WFSCA ALL-STAR GAMES - SOAKED UP THE EXPERIENCE

The All-Star experience was a good one last week for two Taylor County seniors who represented their schools one last time at the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Games in Wisconsin Dells.

Medford’s Victoria Konieczny was a member of the Divisions 2/3 White team that went 1-1 in its two games played on Tuesday, June 17, while Gilman’s Kayleigh James was part of the Divisions 4/5 Red team that won both of its contests on a hot day on the turf at the Woodside Sports Complex.

“It was obviously a lot of fun,” Konieczny said. “There are so many talented people down there and it’s so much fun to play with girls who are as equally driven, if not more driven, as you as are.”

“By the end of the day I was like, ‘wow that was an incredible experience,’” James said. “It was such an honor to be playing with all of the girls and to see all of the girls and all of the other talent and to know that I was not just there to watch but I was there because I was selected to be there. That was so unreal. It was an amazing experience. It’s definitely sad to see it all end, but I’m glad I got to end it on a good note like that and doing it while playing with the best in the state.”

James, now a two-time first-team All-Eastern Cloverbelt Conference selection as Gilman’s leadoff hitter and second baseman, went two for five over the Red team’s wins over the Blue team (9-1) and the Gray team. She split time defensively between second base and rightfield and made the plays should could without any trouble.

Konieczny, who just earned secondteam All-Great Northern Conference honors for the third straight year as Medford’s first baseman, was the only first baseman chosen to her team, so she got to play there the whole day. The White defeated the Red team 3-0 in its morning game and came up a little short in the afternoon against the Green team 6-4.

“I thought I played really well,” Konieczny said. “Defensively, I didn’t have any errors. It helps when you’re taking throws from All-Stars and the throws are right at your glove. I felt I had some good, quality at-bats against some really good pitching.”

Konieczny didn’t have any hits in the two games, but she said there was some solid contact.

“You’re just looking to put the ball in play,” she said. “I was kind of unlucky. Any time I hit the ball well, the other team would make a great play. But a lot of people on our team had some great hits, so we couldn’t complain.”

The All-Star event starts the day before the games when the players and coaches arrive, take part in a practice and then have opportunities to team bond on a Wisconsin Ducks Tour or hanging out at the hotel before the annual All-Star Game Banquet that night.

“The food was good and it was really well put together,” James said of the banquet. “It was so cool to see all of the girls up there and to hear about all of the other teams that were there and look through the books they had. It was really cool.”

James’ team mostly featured players from this general region of the state and was led by Thorp head coach Kurt Rhyner, a one-time assistant at Gilman. Thorp’s Elizabeth Frankewicz, Jasmine Stratton and Shaylie Zarza were on the team, along with Cadott’s Rilei Weeks and Kasey Moldrem, Danica Diethelm of Athens, Regan Hoffman of Chequamegon, Hannah Stellmacher of Markesan and three members of Division 4 state runnerup Stevens Point Pacelli, Ava Tess, Kaylin Yenter and Peyton Mancl.

“I was really nervous at first because you’re playing with the best of the best in the whole state,” James said. “I was thinking I’m going to make a fool of myself, I don’t think I belong here. The girls on my team were so nice, some of them were in the same boat as me, they were like, I don’t even know what I’m doing here. But when we practiced, it was really fun.”

Konieczny also had the benefit of a head coach well aware of her ability in Mosinee’s Kody Brietzke. Her team had two other Great Northern Conference representatives, Mosinee’s Maggie Woller and the recently-named Division 2 state Player of the Year Saylor Timmerman of Lakeland.

“There were a few girls on my team from other GNC teams, so that was really fun after always playing against them to be on the same team,” Konieczny said. “It was nice having Saylor throwing the ball for our team instead of being against her.”

The rest of the roster came from all areas of the state and included Audrey Baugnet of Division 2 state champion Denmark, Kaitlyn Bremer of Arcadia, Sarah Bystra and Nataliha Oleniczak of Whitnall, Lauren Hauger of Somerset, Jackie Seiler of Portage, Corinne Setliff and Addison Wery of Seymour, Ella Stuber of Shawano, Lily Wolf of Walworth Big Foot and Eve Hedtke of New London, a team Medford beat in May in the WIAA tournament.

“My team was super nice,” Konieczny said. “It was interesting to hear their stories about where they’re going to school and the teams they played for. It was definitely eye-opening. You’re so used to everything in our little town of Medford. But then you meet these players from bigger cities and bigger schools and things for them are completely different.”

For James, the nerves wore off early when she made a solid play defensively, running down a foul ball near the fence behind first base.

“I think it was my first play in the field, it almost went over the fence but I somehow managed to run over there and grab it and made a pretty good catch. I was pretty proud of that,” James said. “I really wasn’t nervous about my fielding or anything like that but my batting, I was terrified because at the end of the season I was not doing so hot. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I ended up being OK with my performance. I wound up being two for five on the whole day, got two singles. I only had two strikeouts and one of them I don’t even count because it was the Mishicot pitcher (Kiran Sanford), who just broke the state record (20 strikeouts in the Division 4 state championship). I fouled off one of her balls, so I was like, ‘I hit one, I don’t even care.’ She was very good.”

Both players closed outstanding chapters of their athletic careers. Along with softball, Konieczny was a key member of Medford’s girls hockey team for four years. James was a three-sport standout for Gilman, leading resurgences there in the sports of volleyball and basketball.

James will attend UW-Green Bay in the fall starting to pursue a major in English and a minor in education. Konieczny is off to Wisconsin Lutheran College, where she plans to play softball and major in psychology.