Greendale's upset of Eisenhower in 'Striking Out Cancer' game was about more than softball
"Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Hyde. Must be a duplex."
Whoopi Goldberg's quote from the 1994 animation film "The Pagemaster" was basically how Greendale softball coach Mike Krznarich described his squad after the Panthers' 4-0 upset over previously unbeaten New Berlin Eisenhower on Wednesday in a Wood Conference West contest. The Panthers entered the annual "Striking Out Cancer" matchup with the 12-0 Lions at 4-12, losing four of their last six contests and seven of their first eight to start the season.
"We're very, very young," Krznarich said. "One day, we're this, the next day, we're something else, but they played inspired. These are the girls that are busting their butt in the gym every day to try and get better. Today was a result that we expected. They expected. I'm not gonna complain about beating a top-five team in the state. To get the shutout, it's even bigger."
Greendale freshman right-hander Ayla Krecklow held the Lions to just four hits in a complete-game shutout and had a 2-for-3 day at the plate with a run batted in. Krecklow has been one of Krznarich's rising stars in her first high school season, and it showed Wednesday. Her performance inside the circle, along with junior catcher Noeli Schutten calling pitches, led to the first time Eisenhower had been shut out since May 11 of last year (3-0 to Woodland rival Wisconsin Lutheran.)
"I think Ayla understands her deficiencies," Krznarich said. "She has a real good knowledge of the strike zone. She's educating herself with the batters. She's looking at the little things they do. Again, being a freshman, the Woodland Conference is a very tough conference from the west side to the east side. ... Watching her go through this season a second time, it's just fun to watch her excitement and watch her grow."
'Striking Out Cancer' game has special meaning for Eisenhower coach
Krznarich was proud of his team's performance, in what figured to be the Panthers' most complete showing of the season. The coach was gracious in victory to Eisenhower coach Kaelyn Hogan and her program, with the day having extra meaning for everyone involved.
The "Striking Out Cancer" game this season was a bit different after the passing of former longtime Milwaukee Hamilton baseball coach Jeff Hogan, Kaelyn's father, in late January after a cancer battle. Hogan was Kaelyn's head assistant with the Lions and a prominent figure in area baseball and softball communities for decades. The two teams took a postgame photo together with the game meaning just a little bit more this time.
"I knew Jeff for about 25 years and he was one of the most respected figures around Milwaukee for a long time," Krznarich said. "This game meant a lot to us and meant a lot for them, too."
There's good days and there's bad days
Losing an assistant is always a difficult thing to go through as a coach.
Losing an assistant that helped bring you into the world, that's a different level of difficulty.
Still, the display of community shown toward Hogan and her players was noticeable. Whether it was snapping postgame photos with the coach or having conversations behind the third-base dugout about her team and life itself, the balance of life was centered around Hogan following her team's first loss.
"There's good days and there's bad days," Hogan said. "I think the biggest thing that stands out from just a coaching perspective is the dynamic he and I had. It was the environment we created. It was family-like and it was quite literally family. I've been playing for a while and this is my eighth year as a head coach, too. When you have someone who has been coaching for as long as he had, to have that expertise, that was huge. I've learned a lot from him. It's been hard. We miss him a lot."
One of the constants in her life has been her team, who have "Mr. Coach" decals on the back of their helmets at the plate in remembrance of the elder Hogan. Despite Wednesday's loss, the Lions have been one of the top programs in the area again this season with seven games remaining. Led by a hard-hitting trio of Ryann Nutt, Ashley Bonin and Taylor Freitag up the middle of the diamond, the Lions look poised for another deep playoff push.
"I think the girls have a little bit of that," Hogan said on her team missing their former assistant. "It's like, 'Hey, we have a little something more to play for that goes beyond the game. It's been cool to see them respond to that. We're finding ways to memorialize him and keep him around."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Greendale-Eisenhower softball game had bigger meaning than scoreboard
