With a scintillating sendoff this morning, the Mishicot Indian’s girls’ softball team headed to Madison to participate in the WIAA State tournament in Madison.
They will play Mineral Point in a Division Four state semifinal at approximately 4:30 p.m. in what is their third straight trip to Goodman Diamond and their seventh in ten years.
Head Coach Dawn Shimek says you never take anything for granted, but they head to state this year with what she calls unfinished business.
”This year we’re dialed in,” she assured SeehaferNews.com. “We have a chip on our shoulders. We want to get back there and make amends for what happened last year. We weren’t happy with that.”
That was a 3 to 2 loss to Laconia in the Division Three semifinals.
They were one strike from victory and couldn’t put the Spartans away.
Senior pitcher Kiran Sanford says everyone took that loss to heart.
“In the offseason, just about everybody on the entire team worked out in the gym this winter,” she revealed. “We strive to continually get better, and it’s paying off.”
The Indians took a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in March to open the season, with 40 girls staying in one house for four days.
SeehaferNews.com asked senior shortstop Kaelin Adair if that trip forged a deeper bond among them.
“A lot. More than we thought it would. We learned more about each other than we thought we could of,” she explained. “We had a hot tub in the house, and all of us sat there together and had fun being ourselves. That doesn’t happen very often, and I believe this trip united this program more than it’s ever been.”
Senior catcher Kasey Brouchoud says the bond goes deeper than just the team.
“We have a whole family behind us, including our fans and the community,” she noted. “They’re just all so supportive,e and it’s so much fun.”
Coach Shimek says Mineral Point poses plenty of problems, with great team speed and effective pitching.
Mishicot has arguably the best pitcher in the state in Kiran Sanford.
She walked just 17 and struck out 324 batters this season with an ERA of 0.35.
Shimek says the key is to score first.
”All we feel we need is one run and with Kiran (Sanford) we are good,” she said confidently. “We look to get her that one run, settle us in and give her confidence. She would like more but that one run could win us the game.”
If the Indians can win two games, they’d come home with their second gold ball in school history (2021).
Senior third baseman Karsyn Krause said bluntly, if that were to happen, “Besides my wedding, that would be the best day of my life.”
Coverage on 980 WCUB and CubRadio.com begins at 4:15 p.m.
