By John Kemmeter

After advancing to the WIAA State Tournament last season for the fifth time in seven years, the Pacelli Catholic High School softball team has its sights set on extending that run this season.

Pacelli Catholic High School senior catcher Paige Hintz was a First Team Small Schools All-State selection by the Wisconsin Fastpitch Coaches Association last season.
(John Kemmeter photo)

The Cardinals return six starters from last year’s team that earned a trip to the Division 4 State Championship Game, where they fell 2-1 to Juda/Albany to finish as the State Runner-up.

With 10 of its 25 regular-season games postponed already due to weather, third-ranked Pacelli has yet to play a game this season, as it continues to prepare until the snow melts.

“It doesn’t even feel like softball season any more, it feels like February,” said senior catcher Paige Hintz. “And it stinks, because I know when we start playing games, that’s all we’re going to be doing, so we don’t really have time to pause and work on things that we need to.

“So we’re trying to focus on everything that we can do in here and do the best we can on it,” she said.

“Eight girls (back) were in that State Championship Game, which is really, really nice for us,” said Pacelli softball head coach Ann Molski. “When we were looking at this in February and March, you’re going, ‘hey, this is going to be something.’

“It was just trying to find a couple of pieces that are going to fill in those spots,” she said. “And we’ve got the pieces in place, we’re working on it, but now we’ve got to get some practical, game-time work.”

Last season, the Cardinals battled through injuries and a tough schedule to finish third in the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 (CWC-8) at 10-4 behind Division 3 State Runner-up Weyauwega-Fremont (13-1) and Division 4 State Semifinalist Shiocton (11-3), before they went on a late-season run.

Pacelli knocked off top-ranked Horicon, sixth-ranked Cochrane-Fountain City, and eighth-ranked Shiocton in the postseason to advance to the State Championship Game, where its one-run loss to Juda/Albany ended the team’s season at 20-9 overall.

“That gave me so much confidence, because I know that we can work as a team and get there,” said senior second baseman Cailin Firkus. “We kind of are a young team, and I definitely think that the seniors and the juniors can help the younger kids learn how we got there, and the skills that we need.

“And I think that we can do it again this year,” she said.

The Cardinals lost 2016 CWC-8 Player of the Year and Third Team All-State pitcher Brook Nagorski, Second Team All-State and First Team All-CWC-8 first baseman Christonna Shafranski, Second Team All-CWC-8 left fielder Taylor Raflik and Honorable Mention All-CWC-8 third baseman Emma Kulick from last year’s team, but still brought an experienced group back to the lineup this season.

Senior second baseman Cailin Firkus (12) is one of six returning starters this season for the reigning WIAA Division 4 State Runner-up Pacelli softball team.
(John Kemmeter photo)

“We’re starting two seniors and two sophomores, but the bulk of our lineup are juniors,” said Molski. “And these girls have played lots of games, but when you’re trying to put together a team that has different personalities, it would be nice to get outside.

“We’re over a month into the season, March 12 was the first night of practice, so we’ve been trying to keep things fresh,” she said. “But what’s going to be really important is keeping the girls hungry and keeping them ready to play.”

The Cardinals are led this season by the return of First Team All-CWC-8 senior catcher and NJCAA Division II Madison College recruit Paige Hintz, Second Team All-CWC-8 second baseman Cailin Firkus, and sophomore shortstop Maddy Hintz.

Junior Karah Kluck will take over at third base after she served as the designated player last season, while Pacelli brings back a pair of starting outfielders, as junior Sophie Schroeder moved to center field from right field, and junior Teesa Shafranski is in right field after she started in center field down the stretch last season.

Junior first baseman Amanda Klasinski and sophomore pitcher Haley Raflik are set to take over as starters after both saw time in the starting lineup last season due to injuries, with Kluck also expected to see time at pitcher, while junior Mackenzie Cashin is the front-runner to move into the starting lineup in left field.

“We have four pitchers working this year, a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen, and I’m very confident I could pitch all four of them in a varsity game,” said Molski. “Our depth and talent level is really nice.

“We’ve got some really talented young ladies, especially from the freshman class, pushing those older girls,” she said. “So it’s going to be fun.”

Pacelli Catholic High School junior Sophie Schroeder will move to center field after she started in right field during the team’’s run to the WIAA Division 4 State Championship Game last season.
(John Kemmeter photo)

With the CWC expanding from two to three divisions this season, Pacelli is now in the CWC South, where it will compete for the Conference Title along with Almond-Bancroft, Rosholt, Pittsville, Port Edwards, Tri-County and Wild Rose.

“It’s a new conference and I’m approaching this as if we’re going into tournament play,” said Molski. “‘These girls have been practicing just as much as you have, let’s see who’s ready for the game.’”

The Cardinals have four more games scheduled for April that are in danger of being postponed with more snow due later this week, as teams throughout the state will have a shortened regular season, before the WIAA Playoffs begin May 22.

“They’re talking about tournaments on the weekend to get some of those games in,” said Firkus. “And for then conference games, we might have to do doubleheaders at night, which is fine.

“We’ve just got to get those games in before we hit the playoffs,” she said.

As always, Molski said the team’s goals are to win the Conference and get to the State Tournament, while the team feels like it still has a job to complete from last year.

“We want to be in Madison, and we want to win (state),” said Paige Hintz. “We want to do the best we can with our potential, which we have a lot of.

“We all have high hopes, and we really just want to get out there and prove ourselves,” she said.

“I’m really excited about what we have back, and taking things to the next step,” said Molski. “And the girls have that goal, they want to be back down there, because they said we have unfinished business, and they want to play Juda/Albany again.

“We were very comparable to each other last year, we didn’t finish a couple of things, and that’s what put us behind the eight ball,” she said. “So, they’re very focused on what they want to do, and I’m very focused on what I want them to do.”