By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
Throughout the entire Southern Lakes Conference season, three schools spent most of the time trying to make a case for their claim of being the best – Wilmot, Westosha Central and Union Grove.
In the end, all three schools ended up tied on top of the SLC with identical 12-2 records. All three were ranked in the wispreps.com WIAA Division 1 poll throughout the season, and all three would likely have been favorites to make it to state had they not been in the same bracket. In the end, Westosha Central beat Wilmot in the sectional semifinals and Union Grove in the sectional finals to make it to Madison.
Fittingly, those three schools dominated the conference postseason awards, combining for 15 of the 19 spots on the first and second teams – including all but one of the first-team spots.
Wilmot senior Kristen Wood, who also won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for softball, was named SLC Player of the Year for the third time. Wood finished the season 21-4 – the same record as her team – and also batted .500 for the SLC season. She was 12-2 on the mound in SLC action.
Union Grove, which got bounced up a division after winning the Division 2 crown at state in 2011, had the most first-team picks with five – senior pitcher Alice Fitzpatrick, senior catcher Alecia Faber, freshman third baseman Cassidy Kortendick, senior first baseman Amber Johnson and junior outfielder Annie McClelland.
Fitzpatrick batted .579 in SLC player and had a 9-1 record on the mound, while Kortendick batted .500 in the SLC. Faber was strong defensively at catcher and batted .474 in the SLC, while Johnson batted .400 and McClelland .426.
Waterford, meanwhile, snuck the only first-team selection other than the big three through, in junior outfielder Alyssa Helwig. Statistics were not available for the Wolverines.
Rounding out the first team were Brittney Blazich and Hayden Krueger of Westosha and Kelly Hutchinson of Wilmot.
The second-team selections were a little more balanced, with Westosha picking up four selections, Waterford three, and Wilmot and Union Grove one each. Pitcher Sarah Fonk joined teammates Jessica Shane, Larkin Langston and Taylor Bergles on the second team, while Waterford saw Sarah Terrian, Kelly Strasser and Abbey Zortman picked.
Kelsey Saucerman of Wilmot and Emily DeCheck of Union Grove rounded out the second team.
Honorable mention picks were Adrianna Burd for Burlington, Alex Kies for Union Grove and Alicia Barbian for Waterford.
Following Wilmot, Westosha and Union Grove in the conference standings was Waterford at 8-6, Burlington at 5-9, Badger at 3-11 and Delavan-Darien and Elkhorn at 2-12. At the start of the WIAA playoffs, Wilmot topped the Division 1 rankings, while Union Grove was sixth. Westosha Central was not ranked at that point, but Sarah Fonk had missed a few games due to injury and it was questionable as to whether or not she would return.
The Falcons fell in the opening round of the state tournament 1-0 to Appleton East, which lost to eventual state champion Chippewa Falls in the semifinals.
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