Pitching, defense to lead Warrior softball

By Becky Walz,

Experience from 2020 should pay off for the South Winn softball team this season.
The Warriors lost just two starting players from a year ago and have nine returning letter winners to count on.
Leading the way will be first-year head coach Ken Buchheit, who spent six seasons as an assistant under Jeff Krueger.

Young squad
With two seniors last year, the South Winn softball team put together an average season, finishing third in the Upper Iowa Conference.
The playoffs were short-lived as the Warriors were beat by Kee High 7-1. South Winn concluded the year with a 9-9 overall mark.
For the year, the Warriors hit .230, with a .331 on-base percentage and .295 slugging mark. They pounded 102 hits, with 89 runs scored and 89 RBI. The pitching staff had a 3.35 earned run average (ERA), with 119 strikeouts.

The foundation
Buchheit has nine returning letter winners to build a squad around. At the top of the list is senior centerfielder Mary Frana who was a first team all-UIC player a year ago. M. Frana hit .317 with a team-high 19 hits, which included one home run, a triple and six doubles. She collected 11 RBI as well.
Twirling the ball will be returning first team all-UIC pitcher Eryn Luzum. As a sophomore, Luzum was in the pitcher’s circle for 101 innings, striking out 114 batters and finished the season with a 2.5 ERA. 
Ruthie Frana was a big hitter for the Warriors a year ago with a .538 batting average. During her sophomore campaign she had 14 hits, including a home run and a triple and five RBI.
Rounding out the team are Emma Houdek (Sr., OF), Breanna Dvorak (Sr., OF), Ruthie Frana (Jr., IF), Liz Engelhardt (Jr., OF), Morgan Kriener (So., IF), Morgan Kleve (So., IF/P) and Alison Heying (So., IF).
Promising newcomers entering the dugout for the 2021 season are Janessa Zweibahmer (Jr., IF), Lindsey Thuente (Jr., OF), Ella Willey (So., C/OF), Avery Humpal (Fr., C), Hailey Riehle (So., IF), Izzy Opperman (So., OF) and Izzy Kipp (So., OF).

In the UIC
Buchheit sees Turkey Valley and his own Warriors as having the early advantage for the Upper Iowa Conference crown heading into the season.
“I am excited to see how quickly we learn our team philosophies, such as hitting, and are able to apply them to practices and games,” said Coach Buchheit. “I am very optimistic and looking forward to how we change and grow as a team.”

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