WRIGHTSTOWN — New Holstein announced itself with a blast on June 4 in the WIAA Division 3 softball sectional final against Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
The Huskies bats were loud and resilient in a 9-2 victory to punch the program’s second-ever trip to the state tournament.
Junior pitcher Reese Kraus hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to get the offense going and Emma Manderscheid smashed a two-run blast in the fifth to remove all doubt.
New Holstein got 13 hits in the game by seven different players with five of them having at least two hits.
“It comes in bunches,” New Holstein coach Craig Sesing said of the offense. “It’s an emotional game, it’s girls softball. When one starts hitting they all start hitting. We love seeing them pass the baton down the line.”
Added Kraus of her home run:
“It just happened, an in the moment thing,” Kraus said. “Very unexpected.”
And while the pitcher might not be known as a power bat, Manderscheid knows to trust in Kraus because of the effort she puts in.
“She’s great, she truly is,” Manderscheid said of Kraus. “She works hard and hits bombs.”
Kraus tossed seven innings and scattered five hits and two walks while giving up a pair of unearned runs.
It was a stark contrast to June 2 when Southern Door got to Kraus early and forced a pitching change by Sesing.
Yet it didn’t phase the junior one bit with Sesing praising Kraus for her resilience.
“Tonight it was just lights out,” Sesing said. “We’ve got two really good pitchers, when the team is hitting fastballs we switch to the offspeed pitcher. She stayed in the game on Tuesday after getting pulled and kept hitting and helping the team.”
The game turned decisively in the Huskies favor in the fourth inning, scoring five runs with two outs.
“I told the girls, go do what you do,” Sesing said. “I don’t do a lot coaching. We work in practice and they come to the game knowing how to play.”
He elaborated a bit more.
“Grit is a great word,” Sesing said. “There’s a lot of scrappiness in our team. We don’t give up. We fight every game.”
Kraus certainly appreciated the run support.
“It gives me more breathing room,” Kraus said. “It feels better because I’m not so pressured. We had so much energy the whole game.”
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: New Holstein’s hot bats lift softball team to 2nd-ever WIAA state trip
Reporting by Tom Dombeck, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Dombeck, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter | USA TODAY Network
