Akey, Ehrenberg keep Waupaca off bases
By Greg Seubert
No runs, one hit and 16 strikeouts.
Those are the numbers that Kiley Akey and Cadyn Ehrenberg put up for the Weyauwega-Fremont softball team in its season opener.
The senior pitching duo picked up where they left off last season, as the Indians handed Waupaca a 6-0 nonconference loss March 23 at Waupaca High School.
Akey worked the first three innings and struck out nine batters, while Ehrenberg, who was credited with the win, worked the next four frames and struck out nine.
“That’s going to be our strength this season, it has been for the last four years,” W-F coach Todd Breuer said. “Both of these girls put a lot of time into it, they’re very dedicated to the sport, they’re going on to play at the next level and both of them are very excited to finish their senior year.
“They are going to carry this team,” he said. “They’re natural leaders and we just have to make sure that we give them as much help as we can from the other positions. We will do that.”
Akey and Ehrenberg, who will play college softball at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Rock Valley Community College, respectively, are two of the reasons why the Indians made it to the WIAA Division 3 state championship game last year.
Although W-F fell to Laconia 5-0, the Indians are shooting for a second straight trip to state.
“The girls had a great experience last year and they want that same experience, but they have to understand that we’re a different team,” Breuer said. “We are a different team this year, that is for sure without a doubt. We had a couple starters that I was planning on coming out not here and our numbers are down, which is strange with the success we’ve had the last few years. We’re a totally different team than we were last year and I think we know that. That’s one of the great things about high school sports. You have a different team just about every year. I’m excited for that.”
While Breuer can count on Akey and Ehrenberg to keep his team in games, Waupaca coach Eric Brehmer will rely on freshman pitcher Ireland Grenlie.
Although she gave up 11 hits in her varsity debut, she also matched Ehrenberg’s total of nine strikeouts.
“She’s going to be a big help to this team, a big addition,” Brehmer said. “To build around her and put people in the right position to make plays for her, it’s going to help out a lot.”
On the other hand, Waupaca’s only offense came on a Cadie Ash’s single off of Ehrenberg and a pair of walks.
“I think this is the top two that we’ll probably see the rest of the season,” Brehmer said. “They threw hard. They have change of speed, they have the drop ball, they have the rise ball, they have a change-up. Trying to adjust to that in cold weather and trying to think, it’s difficult. The ball doesn’t go in play very much with those two. They won’t commit a lot of errors when you have two pitchers like that.”
Weyauwega-Fremont took a 4-0 lead with two runs in the first and third innings before added single runs in the fourth and seventh.
Akey, Kati Kettleson and Rylee Bartel each had two hits for the Indians and Akey drove a team-high three runs.
“We did a lot of good things in this game,” Breuer said. “Ireland Grenlie’s a good pitcher. This was a good start to the season, but we also have to get better. We can’t rely on Kiley and Cadyn. Can they win games for us? Absolutely, but if we’re going to reach our goals, it’s going to take a total team effort.”
The Indians are coming off of a 22-10 season that included Central Wisconsin 8 Conference, regional and sectional championships.
Instead of the CWC-8, the Indians will compete this season in the CWC East Division with Iola-Scandinavia, Amherst, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Bonduel, Menominee Indian and Shiocton.
Shiocton also made it to state last year and fell to another CWC team, Pacelli, in a Division 4 semifinal.
Shiocton graduated last year’s CWC-8 player of the year, Sydney Wilcox, but Breuer still expects the Chiefs to be in the mix for a division title.
“I’m glad we don’t have to face (Wilcox), but they have athletes,” he said. “Iola had young freshmen last year and Amherst has athletes. Anytime a girls’ basketball team goes to state, you know a lot of those girls are going to be playing softball. Our AD did a great job again of scheduling nonconference games. We have Laconia at home, Tomahawk, Freedom and West De Pere. That’s only going to help us. That’s what we want. As long as we can compete against them, that’s the great thing.”
Akey and Ehrenberg have a new catcher this season, as Makena McClone replaces the graduated Hailey Krause.
“Hailey caught for Kiley and Cadyn in 10U, 12U and 14U (softball),” Breuer said. “I really like what Makena did in her first game. There were a couple of passed balls, but you know what? That’s going to be expected. I think she can match Hailey’s arm strength. She’s an athlete and she’s going to do a nice job for us.”
The Indians were able to win the game with without scoring more than two runs in an inning.
“That’s going to be the key all year,” Breuer said. “We’re going to have to do the little things on defense. Catch the ball, throw the ball, we stress that from day one. Get outs and don’t try to do too much. We’ve been doing that for a long time and the girls buy into that.”
Brehmer coached the Comets to a 5-19 overall record and a 3-15 mark in the North Eastern Conference in his first year with the team.
Returning players for the Comets include sophomore center fielder Mya Johannes and seniors Sydney Behm and Miranda Brunner in left and right field, respectively.
“We had that passed ball that they scored a run on and a dropped ball in the outfield that they scored on,” Brehmer said. “You can take those runs off the board if you catch the ball and catch a clean one behind the plate. The game could have been a lot closer, but we learned a lot today. We have to work on those fastballs and change-ups and driving the ball up the middle.
“Overall, I thought everyone played pretty well tonight,” he added. “We just have to put it all together from the first inning to the seventh inning.”