ALL-GNC SOFTBALL - Familiar names from Medford return to All-GNC softball list

The release of the 2025 All-Great Northern Conference softball award list features two new additions from Medford as they join five Raiders who have become fixtures on that list since 2023.

Juniors Zayleah Leonhardt and Rylee Hraby remained obvious unanimous firstteam choices, while junior Finley Arndt joined them on this year’s first team. Senior Victoria Konieczny finds herself on the All-GNC second team for the third straight year and senior Chelsea Gebauer is there for the second straight spring. The newcomers are junior Addison Brahmer, who turned a much-improved season into a spot on the All-GNC second team, and junior second baseman Laney Hraby, who earned honorable mention. The accolades follow a 20-8 season that saw the Raiders go 8-4 in the GNC, which was highly-competitive among the top four squads. Medford placed third in the conference behind 11-1 Mosinee and 10-2 Antigo. However, it was 7-5 Lakeland that had the last laugh, making an incredible run to the WIAA Division 2 state tournament behind the lights-out pitching of now twotime GNC Player of the Year Saylor Timmerman. Leonhardt, Medford’s catcher and number-three hitter in the batting order, is a first-team pick by the GNC’s coaches for the third straight year. Defensively Leonhardt was outstanding with a .977 fielding percentage. She had just five errors in 221 total chances and 16 assists. She threw out nine of 27 runners trying to steal a base and was charged with just one passed ball in 131 innings caught and helped limit Medford’s pitchers to just 26 wild pitches in 28 games. Offensively, Leonhardt tied Mosinee’s Taelyn Jirschele, last year’s co-GNC Player of the Year, for the GNC’s batting title with a .541 average in league play (20 for 37). She tied both Jirscheles, Taelyn and Paetyn, for the league lead in hits with 20 and was the GNC leader in runs batted in with 22 in 12 games. Seven of her conference hits were doubles and one was a home run. Overall, Leonhardt hit .411 (37 for 90) with 12 doubles, two homers and a team-high 38 RBIs, one off the school record held by Kaitlin Walsh. She struck out only eight times in 99 plate appearances. Hraby’s second straight unanimous firstteam vote was earned both as a pitcher and a hitter. In the circle, she tied Antigo’s Bethany Lewis for second in GNC wins with eight. She was second in strikeouts behind Timmerman’s 137 with 89 and was fourth with a 1.94 earned run average, allowing 15 earned runs in 54 innings. Hraby was 8-3 in GNC play. As Medford’s leadoff hitter, Hraby posted a .433 batting average in league play (13 for 30) with five doubles, three triples and five RBIs. She walked or was hit by a pitch 15 times to boost her on-base percentage to .622 and scored 19 runs, a team-high. Overall, Hraby was 20-6 in 27 pitching appearances, including 25 starts. In 152.1 innings, she struck out 243 hitters and walked just 49 while allowing 123 hits. She posted a 1.79 earned run average, allowing 39 earned runs. At the plate, Hraby ranked second on the team with a .395 batting average (32 for 81) with 13 doubles, six triples, two homers and 22 RBIs. She led the team with 33 runs scored, drew a team-high 22 walks and only struck out nine times in 107 plate appearances. Arndt’s move up to the first team came in a spring where she hit .412 in GNC play (14 for 34) with a triple, five RBIs and eight stolen bases. She and Brahmer tied for third in the GNC in steals. Her GNC on-base percentage was .512 out of the number-two spot in the batting order. Overall, the UW-River Falls recruit hit .388 (33 for 85) with five doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs. She scored 32 runs overall with 18 of them coming in GNC games. Her 19 stolen bases were a team-high and she was never caught stealing. Her .476 on-base percentage ranked second on the team. Arndt had two assists and one error in 35 total chances as the team’s centerfielder. Medford and Antigo both put three players on the first team with Antigo’s Sandi Robrecht being named the 2025 Coach of the Year. The Red Robins’ firstteamers are senior pitcher Bethany Lewis, catcher Tristin Arlen and Emma Beck. Mosinee led the way with five first-team choices, including the Jirscheles, pitcher Ava Busse, catcher Emily Verhasselt and Addyson Henrich. Timmerman obviously got a first-team spot as well. She had a 1.34 earned run average in 68 GNC innings pitched. Busse led the GNC with a 0.47 ERA, allowing just four earned runs in 59 innings pitched. On the second team, Konieczny gave Medford another year of steady play at first base with just two errors in 105 total chances for a .981 fielding percentage. She had 97 putouts and six assists. Overall, she hit .259 (22 for 85), drove in 17 runs, scored 17 runs, drew 13 walks and had three doubles and a home run in Medford’s 10-2 win at Antigo on April 22 The Wisconsin Lutheran College recruit hit .147 in GNC play with eight RBIs, eight walks and 10 runs scored. Gebauer, who was on the second team last year and got honorable mention as a sophomore, posted a solid .364 batting average (12 for 33) in GNC play with 15 RBIs, 10 runs scored, five doubles and a home run in a 12-1 win at Tomahawk on May 13. Medford’s leftfielder had 27 putouts and just two errors in 29 chances. Overall, Gebauer ranked second on the team with 24 RBIs and ranked fourth on the team with 18 runs scored. She hit .337 (29 for 86) with eight doubles. She stole five bases. Brahmer gave Medford speed and a strong arm in rightfield, plus she made things happen as a slap-hitter from the fifth spot in the batting order. She hit a robust .394 in GNC action (13 for 33) with a double, seven RBIs and 13 runs scored. She drew four walks and had a .459 onbase percentage. Overall, Brahmer hit .357 (25 for 70) and had an on-base percentage of .438. When she was on base, she stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. She scored 21 runs, ranking third on the team, and drove in 11. In gaining her first All-GNC honor, Laney Hraby hit .250 in league play (six for 24), drew six walks, scored five runs, drove in three and added a double in GNC play. Overall she hit at a .206 clip (13 for 63), drove in seven runs and scored 14. She drew 11 walks to rank fourth on the squad. Hraby tied Ruthie Steinman for the team lead with four sacrifice bunts. Defensively, Hraby was steady at second base with an .884 on-base percentage with just five errors in 43 chances that included 25 putouts and 13 assists. She was involved in three double plays during the year. The Raiders won their eighth WIAA Division 2 regional championship under head coach Virgil Berndt, who started the year by being inducted into the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. The Raiders were playing some of their best softball down the stretch having won eight of nine once they beat Merrill 7-3 in the regional title game on May 29. But Timmerman and the T-Birds ended the run in the June 4 sectional semifinal with a 2-1 win. Timmerman allowed one run in 35 innings pitched in four WIAA tournament games leading up to Friday’s state semifinal with Denmark in Madison, which the T-Birds lost 3-2.