The 2004 SPASH softball team won its fourth consecutive WIAA Division 1 State Title with a 5-0 win over Ashwaubenon in the State Championship Game at Goodman Diamond in Madison June 12, 2004. (Mike Kemmeter photo)

Panthers are only team to win four in a row

This story is a reprint from the June 18, 2004, edition of The Portage County Gazette.

By Mike Kemmeter

Special to The Gazette

MADISON – With three straight State Titles entering this season, the Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) softball team is used to being alone at the top, but the Panthers are now going where no program has gone before.

Capped by a 5-0 victory over Ashwaubenon (21-6) in the WIAA Division 1 State Championship Game Saturday, June 12, at Goodman Diamond, SPASH (25-1) won an unprecedented fourth straight gold trophy.

“This one is more special,” SPASH softball head coach Tom Drohner said. “Each one of them is very special, but because this was the fourth, and, with no one doing it before in the history of Wisconsin softball, it’s very special.”

Ashwaubenon (1992-94), Loyal (1978-80) and Marion (1990-92) had been tied with SPASH with three consecutive championships before the Panthers moved ahead of them with their fourth. Over the years, SPASH beat Appleton East 3-0 in the 2003 title game to finish 26-0; and Verona twice, 5-2, in 2002 for a 25-1 mark, and 8-0 in 2001 to cap a 25-2 season.

The Panthers, who also won the State Title in 1986, have appeared in the Championship Game in five straight years, having lost to Appleton East, 1-0, in 2000.

SPASH, which survived a tight, 3-2 win over Chippewa Falls in Friday night’s semifinal, didn’t waste any time taking control of the 2004 title game. With one out in the first inning and Sara Peterson on first base following a single, Katie Maultra hit a triple to left-center to give SPASH a 1-0 lead. Senior catcher Korryn Brooks followed with a RBI groundout to third, scoring Maultra, and putting the Panthers ahead 2-0.

“It was huge to come out right away,” Drohner said. “When you get ahead like that in a big game, it’s a big momentum boost right off the bat. It kind of got us going.”

SPASH senior Kelly Jablonski cruised on the mound, allowing two hits through the first five innings, and only allowing one runner to touch second base.

The Panthers added another run in the sixth with three straight one-out singles, started by Brooks and Jablonski. Molly Somers, who pinch ran for Brooks, scored on a single by Jacci Seefeldt.

Trailing 3-0, Ashwaubenon mounted its biggest threat in the bottom of the sixth. The Jaguars had two one-out singles, but Jablonski got Kristi Doucette to fly out to right field and Crystal Cayemberg to pop out to Brooks.

Jablonski gave up four hits, struck out two, and walked none over seven innings. She finished her high school career with a 54-1 record.

That sparkling statistic is just one of several now in the history books for SPASH, which has won 69 of its last 70 games and finished this season with a 25-1 record.

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SPASH 3, Chippewa Falls 2

The Panthers squeaked out a win in Friday’s semifinal, in dramatic fashion in the top of the seventh inning.

After Chippewa Falls stormed back to tie the game, 2-2, with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Drohner called a double steal with two outs in the final inning. They took the lead when Jaycie Fritsch knocked the ball out of the glove of Cardinals catcher Chelsea Rosenow during her slide into home plate.

“I dove headfirst and I thought I was out. I saw the ump’s hand and then I saw Drohner jump in the air and then I knew we were up one run,” Fritsch said. “I just went in hard and I didn’t see what happened.”

The call was gutsy, since SPASH had runners called out at home plate in the fourth inning and earlier in the seventh.

“We’re trying to be aggressive. She went in there hard against one of the top two or three catchers in the state and was able to jar the ball loose,” Drohner said.

“I was hoping we were going to make something happen. We didn’t want to go into the bottom of the inning and give them a chance to win the game. We wanted to get our chance to win the game.”

SPASH picked up two runs in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. Maultra led off the inning with a walk and Brooks followed with a RBI double. After a sacrifice by Jablonski, which moved pinch runner Somers to third, Seefeldt singled to left for another run.

The Panthers actually squandered an opportunity for a bigger inning when Megan Wesenberg hit a sacrifice grounder to Chippewa Falls pitcher Bonnie Hartman. Hartman overthrew the ball to first and pinch runner Samantha Przybelski was thrown out trying to score. Wesenberg tried to advance to third, but she was also thrown out for an inning-ending double play.

Jablonski allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. She also struck out eight and walked none.

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SPASH 2, Oak Creek 0

Two runs in the sixth inning were enough for the Panthers to beat the Knights in a quarterfinal on Thursday, June 10.

SPASH got both of its runs in the bottom of the fifth, with a RBI single from Maultra and a run-scoring double by Brooks.

Jablonski allowed only three hits and struck out five in the win.