Players worked in the off-season
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
After going 21-6 and losing in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional final a year ago, head coach Hank Johnson said he and the rest of the Delavan-Darien High School softball team know what it takes to be successful. Last season’s team finished third in the Southern Lakes Conference and was on a five-game winning streak before losing to Beloit Turner in the regional final.
“We thought we had a good season last year but obviously didn’t reach our final goal,” Johnson said. “The girls have put a lot of time in the offseason this year hoping to get past where we have been before. We have learned each of the past four years what it takes to reach the next level and have figured out that you have to be on your A game every night, especially in our conference.”
Johnson also talked about his returning starters and how two spots were left void due to graduation. He hopes a couple of the younger girls can step in and fill those roles.
Last year’s team was led by now senior pitcher Jennah Speth. Speth went 18-6 overall, posting a 1.76 ERA, and struck out 184 batters in 147 innings pitched. Speth will play for the University of Illinois-Chicago, a Division I team when she graduates from Delavan-Darien.
Six players from last year’s team batted over .300 who played regularly. Five of those six return for the team’s 2016 campaign.
“A lot of our players from last year have been on a club team or working with a hitting-pitching coach throughout the offseason,” Johnson said. “I have been impressed with how much we have improved already. We have a lot of really good softball players on this team and they now know that it will take everyone to move to the next level.”
The Comets’ 2016 season was supposed to start on April 8 against Big Foot but the game got postponed because of weather. The team’s season was to resume Monday against Clinton at Delavan-Darien High School.
The team was scheduled to play at Wilmot on Tuesday and Elkhorn on Thursday at home. Last season against Clinton, the Comets defeated Clinton in all three matchups, including one in the first round of the playoffs.
The scores from those three games were 11-0, 16-1 and in the playoffs, 15-0.
