5 high school softball stars from the WiscNews area: April 16 edition (2024)

Morgan Gunderson had a big couple of games last week in wins over Columbus and River Valley.

Poynette's junior pitcher threw a complete game with 12 strikeouts and two walks in an 8-2 victory over Columbus. She also went 1-for-3 at the plate.

“I knew they lost a couple seniors, so I knew it was going to be a guessing game of how they were going to be,” Gunderson said.

Poynette coach Matt Ramberg said she had pretty good control of her pitches and she was hitting her spots.

“That’s one thing we’ve been working on is not putting the ball over the plate on 0-2, 1-2 counts,” he said. “She did a nice job. We went with the riseball, we went with the curveball and we went with the change-up a lot.”

She followed it up with a shutout as the Pumas beat River Valley 15-0 in four innings. She had five strikeouts and gave up just two hits.

She also went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.

Waupun’s Addison Braun strong in the circle

Waupun had a great start to the week with a 15-0 East Central victory over Jackson Kettle Moraine Lutheran on April 8. Sophom*ore Addison Braun only needed 54 pitches to complete a no hitter with six strikeouts and one walk.

“Efficiency, she was in the strike zone,” Waupun coach Josh Navis said. "A couple of those that we missed, it was the perfect placement as well. She was zoned in on the pitch she needed to throw. She was itching to pitch just like the rest of the girls were itching to hit.”

She also had a pair of homers and four RBIs.

“The first one, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a ball ever hit further. At least not in a long time," Navis said. "It was over the scoreboard and it was looking like it was still going up when it reached the scoreboard. She had some power.”

The Warriors earned a 12-0 victory over Ripon on April 9. Braun pitched three innings with six strikeouts and one walk while giving up a pair of hits. The sophom*ore went 2-for-3 with a couple RBIs.

Waupun lost 2-1 to Kewaskum on Thursday. Braun was in the circle and pitched six innings with nine strikeouts and three walks, and gave up two earned runs off five hits.

Against Oconomowoc on Friday, Braun came in relief for Roz Rivera after she gave up eight runs (six earned) off 11 hits in two innings. Braun pitched four innings and struck out eight batters. She gave up six runs (five earned) off seven hits and three walks in the 14-7 loss.

Perfect start to Enya Heller's season

Enya Heller started her sophom*ore season in the circle throwing a perfect game in Cambria-Friesland's 15-0, three-inning win over Oshkosh Lourdes on April 9. She struck out six of the nine hitters she faced.

“I was no expecting that. We played really well. … She was hitting her spots. She didn’t miss many pitches,"Cambria-Friesland coach and her father, Mike Heller, said."The changeup was working. Everything seemed to be working."

Heller also went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk. Her first hit of the season was a RBI triple and then a RBI double in the first inning. The Hilltoppers scored nine runs in the first inning.

“She had a great game,” Mike Heller said.

On Thursday, Heller pitch six inning with four strikeouts in a 4-2 Trailways North Conference loss to Oakfield. Heller gave up four runs (two earned) off nine hits and two walks. She didn’t record a hit in three attempts at the plate.

Approach change aids Grace Gawronski

Reedsburg first baseman Grace Gawronski has been working on making contact at the plate, her coach Elizabeth Baker said. She went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs in an 8-6 victory over Madison Edgewood on April 9.

“I was mainly focused on throwing my hands at the ball and making contact,” Gawronski said. "My coach and I have been working on simplifying the movements and breaking it down. I’m taking the complexity out of it. I do better when I’m not thinking out there and just putting the bat on the ball.”

She had a RBI double in the third inning to put the Beavers up 5-4. She also led off the fifth inning with a homer to left field for a 7-5 cushion, which ended up being the game-winning run.

“Where we were in the game, we definitely still needed to produce for our offense,” Baker said. “Edgewood is a team that hits back. We certainly weren’t comfortable with whatever lead we had at any given inning. Our goal and focus has been to keep attacking.”

Natalie Hellenbrand a two-way threat

Lodi’s Natalie Hellenbrand played well both in the circle and at the plate during the Blue Devils’ 8-0 victory over Wisconsin Heights on April 9.

Hellenbrand came in relief for the final two innings where she didn’t allow a hit and struck out four batters. She also walked one.

“She was able to keep the hitters off balance,” Lodi coach Korey Stark said. “She’s got a couple of different pitches and she was keeping them off balance pretty well. They didn’t make solid contact with any of her pitches. She came in and was pretty dominant.”

Hellenbrand played the first five innings at second base and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs at the plate.

“She’s consistent, she competes and she’s one of those kids who isn’t going to strike out a lot,” Stark said. “She’s a competitor every at-bat and we expect her to put the ball in play.”

Hellenbrand had a two-run triple to left to start the scoring.

Hellenbrand also went 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 9-2 victory over Lake Mills Lakeside Lutheran on Thursday.

Vote for this week's Supernova

Fall River's Taylor Grebel earned the Supernova recognition of the April 2 edition with 37.25% of the votes. There was not an April 9 edition due to snow cancelling or postponing most games the week prior.