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| News-Tribune photo by Chris Todd
WCLT senior second baseman Melanie Hofmann fields a grounder during a playoff win over CWL-Corwith two weeks ago in Woden. |
Call in a Dream Season
By CHRIS TODD
Of the News-Tribune
CRYSTAL LAKE - Call it a dream season.
The way Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka softball coach Keith Buckridge described it, it truly was.
After his team completed a perfect 29-0 regular season, Buckridge said this: “A coach and players always dream of being perfect for an entire season, but it seems like it never comes true. It our case, it did.”
The Lady Tigers went on to win three tournament games, including wins over state-ranked North Sentral Kossuth and Armstrong Ringsted, before falling 2-0 to eventual Class 1A State Champ Newell-Fonda in a 1A region final.
“It's true we would have traded the state tournament for our perfect regular season, but in the end, our year was something we'll always remember,” said second baseman Melanie Hofmann, the only senior on the roster besides ace pitcher Stacey Schutjer.
The senior second baseman, who had numerous clutch hits this season, also shed light on why this Tiger team was so special.
“We were just so close both on and off the field,” she said. “We knew we had each others backs on the field, and we trusted each other. That's what made it so great.”
“Myself and our kids may never experience something like our season again,” Buckridge said. “It was just special to be part of.”
The Lady Tigers' recipe for success was dominating pitching, a slugging, high-average offense and outstanding defense.
Schutjer not only was durable - she threw 193 innings this season - but overpowering. The 6-foot-2 senior allowed just 10 earned runs over that span of innings, and struck out 249 batters. She allowed just 92 hits in close to 200 innings and walked just 28.
“The great thing about Stacey is that she took a lot of pressure off our defense,” Buckridge said. “When a pitcher strikes out a hitter, that's one less play your fielders have to make.
“But we were also a good defensive team. We were able to make the routine plays and during the season, a lot of kids came up with outstanding plays.”
Offensively, hitters one through nine in the lineup contributed in many games.
Schutjer and junior catcher Alyssa Schwartz were the key sluggers, two run producers who put up some dazzling offensive numbers.
Schutjer led the Lady Tigers in batting average with a .464 average. She drove in 49 runs, an average of about 1.66 RBI per game. She also finished with 13 doubles, nine homers and an astronomical .827 slugging percentage.
Schwartz wasn't far behind those numbers. The junior catcher hit .364 with 36 RBI, ten doubles and six round-trippers. Her slugging percentage of .618 was second only to Schutjer.
Two younger players who came of age during the season offensively were third baseman Nicole Bannister and outfielder Erika Withers. Bannister was also a power threat. She hit .443 but drove in 23 runs with 11 doubles and finished with a .557 slugging percentage.
Withers often hit leadoff, and she came on in the second half of the season. Just a freshman, the speedy Withers hit .402 with 31 runs scored.
Hofmann just missed hitting .400, finishing with a .398 batting average. One of the Tigers' top clutch hitters, Hofmann scored 35 runs, a team high she shared with Schwartz. Hofmann also hit five doubles and added four triples.
“We were very solid in the lineup, and our second through fifth hitters were all capable of driving in some big runs,” Buckridge. “I thought Nicole finishing second in average on our team was a nice accomplishment for a sophomore.”
Also coming on at the top of the order was freshman Hannah Kofron, another speedy outfielder. Kofron hit as high as leadoff at times and also hit second as well as sixth or seventh.
She finished with a .369 average and was a good run producer, adding 22 RBI. She also scored 21 runs on the season.
“We had a lot of highlights of the season, including winning our conference and beating a tough NSK twice, including a walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh in a tournament game here two weeks ago,” Buckridge said.
“I thought one of our most solid games was a 4-0 win over Armstrong-Ringsted in the game before we lost to Newell-Fonda.”
Next season, Schutjer is planning on playing basketball and softball for Simpson College in Indianola, while Hofmann will attend Grand View College in Des Moines. The second baseman said she hasn't decided whether she'll play softball or not.
Buckridge said he'll miss the two senior captains.
“They gave so much to our program over the years,” he said. “Stacey and Melanie were great leaders and great kids, and we're really going to miss them.”
Next season, the Lady Tigers will have to find some way to replace Schutjer in the circle, but Buckridge says he expects several strong contenders for pitching time in 2009.
He returns seven other position players, including Schwartz, Bannister at third, Anne Studer at short, Sam Thilges at first, and Michelle Eden, Kofron and Withers in the outfield.
Buckridge said he's looking forward to next year, but won't forget this past season for some time. The same goes for Schutjer.
“It was tough not making it to state, but very few players get to be part of a perfect season like we did,” she said.
Story created Jul 23, 2008 - 15:43:14 CDT.
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