When Kenzie Diercks amicably resigned shortly after the 2022 season, it paved the way for Kenzie’s father and long-time assistant Tom Diercks to take the reins as the next Ellsworth softball head coach.

Tom Diercks has been actively involved in the youth softball community for more than half a decade and has served as Kenzie’s lead assistant on the varsity roster for the past six seasons before being promoted to head coach this offseason.

He takes over a roster that is built to compete in 2023, as the Panthers return multiple top-end arms in the pitching rotation and a strong core of defensive players headlined by junior center fielder Aubrey Wittenberg.

Despite finishing last season 10-11 overall, the Panthers played their best softball late in the year and the playoffs. Ellsworth won five of its last six games – including the Division 2 regional championship – before ultimately falling to Altoona in a sectional semifinal.

“I told the girls that we can go as far if not farther than last year,” Tom Diercks said. “There’s nobody that we can’t beat. There are obviously some tough teams, but we showed last year that we can beat them all. It would be fun to win the conference, but it’s even more fun to go far in the playoffs.”

Diercks expressed a similar sentiment to Prescott head coach Nick Johnson regarding the state of the Middle Border Conference – as much as a quarter of the league is capable of winning the conference championship this spring.

“With Prescott, Altoona, Baldwin-Woodville, Saint Croix Central and us, it’s going to be an interesting race with those five teams,” Tom Diercks said. “I could see any of those taking the conference championship. That’s something we’ve talked a bit about as a team.”

If Ellsworth is going to build on the success it generated late in the season last spring, it will have to capitalize on the strengths of returning veteran players who helped capture a regional title last May.

Ellsworth’s biggest advantage is in the circle, as the Panthers return three of their top pitchers from last year’s team including senior Kallie Beissel, junior Maddie Peterson and sophomore Aliza Acker, all of whom saw extensive action in pivotal games last season.

“We have depth this year, which is a good problem to have,” Tom Diercks said. “Between Kallie, Aliza and Maddie, those three will see the vast majority of our innings this year. They all throw a little differently, so it’s nice to be able to go to different speeds during games.”

As is the case with most teams in the Middle Border Conference, Ellsworth has multiple position battles happening throughout the first three weeks of practice. The corner outfield slots have yet to be solidified and second and third base battles are ongoing.

The position battles have been competitive through the first several weeks because each slot has multiple girls that are capable of filling the vacancy, according to coach Diercks. However, the weather has been dreadful – even by spring in Wisconsin standards – and practices have been kept indoors which has all but erased real-world evaluations on the diamond.

“Without being outside much it’s been kind of in flux and we’ve got a lot of girls competing for jobs right now,” Tom Diercks said. “We’ve had good competition and there are some very capable people here. It’s going to be a matter of who steps up at the plate and can hit the best.”

One of the players who has already stepped up in the opening weeks of practice is sophomore catcher Delaney Johnson, who is expected to be a strong bat in the lineup and a versatile position player.

Although primarily a catcher, Johnson will likely see time at third base this spring and could even find her way into one of the corner outfield slots because of her versatility. She will be one of several bats that Diercks will rely on this season including the aforementioned Wittenberg, Beissel, Acker and Peterson.

“I’ve got high hopes for Delaney Johnson,” Diercks said. “She will catch for us and play third. She’s going to be one player I look to, but we’re going to need other girls to step up at the plate. I think Maddie Peterson is another girl who could do that.”

Diercks will also look to veteran locker room leadership in the form of this year’s captains to maintain stability and morale. The 2023 captains include Wittenberg, Beissel and junior Molly Janke. He spoke about what they bring to the table this season – both on and off the field.

“Kallie, Aubrey and Molly are our captains this year,” Diercks said. “Kallie is a great leader, all of our captains are great leaders and good kids. They lead by example and through their voices, but nobody works harder than Kallie. They’re a great group of kids.”

Ellsworth made its season debut on the road against Clayton/Turtle Lake on Monday, March 27. The Panthers punished suspect pitching and scored runs in droves and ultimately secured a 15-0 non-conference victory to improve to 1-0.

One week later, Ellsworth knocked off Amery in a Middle Border Conference double-header to improve to 3-0 for the season.

The Panthers are slated to be back in action on the road against Shell Lake on Monday, April 10. That contest is slated for 5 p.m.