WAUKEE — Perry senior Emma Olejniczak pitched four innings of shutout softball Sunday to help lead the Blue team to a 2-0 win over the White squad at the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Senior All-Star Series. Olejniczak allowed three hits and walked two batters while striking out seven.
She played left field in the nightcap, in which the Blue team claimed the series title by finishing 2-0 after topping the Red unit, 10-4.
The three 13-member teams of seniors were chosen by coaches from among all classes statewide.
Olejniczak finished her career with 1,234 strikeouts and was third in the state with 356 this season. She had 71 more strikeouts than Alexis Groet of Osklaoosa, who was second in 4A with 285 strikeouts. Olejniczak’s 1.28 ERA led 4A and her 219-1/3 were the second most innings pitched.
So impressive was Olejniczak’s walks (36) to strikeout (356) ratio that only two pitchers in 4A who finished with at least half of the Jayette ace’s strikeout total had fewer walks. Abby Carlin of Ballard walked 17 and while fanning 223 in 188-1/3 innings while Lexi Riecke of Bishop Heelan issued 34 walks in 176 innings but had only slightly more than half the strikeouts, at 187.
The Blue team was coached by Larry Achenbach of Albia, who led the Lady Dees to the 3A runner-up spot this year and has taken the team to the state tourney two others times in the past 10 years, during which the squad is a combined 252-102 with five South Central Conference titles.
Patty Stockman-Sann assisted. An IGHSAU and UNI Softball Hall of Famer, she helped Clear Lake win two titles as a prep, then played on the Northern Iowa team that won the AIAW national softball crown in 1977. She also played collegiate basketball for the Panthers and was an assistant softball coach at the University of Iowa before taking her current role as head coach at Calamus-Wheatland.
