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Hannah Penke, Clare Thomas and Zoe MacKenzie all had key roles on one of the most successful softball teams in Ely High School history.
Those efforts resulted not only in a deep run in the postseason for the Timberwolves, but individual recognition for the Ely trio.
Penke, Thomas and MacKenzie all earned spots on the All-Arrowhead Conference team, as selected by league coaches.
Each comes from a different class, with Penke closing out her senior year, Thomas in her junior season and MacKenzie a sophomore for an Ely team that picked up 13 wins and a trip to the Section 7A Final Four.
A shortstop, Penke anchored the Ely infield and did damage with her bat, hitting .317 for the spring with 26 runs scored, 23 runs batted in and a team-best 16 stolen bases.
“Hannah was our leader,” said Ely Head Coach Cory Lassi. “She did a great job pacing our offense by putting pressure on teams with her bat and aggressive nature on the bases. On the contrary, she had such a calming presence in the field. She was our anchor when we were in the field. Good things happened when the ball was hit to shortstop.”
Already a four-year starter in center field, Thomas was a steady presence on defense and led the Wolves with both 35 hits and a .479 batting average. She also drove in 24 runs - second best among the Wolves.
“Clare was at the top of almost all of our offensive categories,” said Lassi. “Everything Clare hit seemed to be hard. When we had big offensive innings, it often involved Clare. She often found a gap as she led our team in extra base hits. In center she was great at covering ground and making phenomenal plays with her glove.”
Pitching is critical in high school softball and the Wolves developed an ace in MacKenzie, who logged 117 innings and recorded 111 strikeouts while recording a 3.66 earned run average.
MacKenzie worked all but five-and-one-third innings of the Wolves’ time in the field.
“Zoe made great improvements from last year,” said Lassi. “She almost struck out one batter per inning. This took a lot of pressure off of our defense. I feel like she went from keeping us in games last year to winning us games this year. She had great control and the ability to mix pitches very well to keep hitters off balance.”
