MARSHFIELD – When Marshfield took the field in the Division 1 sectional championship against Chippewa Falls at Casper Red Field in Chippewa Falls on Thursday, June 4, fifth-year coach Becky Linzmeier sported a cool-as-ice demeanor.
The Tigers stared down a 27-year WIAA state tournament drought, and Linzmeier didn’t want the magnitude of the moment to play a factor.
It did not, as Marshfield responded with its most impressive victory of the year, snatching an 11-0 win in six innings and clinching its first trip back to the state tournament since the 1998 season.
“It’s unbelievable. It gives me goosebumps,” Linzmeier said. “I’m a very vocal person and have said that I’m not an alum of Marshfield, but I grew up playing against those state teams in the 90s, and I knew a lot of those players, and still communicate with a lot of those players.“I’ve worked with Wayne Hamlin, and got to know Pete Kaplan a little bit, and so the history of the program I’m very well aware of, and so it’s just an honor and a privilege that we’re doing this this year. It’s for all those former coaches and all those former players; it really is not about me, it’s about our program, and our youth program, and our school, and our community. But for me personally, it’s an honor to represent Marshfield, and I just hope that I make everybody proud.”As the season approached last fall, Linzmeier knew the Tigers wielded talent across the board, and felt confident competing for the Wisconsin Valley Conference crown, in which they finished in second place this season with an 8-2 league record.
It was a matter of being able to gel together, and building on chemistry that she didn’t feel was as intact last season.
“So we tried to put a little bit more focus on the chemistry side of things, and as the season kept going on you could just see they were starting to buy into it. We knew what we had as far as pitchers, and we knew we had some very decent bats in our lineup,” Linzmeier said about when she knew this group had a special spark.
“But as we started playing games, we were like, ‘Oh my goodness, one through nine in our lineup … we’re tough outs, and we were competitive for the most part in almost every game of the year. So this team just showed a lot of resilience and grit and heart and determination. We talked about not wanting to peak in April or May, we want to peak come the playoffs, and we accomplished that.'”
Sophomore pitcher Molly Fox pitched a shutout over six innings on the mound, yielding one hit and three walks while striking out seven in the win over Chippewa Falls. While Arianna Pugh, Avery Kelnhofer and Madilynn Cole each plated home runs.Throughout the year, the Tigers battled through a tough schedule in which they faced two state teams in Medford and Stevens Point. Despite those outings resulting in losses, they leveraged them into tools for their larger plan.
“We were tested,” Linzmeier said. “And for a lot of people, we were under the radar, so all those things we took to our advantage, and the girls have just truly maximized their opportunities.”
Heading into the state quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Muskego, Linzmeier’s message to the ladies is to just enjoy the moment and take it all in for the day, and enjoy it in the morning, but once practice time arrives, there’s a whole new season to conquer. “We’re not satisfied, we’re not done yet,” Linzmeier said. “We don’t want to be the team that’s just happy to be there, we want to go down there and compete and play Marshfield softball and make some noise down there.“So yes, hopefully they will be ready, and I know that they are looking forward to it.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Marshfield softball returns to state after 27 seasons: ‘It’s unbelievable’
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Marshfield News-Herald / Marshfield News-Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alfred Smith III, Marshfield News-Herald | USA TODAY Network
