2011 West Lakeland All-Conference

Post from: We are Grantsburg

Softball all-conference announced

They've not only done it, but they've done it BIG!

They've outscored their opponents 262-18…

Played a full game (7 innings) just once, the rest were 10-run rule games…

Shut out opponents 10 times…

Gave up just one run 4 times…

One of only four undefeated high school fastpitch teams in the state Wisconsin…

They have the highest team batting average (.462) in team history…

They have the most home runs (8) in team history…

They have four pitchers who have combined for the stats listed above (with some help from a very good defense)…

Kylie Pewe has a .643 batting average. .643! That's going to beat the all time team record set in 2010 (.610) by, um, her.

And they have the funkiest website in America…

They have accomplished this run with an unorthodox approach to pitching, if you've seen the games then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Are they a shoe-in for state? No. Do they have a chance? You better believe it!

As we learned last year, there are no "for sure's" in this game… except that girl from Arcadia was "for sure" out at home… but I digress….

Its another great season put out there by the Pirate gals and they're so much fun to watch… seems like they're always smiling and having fun and relaxed, but they do everything right… or at least the come close to doing everything right… not many strikeouts… lots of walks, hits, and putting the ball in play….

It seems like a lot of the competition has trouble with knowing where to throw the ball… situational stuff… not always an athletic problem… a thinking ahead problem Throwing the ball around and giving up extra bases because of that has not been an issue for Grantsburg.

What I'm getting at is there are some pretty fantastic coaches working with the team and it starts with Don Bjelland and Steve Johnson. They have a lot of differences, but they both know the game and have a knack for teaching it. Then it moves down to the "minor leagues" and those teams are staffed with coaches who care and are also knowledgeable in the basics and fundamentals of the game. It is truly a great system in Grantsburg with parents and coaches who really care a lot about this sport and the ones playing it.

Congratulations on a fantastic REGULAR season… *the real season starts now.

Juniors then… taken at the 2010 season banquet. Photo courtesy of Scott Hoffman.

Grantsburg seniors walk away from their home field after the last regular season game of their careers. Photo courtesy of Steve Johnson.

Post from: We are Grantsburg

Softball finishes* 18-0

There was an electricity in the air as the Pirates and Castleguards took the court for the first game and it didn't let up until Grantsburg secured a 3 set to 1 victory over their rival Washburn.

Before I recap this thing I wanted to point out how AWESOME the Washburn fans are! They have to travel a long way and they have a GREAT volleyball team. Their student section was loud and knew the game. They didn't whine about things and they cheered their girls on with intense passion. The adult side was also very friendly and extremely loud as well! I sat in the midst of those people as I was broadcasting and I'd sit by them again in a second. They are fun, friendly people and they love their volleyball.

The same kinds of things can be said of the Grantsburg crowd, as well.

Tonight was all Grantsburg on the court, though as they won 25-8, (24-26), 25-9, 25-20. It was an odd thing to see Washburn play so far below what I had expected during that first game. They seemed quite out of sync and it showed on the scoreboard. Then the second game came and it was back and forth side out after side out. Grantsburg had pulled ahead 24-23 but Washburn recovered and got three points in a row to make it essentially a best of three for the remainder of the match.

Grantsburg came out firing in the third game. They pressured Washburn and the Castleguards had a hard time getting into their offense. Grantsburg won that one big and held a one game lead and, I think, a major mental edge after that. One blowout can just be an anomoly, but two out of three is a trend. 25-9 was the final of that one.

Though Washburn battled and led part of the way during the fourth game, the Pirates outlasted them and won the final game 25-20.

I felt like Kortney Morrin played some of the best volleyball she's played all year. Emily Cole did a nice job, too. Saisha Goepfert was brilliant from the middle when she got the opportunity and Kylie Pewe was a key player tonight from behind the service line and setting.

Grantsburg will play in the Sectional Championship match against Eau Claire Regis. Regis took care of #3 Neillsville in straight sets this Saturday at 7pm at Osseo-Fairchild High School.

[ D3 Bracket ]

Post from: We are Grantsburg

Grantsburg beats Washburn 3-1

They only went undefeated in the conference.

No conference team scored more than 19 points on them and that only happened once.

The average score of a conference set was 25-11!

The four girls who were recognized as all-conference (Emily Cole, Kortney Morrin, Annie Palmquist and Lauren Romanowski) were also recognized as part of the all-state tournament team. Three of them (Emily, Kortney and Annie) were ALL-STATE.

You're telling me that this conference is so loaded with talent that there was just no room for Larissa Wilhelm? or Kallie Thoreson? or Tiff Meyer? or Sarah Wald?

It is ridiculous that some of these players are not getting recognized! All of them would start and be one of the best players on ANY OTHER TEAM in this conference.

Look at the Flyway Conference all-conference team. They have Laconia (Grantsburg annihilated them in the state semi-finals) and Kettle Moraine Lutheran. KML is a volleyball powerhouse and won the conference. Laconia finished third. That conference recognized SIX Laconia players.

This rant of mine is not intended to take away from the other 19 girls who were recognized by the coaches… it's just to say that the process is flawed when a team can have such a dominating season and have clearly superior talent yet only four are recognized.

To me it is unfortunate.

Post from: We are Grantsburg

All-Conference snubbings

Grantsburg
Emily Cole, junior
Kortney Morrin, junior
Annie Palmquist, senior
Lauren Romanowski, senior

Clayton
Annie Grossenbacher
Ashley Grossenbacher
Lindsey LaBlanc
Krystal Kohnen – honorable mention

Clear Lake
Rachel Norby – honorable mention
Jaici Vangsness – honorable mention

Frederic
Chrissy Chenal

Luck
Morgan Denny, junior

Shell Lake
Ashley Anderson
Stephanie Clark – honorable mention

Siren
Carley Emery – honorable mention

St. Croix Falls
Sarah Petznick
Megan Yunker

Turtle Lake
Ashley Lahti
Tricia Hanson – honorable mention
Alex Tschida – honorable mention

Unity
Crystal Donahue – honorable mention

Webster
Mary Johnson
Siiri Larsen – honorable mention

Post from: We are Grantsburg

All Conference team announced

Post from: We are Grantsburg

State champs on WXCX

What I do have is the WSN all-tournament volleyball team*, which differs a little from the WVCA’s team which you can read about in this previous post.

The WSN all-tournament team* has three Grantsburgians…

Kortney Morrin, Annie Palmquist and Emily Cole represented the Pirates. Congratulations on another accomplishment!

RANT ALERT… RANT ALERT…

I just don’t know how some of our girls could get left off that team. With the absolute domination of the tournament four, five or even six of the Pirates could’ve made the team. Only three? Please.

It’s pretty clear that for the WSN team they were allotting three places for the champ, two for the runner up and one each for the two semi-final losers. To me that makes this pre-formulated all-tournament team* a little less special than the WVCA one where it was truly the best team they could think of. Although, I still think Grantsburg could beat the best players from the other three state teams combined (Washburn could too!)

* indicates a “we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings so each team gets to be represented on this team even though two of them would have lost to the champion’s JV team” made up team.

Post from: We are Grantsburg

More post-season accolades for Pirates

First Team: Kortney Morrin

Third Team: Annie Palmquist

Honorable Mention: Emily Cole

Morrin and Cole aren’t done either, they’re both juniors.

Excellent job, girls… well deserved!

Post from: We are Grantsburg

WVCA All-state team announced

Way to go girls!

Post from: We are Grantsburg

Grantsburg places four on all-tournament team

The Pirates dispatched the Laconia Spartans today, 3-0 after avenging a 2004 loss to the Weyawega-Fremont Indians yesterday 7-2 in the semi-final game.

There is so much to write about with this run to the championship, I don’t know where to begin.

There were a lot of defensive highlights this weekend. Heather Davison had a game changing catch in the semi-finals… Tiff Meyer layed out for one today, snagged it and threw a bullet to first base to get the runner by a hair… Ingrid Ames had a couple amazing, tough catches… Annie Palmquist, too. The defense of Grantsburg was great when it needed to be.

The hitting all weekend was timely. Heather Davison was outstanding, as was Michelle Lund, Emily Cole and Tiff Meyer. The baserunning was outstanding and aggressive again and it paid off.

The pitching, though, was the absolute best. Michelle Lund was in a "Michael Jordan, NBA Finals" type of a zone. Nothing could rattle her and she was pitching bb’s up there. She had 14 strikeouts in the semi-finals and five today. If it weren’t for the errors today (5) it could’ve been the best game in the state tournament (although the division four game saw a perfect game pitched by a freshman!).

It was a very fun experience to announce these games. I’ve been privileged to go to state to cover athletics five times now and this is the first time one of the teams has won the tournament.

Congratulations, Pirates! You are a great team and a fun bunch of people!

By the way… with only one player lost to graduation (Ingrid Ames) it’s time to start thinking repeat!

Post from: We are Grantsburg

Champions