A dream season in Lomira which ended with the first Division 3 state championship for the softball program.

"I still don't think I can put it into words," Lomira High School Head Softball Coach Stacey Clark said with a smile. "It's incredible, I'm so proud of what these girls accomplished and what our team and program accomplished. I'm just so proud for our community and school."

Coach Clark told WTKM that before the season started, there were a few question marks and a few gaps to fill.

"We weren't quite sure what we had coming into the season. I knew we had a lot of talent, but we lost three seniors from a year before and had three seniors coming in that had played with us all four years. It was just finding people that would fill the gaps. We were young but we knew it would be fun."

Winning is fun. 

The Lions pitching was hard to handle this season with Haleigh Caspary in the circle. She was dominant quite often and delivered strong performances. She seemed to get better with every outing and showed strong leadership as a team captain. 

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Caspary about their memorable season. "It was my senior year, and we ended in a great way. I think towards the middle of our conference play I knew that this was a team that was going to do great things."

Lomira's four-year starter was named First Team All-State, the Division 3 Player of the Year and first-team all-conference. She earned 16 wins this season, ten shutouts and two no-hitters. Her career numbers include 49 wins, 518 strikeouts with 369 innings pitched.

Caspary's talent as a hitter was evident as well. She finished her high school career with 107 hits, 85 RBI, nine home runs and eight triples.   

"She had experience coming into the season," according to Coach Clark. "Haleigh was one of our two pitchers from the year before. I knew we would have strong leadership in the circle. Her growth this season has been incredible. She wanted to be on the mound, and took complete control of that and wanted to own it and be there for her team. Our defense backed her up."

Caspary started pitching when she was 11. She told WTKM about her catcher.

"I loved the catcher I had this year. She caught for me last year, Izzy Westphal. The spunkiest catcher and the most fun to throw the ball to."

Westphal was named Honorable Mention All-District.

One of Caspary's most memorable pitching performances took place during the Division 3 softball state semifinals at Goodman Diamond, in Madison. She opened the game with 10-straight strikeouts and finished with 14 in a 10-0 five-inning win over Spooner. She helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

The Lions defeated Lodi, 5-0 in the state chapionship final on June 13.

Lomira didn't give up a run during their historic playoff run.

Their defense was anchored by shortstop Trista Gassner. She was named First Team All-State, First Team All-District and the Wisconsin Flyway Conference Player of the Year.

"It means a lot to me. I have worked really hard the last four years. I liked playing close to Haleigh and having the connection during the games. Every girl dreams of being on a team with no drama, and that's everything we could have asked for going into the season. We had a lot of confidence and we also learned how to fight through adversity even in the hardest moments."

Gassner's career stats include 151 runs scored, 172 hits, six triples and 43 RBI.

Caspary and Gassner played in the WFSCA All-Star Game at the Woodside Sports Complex, in Wisconsin Dells on June 15. They will also each continue their softball careers together at Rock Valley College.

Photo includes Haleigh Caspary (L), Lomira Head Softball Coach Stacey Clark, and Trista Gassner during their visit to WTKM on Wednesday, June 24.