Raiders are ready to rock n’ roll

Radke leads pitching staff

By Casey Krautkramer

Last year was a tale of two halves of the season for Marathon’s varsity softball team. The Red Raiders struggled during the regular season with a 9-5 record, including going only 3-7 in the Marawood South Conference.

Then all of a sudden, Marathon found its groove by winning WIAA Division 4 road regional playoff games against Mondovi, 6-1, and Cochrane-Fountain City, 9-2, to capture a regional championship. Marathon concluded last season with an 11-16 overall record after losing at Blair-Taylor, 5-4, in a sectional semifinal.

Marathon is hoping to have a much better regular season record in 2022, so the team isn’t on the road during the entire Division 4 playoffs like it was last year. Head coach Paul Fredrickson begins his fourth season at the helm after spending the previous 17 years as an assistant coach. He explains why Marathon had more success in the playoffs compered to the regular season last year.

“I will say, as I have before, that one reason I think we have late-season success is the plethora of good teams we play during the regular season,” Coach Fredrickson said. “All of the Marawood South Conference teams have quality coaching and programs. If you include Athens and Phillips from the Marawood North, that is 12 tough games.

“Our non-conference schedule this season includes Antigo, Waupaca twice, Rhinelander, Wausau East and West, Fall Creek, Iola-Scandinavia, Northwood Solon Springs, Medford and Mosinee.

“All of these schools have quality softball programs and many of them are much bigger than us. You can look for a school our size with a schedule this tough, and plain and simple, you probably won’t find one.”

Senior Kayla Radtke is Marathon’s most experienced pitcher this season, but Coach Fredrickson said Kali Prihoda and Taylor Lepak will also see time in the pitcher’s circle.

Coach Fredrickson’s assistants this season are Andy Martin, Chuck Baldeshwiler, Bailey Seubert and Amber Oelhafen.