The Lancer girls fastpitch softball program welcomes a new head coach and returns eight letterwinners from last year’s varsity squad that finished with a 10-7 record, and in 5th place in the Big East Conference with a 7-4 conference record.
Two juniors, Jenna Lischka and Sam Siehr, were All-Conference selections in the Big East Conference last season as sophomores, with Lischka garnering 1st team honors and Siehr named honorable mention. They are joined by returning full-time starters senior Aubry Schleis and junior Hailey Marohn. Schleis returns as the Lancer’s primary starting pitcher. Other returning letterwinners are seniors Jenna Gries and Sydney Stubbe, who started about half the season, and seniors Maddie Franz and Briana Bessler.
Head Coach Erin Hulse, an MLHS English teacher, takes over for former head coach Matt Menges, who is staying on as an assistant coach to Hulse. Hulse comes to MLHS from St. Croix Lutheran Academy in St. Paul, Minn., where she was the head coach of the Crusaders softball team for the past 10 years. She also played four years of college softball at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn.
Hulse has 27 girls total in her softball program, with 13 on varsity and 14 on JV. Ryan Holper is the JV softball coach. Hulse sees great strengths in the Lancer varsity softball team, noting, “They are not afraid of hard work. This is already evident in our first few practices – (they are) willing to work hard and all with a great attitude.” The softball coaches predict that the varsity squad will finish in the top third or half of the Big East conference. 2021 Div. 4 State champion Mishicot, which returns two of its starting pitchers, is expected to be the team to beat.
The first game of the season is a non-conference tilt scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22nd at Valders at 4:30pm, but Hulse is thinking that weather and field conditions may postpone that game. Please check the online MLHS Calendar to get up-to-date information on game postponements and cancellations throughout the spring sports season. The JV squad's first game is also scheduled for that day against Valders, at 5:45pm.
The second game on the schedule is a home matchup against Algoma on Tuesday, March 29th. The Lancers are scheduled to play 11 conference games, with the first one on Tuesday, April 5th against Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah. Another game of note during the season is the Saturday, April 30th non-conference matchup against cross-town rival Roncalli at 11am. Postseason regional play will begin on Thursday, May 19th, with the season culminating at the State Softball tournament, June 9th-11th.
Plan to come to softball games this season to support your Lancer softball athletes and teams!