Softball: Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell has new head coach, same winning expectations

With a Class 1A regional championship and a 23-7 record, the 2022 season was another in a long line of good springs for the Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell softball co-op.

WFC has lost some vital components to that success. Most notably gone are head coach Jordan Farris to his retirement from coaching, all-state catcher Ella Sibert to graduation and, for the majority if not all of the season to come, all-state pitcher/designated player Cheyenne Burns to a leg injury. But the Warriors also bring back nine players – including seven starters – who took the field during their sectional semifinal win over Illinois Lutheran and assistant-turned-head coach Mike Hoekstra as they look to record their 11th consecutive winning season.

Three of the four seniors, all four juniors and each of the three sophomores on this year’s 15-girl varsity roster are returnees from last spring.

The returning starters among those include senior Burns – Hoekstra is hopeful she can return by the postseason, although he admits it may be a long shot – and senior 1B/P Kortney Harms, junior CF/1B Cloee Johnston (Times All-Area honorable mention), junior 3B Emma Highland, junior C/OF Kaiden Connor, sophomore catcher/IF Ella Derossett, sophomore shortstop Olivia Chismarick (Times All-Area second team) and, at the most important position on the field, junior third-year pitching ace Shae Simons (Times All-Area second team with a 2.76 ERA and 13-7 record).

“Shae’s a great kid,” Hoekstra said. “You get to see her working on the field, but I also get to see her in the hallways, and she’s just a great all-around, happy-go-lucky, smiling kid, always willing to help out in any aspect. And I would have to say Shae probably sets her expectations higher for herself than I would set for her. She puts in time year-round and has that competitive edge.

“And the team that’s around her, upperclassmen and underclassmen, I think they’re going to mesh really well.”

Nonstarters last spring looking for expanded roles this season include sophomore utility player Tiffany Ruestman and senior outfielder Jenny Leskanich. Senior 3B/util. Clara Downey returns to the program after not playing last season and has impressed in the batting cage.

“Some of these juniors and seniors are going to be able to step up for us,” Hoekstra said.

The freshmen joining this year’s team are P/util. Isabel Gwaltney, OF Sydney Wright, IF/OF Jaylei Leininger and P/util. Taylor Heidenrech.

“We have the upperclassmen setting the bar high,” Hoekstra said, “but we also have this freshman class that has the ability to create competition in everything they do. Every practice, every drill we do turns into a competition basically between the freshman class and everybody else. They just light a fire.”

Although Simons is back in the circle for the majority of innings, spelled for a change of pace by Harms and in spots the pair of freshman pitchers, Simons’ batterymate will change because of the graduation of the all-everything Sibert. Hoekstra expects Connor and Derossett to split the catching duties, while Chismarick is a lock to return to shortstop full time.

“These girls have the mentality. That’s one thing you don’t have to coach. They have it instilled in them already, start every game looking to win it.”

—  WFC softball coach Mike Hoekstra

“I just always look to have a winning season ... and that’s been instilled in the girls as far as the softball end of it goes as far back as I remember around here,” said Hoekstra, also the school’s junior high head softball coach. “My goal is to have a record over .500, but I’d like to see it a lot higher than that.

“These girls have the mentality. That’s one thing you don’t have to coach. They have it instilled in them already, start every game looking to win it.”

WFC is scheduled to open its season March 15 in an intriguing Class 1A showdown at Newark.