‘Jays finish atop Marawood North
Athens baseball, softball able to win conference
Shauna Belter, a four-year starting catcher for the Athens softball team, said t-shirts should be printed that state both the Athens baseball and softball teams are Marawood North Conference champions in 2021.
This young lady certainly has a good idea, because the Bluejay baseball and softball teams bounced back from road losses to win home games two days later against their opponents, in order to gain a share of the M a r awo o d North title. For example, the Athens baseball team lost, 6-5, on June 1 against Rib Lake, but the Bluejays dominated the Redmen, 11-1, on Thursday. The big victory gave Athens a share of the 2021 Marawood North Conference championship with Abbotsford/Colby and Rib Lake in Todd Diethelm’s first offi cial season as the Bluejays’ head coach, after the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
“I’m very happy how the boys came out and responded after a tough loss,” Coach Diethelm said. “We had our backs against the wall a little and we came out and played a very clean game. Dayne Diethelm pitched very well and the defense behind him did their job. The bats came to life a little and we put the ball in play; something we talk about daily is putting the ball in play to put pressure on the defense.
“I’m very proud of this team and how they responded to adversity; we did it earlier this season against Abbotsford/ Colby and again against Rib Lake. What a great way to end the conference season. Now we need to refocus and stay hungry for the playoffs.”
Coach Diethelm is referring to when the Athens baseball team lost a road game against Abbotsford/Colby, 7-3, on May 11 and then rebounded to beat Abbotsford/ Colby, 5-1, at home on May 13.
The Athens softball team’s path to sharing the Marawood North Conference championship with Phillips is similar to the Athens baseball team’s journey during the regular season. Athens softball lost a road game to Phillips, 11-9, on May 18 before rebounding for a 7-6 home win against Phillips two days later. The Bluejays’ huge conference win against state ranked Phillips propelled the team to also beat Edgar, 7-0, at home the very next day. Edgar was coming off an upset road victory against previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.
Belter said her team’s victories against Phillips and Edgar on back-toback days gave the team confidence to know it could beat any team in the state, even if they are ranked.
“That was a really awesome stretch of games for us,” Belter said. “We were pretty hungry for a win against Phillips after losing to them two days earlier. In our second time playing against Phillips, we wanted to remain strong both mentally and physically during the whole game, which we did. Beating Edgar the next day gave us even more confidence and we went on a six-game winning streak.”
Athens softball downed Rib Lake, 133, at home on Thursday to gain a share of the Marawood North Conference title with Phillips. Bluejays head coach Craig Diedrich is pleased to see the amount of progress his team has made throughout this season.
“The 2021 Athens Bluejay softball team has been improving each game this year,” he said. “I have often said one of the greatest things this year’s team has going for it is a desire to compete. As the season has advanced, this year’s squad has continued to learn more about the game of softball, which has allowed it to continue to compete at higher levels. The 2021 Athens Bluejay softball team is very excited to have earned a conference title and it continues to seek more accomplishments this season.”
Athens softball lost a non-conference game at Iola/Scandinavia, 8-7, on Tuesday to conclude the regular season with a 13-8 overall record. Athens softball begins WIAA Division 5 regionals on June 9 (today) against Prentice at home.
The Athens baseball team, meanwhile, ends the regular season with a 12-5 record following an 11-1 home win against Rib Lake on Thursday and a 15-5 nonconference win against Lakeland Union on Monday at home.
Athens baseball begins WIAA Division 4 regionals at 5 p.m. this Thursday, June 10, against Northland Lutheran/Wisconsin Valley Lutheran at home.
