Panthers’ Danielczak makes NEC 1st team as freshman

Five members of the Oconto Falls softball team earned North Eastern Conference recognition after the spring season concluded.

Freshman Amelia Danielczak earned the team’s top honor, landing on the first team. Senior Lily Kurek made the second team, while junior Keira Cole and sophomores Madeline Maloney and Randi Metzler were all honorable mentions.

Statistics provided include 15 of the 18 Oconto Falls’ conference contests. The missing three games were not reported to the conference.

Danielczak made the all-conference list as an outfielder. In 15 games, she held a .353 batting average after tallying 18 hits, seven of which went for extra bases.

Danielczak drove in six runs and scored 16 times for the Panthers.

“It has been an honor to me to make first team as a freshman. It was a big goal of mine to make all-conference and am so glad that I did,” said Danielczak. “I have always pushed myself to do my best in softball and had no idea the outcome it would give me.”

Kurek made the second team as a pitcher.

Kurek pitched in nine of the team’s 15 reported games, covering 55⅓ innings and striking out 49 batters. She walked just 13 batters and earned six of the team’s conference wins. Kurek had a 2.02 earned run average.

The senior had six hits across the team’s reported games, driving in five runs. Kurek also scored six runs.

“It was a great way to end my senior year, especially with all my friends,” said Kurek of the conference honor. “I’ve been playing with them for the past 10 years and it felt great to end the season with them on such a high note.”

Cole did the catching for the Panthers and also was a strong contributor at the plate with the bat.

Cole hit for a .412 average, collecting 14 hits, five of which were extra-base knocks. She drove in 12 runs and scored six times.

Maloney was the Panthers’ top run producer in NEC action, driving in 15 runs. She held a .365 average after tallying 19 hits, which included six extra-base hits. Maloney scored 12 times.

Maloney also pitched for the Panthers, covering 11⅓ innings across three reported games. She earned a win and held a 1.85 ERA.

Metzler also did some pitching, but made the conference list as an outfielder.

She hit .420 in conference action, leading the team with 21 hits. She drove in 10 runs, walked more times (3) than she struck out (2) and scored 10 times.

Metzler covered 35⅓ innings in the circle across seven reported contests. She earned four wins and held a 2.97 ERA while striking out 30 batters.

Oconto Falls tied for third in the conference standings with a 12-6 record. Luxemburg-Casco (17-1) won the title, while Freedom (16-2) took second.

The Panthers earned a No. 5 seed and a bye for the postseason before being topped 1-0 in a regional semifinal against No. 4 Marinette.

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