Shawano softball sweeps Green Bay United on senior night

Hawks hope to carry over efforts into postseason
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

The Shawano Community High School softball team swept a Bay Conference doubleheader against Green Bay United on June 3 in Shawano, giving five seniors a memorable senior night and the team some positive momentum as the postseason nears.

Shawano won 12-0 in five innings in game one before taking game two 8-2.

“It was really special,” said senior Naomi Wynos of the two wins on senior night. “Like I said for my senior (favorite moment), I grew up playing with these girls, so to play with them on senior night, plus my little sister (Danika), was pretty special.”

“It’s really just motivational going forward, especially since we’re winding down for the year,” said senior Taylor Johnson, who earned the win in the circle in game one. “It feels good to get those two wins as we move toward the playoffs.”

The start to the doubleheader was delayed after heavy rain worked through the area, but when the Hawks hit the field, they were ready to go.

After Johnson worked a 1-2-3 top of the first, Shawano hung a nine-spot on the scoreboard in the bottom half.

Elizabeth Kary led the way in the big inning with five RBIs. Her two-run double allowed Naomi Wynos and senior Kendra Kristof to score the first runs of the contest. Kary then delivered a three-run double to cap the inning, scoring seniors Mattilyn Koehler, Wynos and Kristof.

Naomi Wynos, Margo Gull, Brianna Wright and Johnson also drove in runs in the big inning.

The Hawks added a run in the second on a sacrifice flyout from Koehler, which scored Gull. Wright came through with a two-RBI double in the third to cap the scoring in the lopsided win. Gull and courtesy runner Abigail Bystol scored on Wright’s double.

The big lead allowed Johnson some comfort inside the circle, and she ran into little trouble during her five-inning shutout.

She allowed an infield single in the second and a walk in the third for the only baserunners. Johnson still only faced three batters in the third after Kristof fielded a groundball, tagged out the runner advancing to second and then threw out the hitter at first for a nifty double play.

“It’s very big,” said Kristof of the team’s well-rounded effort in the doubleheader. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities on base, we’ve had bases loaded multiple times. I still think we can do better at the plate hitting and we can clean up the errors in the infield and then I think we’ll be right there.”

Seniors Wynos, Kristof, Johnson, Koehler and Sophie Hanauer were honored after the first game, being described as “tough” as each girl has played through injuries and worked hard to get back on the field.

The Hawks then got back to work in game two, when they served as the visiting team.

Isabel Daniel walked with one out in the top of the first, moved to second on a passed ball and then came around to score on an error.

Green Bay United tied the game up in the second before the Hawks used some aggressive baserunning to go back ahead.

Naomi Wynos walked to open the third, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Daniel and then moved to third as nobody was covering the base. A throw toward third got away, allowing Wynos to score on the play.

Kary then hit a ball down the left-field line and was trying to stretch the hit into a double when the throw sailed past second. The error allowed Kary to complete a Little League homer and make it a 3-1 game.

After Hatty Fritz reached on an infield single, Gull came on to run the bases. Gull stole second and moved to third with nobody covering the base. Again, a throwing error allowed Shawano to score, as Gull kept on running and scored on the play.

Green Bay United cut into the lead with a run in the fourth, but Shawano answered with a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away for good.

Gull scored in the fifth on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Naomi Wynos walked with the bases loaded to score Kristof. Wynos later scored on a wild pitch before Daniel scored the third run of the inning.

Braylyn Babino pitched all seven innings for Shawano to earn the win. She struck out five batters in the contest, including the final two as a GBU runner stood on third.

“These (wins) were definitely big for us since we were struggling earlier in the year,” said Johnson. “I just think that it’s a good pick-me-up for everyone. It was good that everybody contributed and we were able to have everybody on base and doing well.”

Shawano will take on a familiar foe to open the postseason, facing Bay foe New London on June 14. Shawano is a No. 6 seed, while New London is the No. 3 seed.

sports@newmedia-wi.com