5 high school softball stars: April 23 edition (2024)

Friday’s high school softball game at Lodi marked the third straight game that Portage junior Sophia Brom homered.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “Honestly, I just never thought it would happen.”

She drove in three runs and pitch Portage in a 5-4 lead and an eventual 10-6 victory.It was Brom’s only hit in three plate appearances of the game.

“I think it got everyone pumped up and the energy just went up from there,” Brom said.

She went 2-for-3 in a 16-3 win against Sauk Prairie on Thursday. Her two-run homer gave the Warriors a 10-0 lead in the second inning.

Wisconsin recruit Gabby Fakes has big week for Beaver Dam

Gabby Fakes was solid at the plate and showcased why she's a Wisconsin softball recruit in the circle as Beaver Dam won a pair of games last week.

Fakes went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two doubles in an 8-1 win over Oregon. She also pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts and two walks while giving up one run off a pair of hits.

Fakes then went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the fifth inning that gave the Golden Beavers a lead in a 4-2 win against West Bend West.

Vanessa Marsich on offensive catalyst for Wisconsin Dells

Senior Vanessa Marsich was a catalyst for the Wisconsin Dells offense. She was 4-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases during a 13-9 win over Sauk Prairie on April 15.

“She actually didn’t really hit the ball that hard, but she pounded it great and put it in some great spots," coach Colyn Buss said. "Her on-base percentage has been phenomenal.”

Marsich was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks in a 6-2 win over Reedsburg on Friday.

“She really bought into her role,” Buss said. "She doesn’t hit for power that much, but she’s hitting in the No. 2 spot and does a great job drawing a lot of walks. … She does a great job of getting on base and having those RBI chances for our Nos. 3, 4, 5 hitters.”

Samantha Raley's bat stays hot for Cambria-Friesland

Samantha Raley's responsibilities as Cambria-Friesland's catcher are high, and she impacted the offense during a winning week, too.

She went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and scored twice in the Hilltoppers' 15-0 win over Montello on April 15. she hit a RBI triple to open the scoring in the first and a run-scoring double in the second.

“I was definitely feeling confident,” Raley said. “I knew how to time out her pitch. … I definitely thought I did a good job at creating a line drive, especially with that trip. It was a gap shot between center and right.”

Her two-run double in an 11-0 win against Randolph on April 16 helped add on. She scored twice and walked. Raley said Randolph pitcher Macy Kohlbeck was easy to read, and kept slowing down as the game went on.

“You had to adjust every time you went up to the plate,” Raley said. “It was different. It is hard because just timing out a pitch is very hard."

Raley was 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored in a 12-2 win over Pardeeville on Thursday.

Breonna Buechel was offensive machine for Horicon

Breonna Buechel has been a slap hitter since she was 12 years old, and her speed showed last week.

She stole eight bases during the week, including four while going 2-for-3 with two walks, two doubles, three runs and a RBI in a 22-3 win over Fall River on April 15.

“She’s fast,” Horicon coach Dave Buechel, who is Breonna’s father, said. “ … That’s her specialty— slapping and using her wheels getting on bases and scoring runs.”

Buechel had two more stolen bases and was 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored in a 15-0 win over Dodgeland/Hustiford on April 16.

She had four against the Pirates on Monday, two against United on Thursday and then two in the doubleheader on Friday.

“It’s just reading the pitcher and knowing when to go,” Breonna Buechel said. “Just knowing when she lets go of the ball and I have to get off the base in order to get a good jump on the pitcher. We work on our timing a lot during practice, so that helps.”

She stole two bases and had five hits and scored four times in wins of 8-4 and 5-1 the doubleheader Friday against Palmyra-Eagle.

Vote for this week's Supernova

Cambria-Friesland’s Enya Heller was voted this week’s Supernova of the April 16 edition with 34.9% of the votes. Here is this week's poll: