GILMAN SOFTBALL PREVIEW - Experience, versatility figure to be softball strengths for Pirates

GILMAN SOFTBALL PREVIEW

The Gilman Pirates don’t possess great depth as they start the 2024 softball season, but their hope is to have options while working with their roster of 13 players.

Fortunately, the Pirates have considerable experience to draw from at the top end of that roster as veteran head coach Brian Phelps aims to figure out how his pieces best fit where.

“One thing I started focusing on about five years ago was how important it was to have girls playing multiple positions,” Phelps said last Thursday. “First of all, I knew smaller enrollment numbers were coming. That’s when we really started focusing on making sure our girls can do two or three different things.”

Unlike most years where Gilman has known coming into the season who the pitching ace was going to be and could build its defense accordingly, the graduation loss of last year’s lone senior, Tatum Weir, leaves this year’s team uncertain as to how the pitching is going to settle in. In turn that leaves most players having to be ready to play multiple spots.

The Pirates’ earlyseason schedule is light. A March 22 scrimmage with Cameron and a Tuesday game with Flambeau were added when it looked like spring was going to come early. The scrimmage went by the wayside and the game with Flambeau has been moved to this coming Tuesday with the precipitation of the previous several days.

Gilman, coming off an improved 12-7 season a year ago that included an 8-4 third-place record in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, is scheduled to play in its annual invitational in Poynette on Saturday, April 6 and then things get busy after that.

The Pirates did get outside quite a bit in the record warmth of early March, which put them ahead of schedule in their pre-season preparations.

“On day one (March 11), we stayed inside, but on day two we were on the dirt,” Phelps said. “It was crazy to be able to start the season outside, taking ground balls, taking fly balls. We were able to do things some years we don’t get to until week two or three.”

Gilman’s roster is highlighted by seven upperclassmen, most of whom have extensive varsity experience.

Danielle Mann, Ava Warner and Jayda Rosemeyer are the three seniors. Mann was a first-team All-Eastern Cloverbelt selection last spring. The junior class includes Abby Chaplinski, a second-team All-ECC choice last year, as well as honorable mentionees Kayleigh James and Kenlyn Kroeplin. Paige Dailey is back for her third year aiming to find playing time and the team has added a junior newcomer in Lila Allamiraino.

Allie Olynick heads the sophomore class having given the Pirates some solid infield play when needed last year. Scarlett Stuner and Mylie Stephens are also back. This year’s freshmen are Raygen Soper and Chloe Irwin. Phelps said Chaplinski is probably the one player who has the best idea of where she’ll play defensively as she is entrenched as the team’s third baseman and Rosemeyer is the team’s returning first baseman. When it comes to pitching, Mann, Soper and Stuner are the top candidates though Soper will be working through a basketball injury to start the season.

“All three can throw,” Phelps said. “We could go with any combination of them. We’ll see what happens.”

Phelps said Mann is capable of playing anywhere. She was Gilman’s primary catcher a year ago. She’s caught, pitched and played first base for the Pirates and Rib Lake in her high school career. Gilman has the rare small-school luxury of having several capable catchers, including Mann, Warner, Olynick, Kroeplin and even Soper.

Warner caught her freshman year and moved to shortstop as a sophomore and has played well there since. If she moves around, Phelps said Kroeplin and Soper are capable of playing there as well. James and Stuner are the early probables for second base and James has a lot of outfield experience. Irwin got some first base time in the early practices backing up Rosemeyer.

Phelps said the outfield positions will likely be a mix-and-match situation depending on the lineup that day, or even that inning.

If the defense settles in, the Pirates expect it will combine with a potent offense. Gilman averaged more than 10 runs per game last year despite being shut out twice by conference co-champion Columbus Catholic.

“I think we can hit, we have speed and I think our defense will be solid,” Phelps said. “We just have to pull it all together.”

Team chemistry is a strength Phelps saw immediately in the first two weeks of practice.

“They all have great attitudes,” he said. “Everyone is so psyched.”

Phelps said Columbus Catholic appears to be the favorite in this year’s Eastern Cloverbelt race. Loyal-Greenwood and Neillsville are always solid and it will be interesting to see if teams like Colby-Abbotsford, Spencer and Owen-Withee get stronger.

Gilman made a point to make its nonconference schedule stronger with teams like Cadott, Thorp, Rib Lake, Colfax and Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, the team that knocked Gilman out early in the WIAA Division 5 playoffs last May all appearing on the current schedule.

The intent there is to see as much quality pitching as possible before the playoffs begin.

“In conference the goal is to compete for the title,” Phelps said. “But again, the main goal is to get better every day, improve throughout the year and hit our peak at the right time at the end of the season.”