By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON-The Jaguars girls softball team had another very successful season under Head Coach Shannon VanLaanen.
The team went 23-6 overall and 14-4 in FRCC action.
The Jaguars rattled off six in a row to start the season, had a few tough losses in the middle part of the year, and then closed by winning 10 of their last 11 games heading into Regionals.
As a team, the Jaguars belted out 308 hits, scored 229 runs, had 12 shutouts, and even had three home runs (Katelynn Cleveland, Anna Wendorf, and Peyton Wright).
Despite falling in the Sectional Semis, the Jaguars had the Co-Player of the Year in Alexa Blasczyk.
Her batting percentage was .472 for the season. Additionally, she had 42 hits and 25 RBI’s, and played defense exceptionally well out in left-field.
Chloe Brabant was the player in between the batter and the umpire.
She did all of the hard work for the Jaguars this season.
For her efforts, she was recognized as one of the top two catchers in the conference.
Brabant didn’t stop there.
Her batting produced 25 singles, and 6 doubles on the year.
Kally VanLaanen has been around the game of softball for a while since her dad is the head coach.
VanLaanen played short stop where a majority of the balls are hit in the infield and threw out the hitters almost exclusively.
In addition, she batted .381 on the season and scored 25 runs for the team.
On the mound, the Jaguars had a real workhouse in Katelynn Cleveland.
She pitched in 27 of the 29 games and worked 128 of the 170 innings contested.
She had a remarkable 1.8 ERA (38 runs) and threw 1292 strikes.
Not to be outdone were the contributions that Josie Hilbert and Zion Estano brought to the Jaguars in 2018.
Hilbert and Estano had close to a perfect 100 percent rating for their outfield performance in catching countless balls during the course of 29 games.
Estano was dangerous as a base runner in leading the team with 25 stolen bases.
Hilbert was the surgical force behind many key bunts in close games.
In all, it contributed to them being recognized as honorable mention members.
FRCC 2018 All-Conference Softball Honors
First Team
Blasczyk, Ashwaubenon, Outfield
Katelyn Simoens, De Pere, Outfield
Lauren Spaulding, Sheboygan North, Outfield
Maddy Ehlke, Bay Port, Infield
Katie Kugel, Green Bay Preble, Infield
Rachel Kerkhoff, De Pere, Infield
Keegan Piton, Green Bay Preble, Infield
Emily Higgins, Pulaski, Infield
Emma Hock, Bay Port, Catcher
Brabant, Ashwaubenon, Catcher
Brittany Baneck, Green Bay Preble, Pitcher
Lauren Dixon, Pulaski, Pitcher
Players of the Year
Baneck, Green Bay Preble, Blasczyk, Ashwaubenon
Coach of the Year:
Billi Vertz, Pulaski
Second Team
Kennedy Kingston, Green Bay Preble, Outfield
Cameron Koch, Green Bay Preble, Outfield
Hannah Kreuser, Pulaski, Outfield
VanLaanen, Ashwaubenon, Infield
McKayleigh Piper, De Pere, Infield
Evelyn Hoge, Green Bay Preble, Infield
Erin Flynn, Green Bay Southwest, Infield
Gabby Greetan, Manitowoc Lincoln, Infield
Lauren Hamann, Sheboygan North, Infield
Makayla Alexander, De Pere, Catcher
Mallory Ruechel, Pulaski, Catcher
Sydney LaPoint, Bay Port, Pitcher
Cleveland, Ashwaubenon, Pitcher
Honorable Mention
Estano, Ashwaubenon, Outfield
Hilbert, Ashwaubenon, Outfield
Jourdan Lee, Bay Port, Outfield
McKenzie Niespodzany, Pulaski, Outfield
Natalie Cerrato, De Pere, Infield
Katie Peters, Notre Dame, Infield
Camryn Baenen, Green Bay Preble, Infield
Julia Bolssen, Green Bay Southwest, Infield
Madi Winter, Pulaski, Infield
Kristin Burdeau, Pulaski, Infield
Cassie Foytik Green Bay Preble, Catcher
Emma Wiese, Pulaski, Pitcher
Talia Lackershire, Sheboygan North, Pitcher