Softball team earns Sun Athlete of the Year

Posted: Jan. 8, 2013

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The Hamilton softball team celebrates a sectional title. Members of the team are (from left, front row) Whitney Wnuk, Katie Baker, Katie Weber, Tori Meyer, (back row) Bailee Bobert, Cassidy Schilz, Jenny Shernell, Sydney Sprinkel, Casey Walther, Taylor Vigani, Kelsey Mason, Sami Williams and Emily Jansen.

Submitted Photo

The Hamilton softball team celebrates a sectional title. Members of the team are (from left, front row) Whitney Wnuk, Katie Baker, Katie Weber, Tori Meyer, (back row) Bailee Bobert, Cassidy Schilz, Jenny Shernell, Sydney Sprinkel, Casey Walther, Taylor Vigani, Kelsey Mason, Sami Williams and Emily Jansen.

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On June 7, the Hamilton Chargers varsity girls softball team made its bid.

Seeded ninth in a WIAA regional, the Chargers sent Watertown packing at Arrowhead High School, upsetting the Goslings, 4-3, and qualifying for the WIAA Division 1 state tournament.

It was a stunning feat that merited the selection of the softball team as the 17th annual Sussex Sun Athlete of the Year.

The road to state and Goodman Diamond saw the Chargers take out Kettle Moraine, Menomonee Falls and West Allis Hale, along with the Goslings. All four teams were seeded higher than the Chargers.

"We started out 7-0, playing very well, and had the look of a team that had the makeup for a run at it and a breakout year," longtime coach Jim Lawinger said. "But then went through a stretch where we didn't get the big hit or make the plays when we had to."

Hamilton qualified for its eighth state tournament in June. Prior trips came in 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991.

The Chargers magical season ended in Madison with an 18-2 loss to Chippewa Falls, the eventual state champion, in the quarterfinals.

Jenny Shernell, the team's shortstop, hit a long home run in the first inning off Goslings ace Genelle McFarland, but Watertown quickly answered, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first.

Later in the game, Sami Williams reached on an error, putting Hamilton in front, 4-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, Sprinkel allowed the leadoff hitter, Breanna Schuett a free pass, but ended up finishing what she started, withstanding a sacrifice bunt and two groundouts.

"All season, we had a plan to start with Syd, and then bring in Emily Jansen," Lawinger said. "But when I went out to talk to Syd, she told me she could get it done, so I stuck with her and she did it."

Other roster members included Katie Weber, Taylor Vigani, Kelsey Mason, Tori Meyer, Mariah Schuldt, Bailee Bobert, Whitney Wnuk, Cassidy Schilz and Casey Walther.

Shernell and Williams, both returning this spring, were named first team in the Greater Metro Conference.

"We went through some highs and lows, but we went with the philosophy that anything can happen, and it did," Lawinger said. "I guess you could say its one of those classic high school stories that makes lasting memories."

Two other teams have won the Sussex Sun award, including the Sussex Jayhawks youth football team in 1997 and the Hamilton varsity girls track and field team in 2011.

Past winners

Sussex Sun Athlete of the Year

1996 - Melissa Schweinert, Hamilton-Falls girls swimming

1997 - Sussex Jayhawks youth football

1998 - Sara Urbanek, college women's volleyball, Northern Illinois University

1999 - Jenny Prochazka, Hamilton girls track and field

2000 - Sara Urbanek, college women's volleyball, University of Wisconsin

2001 - Leslie Osborne, college women's soccer, Santa Clara University

2002 - A.J. Morgan, Hamilton wrestling

2003 - Jake Ebenhoch, Northern Illinois University football

2004 - Leslie Osborne, college women's soccer, Santa Clara University

2005 - Steve Hicklin, college men's basketball at UW Stevens Point

2006 - Leslie Osborne, U.S women's soccer team

2007 - Leslie Osborne, U.S. women's soccer team

2008 - Marcus Paulson, Hamilton cross country and track and field

2009 - Kellyn Johnson, college women's cross country and track and field

2010 - Dean Haase, Lannon Land O' Lakes baseball

2011 - Hamilton girls track and field team