Northwestern Baseball, Softball Teams Won’t Get Chance to Defend Conference, Regional Titles

Their seasons came to an end with the cancellation of the high school spring sports season.

MAPLE, Wis. – The WIAA’s cancellation of the high school sports season was not the news student-athletes wanted to hear. It was even more heart-breaking for the Northwestern softball and baseball teams, who had high hopes coming into the season.

“They’re sad, disappointed. They feel a little bit robbed of the opportunity to play their senior season. It’s the culminating season. We’ve got eight seniors on the team that all would’ve played some huge roles for us this year. They’re just disappointed that it’s not going to happen,” said softball coach Scott Janigo.

“That’s where you heart really goes out to. It’s to the seniors who never get that opportunity and who maybe lack that sense of composure and the opportunity to do something with this season, their senior year. Not having that ultimately is what hurts the most I think,” baseball coach Jovin Kroll said.

The announcement hurts even more as both the baseball and softball teams won’t get a chance to defend their Heart ‘O North conference and WIAA regional championships they won last year.

“Success in high school sports often times is associated with seniors. So when you have a big senior group, expectations are greater and then disappointment is greater when you lose that chance,” said Kroll.

“We feel that we were going to have a strong team this year. We feel that we would’ve been in the running for a nice run in the playoffs. Yeah that’s disappointing. That adds to it a little bit, I guess,” Janigo said.

But both coaches agree that this moment will have a lasting impact on the players, well after they leave Northwestern High School.

“It’s going to make the girls stronger in some way, shape or form. These things are going to shape how they respond to life in the future. It’s tough to measure. It’s tough know exactly when in life this lesson is going to enter their lives. But it will some way,” said Janigo.

“Their greatest life accomplishments are still in front of them. That’s the reality of high school sports. It seems so important in the moment. But ultimately, it’s a tool to help these kids succeed in life and that’s where their big accomplishments will happen and those are still in the future,” Kroll said.