Marks, to the left, and Anna Cleven run stride for stride with each other during the 1,600-meter run at the Abbotsford meet on May 10. Marks took fourth place and Cleven was fifth in the event.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN
