Tigers eye return to the top in softball

MARSHFIELD – Becky Linzmeier was in high school in Auburndale when the Marshfield Tigers won the WIAA Div. 1 State Softball Championship in 1991.

Linzmeier, now in her fifth season as the Tigers’ head coach, played shortstop on varsity for four years at Auburndale High School, and remembers — and competed against — some of the players and coaches who delivered Marshfield’s first state championship of any kind.

Now, Linzmeier is trying to build the same type of program she admired when she was still playing in the 1990s.

“Even though I’m not a graduate of Marshfield, I feel like I’ve been around the program a long time,” Linzmeier told Hub City Times during our May 6 conversation. “I know many names and I feel like I have a great sense of the history and I don’t take that lightly. So, yeah, if we can get there someday, I know Pete Kopplin and Wayne Hamlin will be looking down on me and our program and they’ll be smiling.”

The Tigers won the Wisconsin Valley Conference championship in 2022, Linzmeier’s first season as head coach. That remains the top goal going into each and every season.

“I think first and foremost, you want to be competitive in your own conference and that’s, to me, the No. 1 priority,” said Linzmeier. “From there, we build and we grow from getting ready to go into playoffs. You have to take it game by game, and celebrate those things, too. Only five teams win a state championship. If you don’t celebrate those other wins or those other accomplishments, it makes it really difficult.”

The Tigers have had plenty to celebrate this season, and they’re getting the job done on the diamond with a junior-dominated team.

“And they play a lot of ball,” Linzmeier said. “They’re developing and learning the game and learning some of the intangibles that go along with the grind of a spring season. A lot of these kids play travel ball, but they’re not used to the grind of a high school season.”

Among this season’s juniors is Avery Kelnhofer.

“She can play almost any position. She primarily plays a lot of left field for us, but she’s also spent some time at first base,” Linzmeier said. “What’s amazing about Avery is just her I.Q. of the game. She’s got power. She’s very athletic.”

Another junior, Madilynn Cole, is starting in centerfield for Marshfield this year.

“She has a strong arm from centerfield. And she’s got speed up at the plate. She’s hitting .382 and just a really good attitude,” said Linzmeier.

Junior Lillian Griesbach is the Tigers’ starting catcher and bats cleanup.

“It’s not her primary position,” Linzmeier shared. “In travel ball, she plays shortstop. And she’s very, very athletic and she has a great arm. She keeps teams from running. I hear coaches say all the time they don’t run on us because of her arm and because of how she frames pitches and blocks balls and things like that, so she’s a huge asset to us behind the plate.”

Senior Arianna Pugh is starting at first base and serving as a backup catcher.

She’s hitting .361 with 13 hits.

Another senior on this year’s squad is Lydia Garvin, the Tigers’ starting third baseman and a backup pitcher.

“I personally think she is one of the best third basemen in our conference,” said Linzmeier.

Molly Fox, who as a sophomore already has over 200 career strikeouts, is Marshfield’s ace pitcher this year.

“She’s a very fierce competitor. I love that about her,” Linzmeier shared. “She is getting stronger and better every day and she just eats and breathes and sleeps softball and she has some lofty goals for herself. She’s leading our team in RBIs, so she doesn’t just do it in the circle.”

Junior Rhyan Costa is starting at shortstop for the Tigers.

“A solid defensive shortstop,” Linzmeier told us. “She’s smart. [I] love that she has an arm as well.”

Senior Kamryn Pearce is a speedy outfielder who can cover right or left.

Kam’s twin sister, Kendall Pearce, is another option in the outfield for the Tigers, but spends much of her time defensively at second base.

Junior Brooklyn Kramas serves as a utility player this year.

Junior Laila Oppman is primarily another option at second base, but also plays right field occasionally.

“I really wanted to, going into the season, spend some time really focusing on relationships and building that chemistry,” Linzmeier shared. “When I first took over the head position five years ago, it was just, ‘Let’s just play softball.’ But now, because these kids come from all different teams in travel ball, now we’ve got to get them to play for their school, play for their community, play for each other. I hope we’re doing it right.”

Another Auburndale alum, Hannah Bolder, is serving as Linzmeier’s JV coach this season.

Deanna Cole is Linzmeier’s varsity assistant.

Her pitching coach is a former Tigers head coach, Danny Costa.

Marshfield alum Jordy Pretsch is serving as a volunteer assistant.