Grafton softball starts hot under new coach

The season opener for Grafton High School’s softball team on March 25 looked somewhat like that of the Milwaukee Brewers a day later.

The Black Hawks under their new coach got a dominant pitching performance and clocked three home runs in a 6-0 win over visiting Howards Grove. 

Senior ace Khiah King allowed three hits and two walks while whiffing 10, throwing 105 pitches over seven innings.

Senior Ava Eernisse belted two home runs, one inside the park, and a double, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Junior Grace Zvara had an inside-the-park homer and two RBIs for Grafton’s only four hits of the game.

Jasmine Freeze, a first year fifth-grade special education teacher at John Long Middle School — right next to the softball field — has taken over the program after Mike Bergmann led it for the past several years. Freeze is a 2025 graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon who is plenty familiar with homers. She clocked 24 over the last three years for the Falcons and as pitcher went 9-2 as a senior with an earned-run average of 3.38.

The graduate of Bolingbrook High School in Illinois stood out in softball and volleyball and loved playing club softball.

“Growing up, people thought I was better at volleyball than softball. I liked softball more. If I continued to grow I may have caved to volleyball. I can only jump so high,” Freeze said.

Pitching is her favorite position as she could take control of the game. 

“It’s a mental game but also very strategic. It’s kind of like playing chess,” she said. “You think about what pitches need to pitch to beat a batter.”

Freeze said she likes what she sees from King, who takes over as ace after Anna Holzer graduated.

“I’m really impressed with her work ethic. She’s such a leader,” she said.

When runners were in scoring position or when she fell behind 3-0 in the count, “she did not waiver. She did not panic,” Freeze said. “She came back and struck a girl out. I just love her grit, attitude and composure on the mound.”

King is one of 18 players in the program, which is evenly split between varsity and junior varsity teams.

“This year I’m really preaching to them on paper we have to have two teams but we’re really one team, one program,” Freeze said, advising players to “stay ready on the bench. You never know when your name will be called.”

She knows how her seniors feel.

“My senior year in college I got a new coach so I understand how that can be your last year adjusting to new coach and style,” Freeze said.

Junior Grace Zvara is back after being named to the North Shore Conference second team at utility last season. She hit .320 with 18 RBIs and caught both of Holzer’s no-hitters.

“She’s a really great catcher. The great thing about her is you need to be loud. You’re kind of the commander of the field. She does a really good job seeing the situation,” Freeze said. “Also she’s a wall so nothing is really getting past her.”

Senior Ava Eernisse returns at shortstop after being named the Hawks’ most valuable player last season and being named NSC honorable mention. She hit .492 with 11 RBIs and 27 runs scored while only striking out once and stole 11 bases. She had a .797 fielding percentage with 46 putouts at the lead infield position.

Her two homers and King’s sharp outing set a positive tone for the season, Freeze said.

“It’s really exciting to see two seniors stepping up. To me, they’re just out there having fun, working hard,” she said.

Sophomore Abbi Marti takes over at third base after Riley Bergmann, an NSC honorable mention, graduated.

Junior Mia Chojnacki is at second base, and sophomore Addi Haessly is at first base. Haessly is slated to be the No. 2 pitcher as soon as she recovers from a shoulder issue.

Junior Avery Schoggins, who had a .475 on-base percentage and eight steals last season, is playing center field.

Senior Sydney Piaro, who played 19 games last season, is in right field and junior Ciara Brosnahan is in left.

“We are a younger team,” Freeze said. “They’re very coachable. They’re willing to make those adjustments, which is all you can ask for as a coach.”

Freeze is trying a unique plan for team captains. Each grade has one. King is the senior captain and Zvara is the junior one. Gabby Masse leads the sophomores and Ashlynn Lundeen the freshmen.

“You don’t have to wait until you’re in an upperclassmen” to be a leader, Freeze said.

The team’s theme is “all in.” Giving 100% effort and commitment and trusting the process are among the program’s pillars.

Practices, Freeze said, will get intense.

“We definitely bring the chaos in practice so we learn to calm ourselves when crazy situations happen in a game,” she said.

The Hawks, coming off a 9-14 overall record and a 4-12 NSC mark, set a goal of a winning record and to be competitive against teams that blew out the Hawks last season.

Grafton opens NSC play by hosting Hartford on Tuesday, April 7. It hosts Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Wednesday, April 8, in a makeup game from a March 26 rainout.