Preble wins battle of state-ranked teams

GREEN BAY – In a battle of two of the top softball teams in the state, the Green Bay Preble Hornets kept its season perfect with a 5-0 Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) victory over Ashwaubenon on April 29 at the Finger Road Softball Complex on Green Bay’s far east side. 

The Hornets (14-0 overall, 10-0 FRCC) came into the contest as the No. 4-ranked Division 1 team in the state, while the Jaguars (9-2, 6-1) entered as the No. 5-ranked squad. 

Preble pitcher Katie Geydoshek struck out 13 Ashwaubenon hitters and walked only one in scattering five hits.

The Hornets managed nine hits off Ashwaubenon pitcher Berritt Herr, a University of Wisconsin-Madison commit. 

Preble scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings and added a pair in the third. 

The shutout victory for the Hornets was the team’s ninth of the season. 

Preble has given up a paltry 10 runs combined in their 14 games. 

“We’re still learning about this team, but this group is the deepest team we’ve ever had,” Preble Coach Ron Metzler said. “We’re still figuring ourselves out, but it’s been fun.”

Metzler said his team’s experience is a strength. 

“We’re sitting on nine seniors, and they’ve been playing together for a lot of years,” he said. “This team is experienced and wants it bad – that’s the heart of this team.”

Geydoshek, a Division I commit to Loyola University Chicago, also had an RBI groundout, walked once and led off the fifth inning with a double. 

“Coming into the game, I think there was a lot of pressure on both teams,” Geydoshek said. “We knew it would be a tough game, but I think we played well as a team and picked each other up. When it’s a 1-0 game, there’s a lot more pressure, so I was glad the offense got me some run support. I felt our offense supported our defense, and our defense supported our offense.”

Geydoshek’s battery mate, catcher Sam Foytik, had a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the fourth. 

Gracie Day had an RBI double and Tenley Kuehn collected an RBI single for the Hornets. 

For Ashwaubenon, Elly Kirst had a pair of hits, while Jocelyn Wirth, Herr (double) and Gianna Guarascio each collected one.