Elk Mound girls’ softball will need to replace five key players this season
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
ELK MOUND — If the Elk Mound softball team wants to repeat as Dunn-St. Croix champions, they will have to do it with a lot of younger players this season.
Gone from the team via graduation are first-team all conference players McKenna Diermeier (the Dunn-St. Croix Conference Player of the Year) and Issie Hollister, along with Hannah Larson, Morgan Hallum and Kallee Rhude.All five played key positions for the team that shared the conference title with Mondovi with a 13-1 record.
Letterwinners returning to the team that finished 15-4 overall last season are Lauren Garnett, the lone senior on the team, Chloe Dummer, the only junior out this year and a core of sophomores including Ellie Schiszik, Jaidynn Sarauer, Hailey Meyer and Alexa Severson. Schiszik was a first-team all conference pick, Dummer was a second-team selection and Garnett was named honorable mention.
Six freshmen reported to the ball diamond with all different levels of playing experience, according to coach McKayla Maenner who begins her fourth coaching season for the Mounders and carries a 45-18 record.
“We are looking forward to seeing what they can contribute,” she said. “We are young and eager to learn. I have players who want to succeed but it’s going to take time and experience. Due to being young, not everyone knows the full game of softball and all the strategies behind the game. Back to back titles would be nice but we’ll take it one day at a time and all I can ask is we get better day by day. Each game will be better than the first,” she added.
Maenner believes Durand and Boyceille should be top competitors in the conference this season because they have some good experience returning, but she also thinks the conference in general will be up for grabs.
Paola Cortese will be assisting her while Jaz Shafer will be the team manager.
2023 Roster
Senior: Lauren Garnett.
Junior: Chloe Dummer.
Sophomores: Ellie Schiszik, Alivia Baskin, Alexa Severson, Alexis Joachim, Linden Kaminski, Hailey Meyer, Teagan Mayer and Jaidynn Sarauer.
Freshmen: Addison Stroh, Allison Cronk, Katie Audorff, Ellie Beskow, Aleisha Nyren and Brooke Svihovec.
ELK MOUND’S SOFTBALL TEAM will need to replace five key players from a year ago if they want to repeat as the Dunn-St. Croix champions. Front row (L to R): Chloe Dummer and Lauren Garnett. Middle row (L to R): Linden Kaminski, Hailey Meyer, Jaidynn Sarauer, Ellie Schiszik, Alivia Baskin, Teagan Mayer and Alexa Severson. Back row (L to R): Aleisha Nyren, Ellie Beskow, Katie Audorff, Addison Stroh and Allison Cronk. Missing from the photo are Alexis Joachim and Brooke Svihovec. —photo by Shawn DeWitt