FALL CREEK — The Fall Creek Crickets made the most of their first run in the state softball tournament last season. The Crickets won conference, regional, sectional and state championships in 2024.
Fall Creek went 28-2 overall and 14-0 in conference play last year.
The No. 1 Crickets capped their season with a win against No. 2 Cuba City. A 7-0 shutout game gave Fall Creek its first WIAA softball title.
Senior captain Grace Herrem is a pitcher for the Crickets. She was on the mound during the state championship and pitched a complete game.
The team has two additional senior captains for this season, Kennedy Tumm and Emma Westrate.
With a loss of a few key seniors last year, the captains said the team is looking to fill in some holes and focus on a new season.
“We had a great team last year, but this year is a whole new team so we have to put aside last year and focus on now,” Tumm said.
“No win is carried over from last year,” Westrate said. “We have a whole new team and a lot of new memories to make so we are all about getting better every day.”
“We are having a lot freshman step up right now and that is really exciting,” Herrem said.
Westrate has inked her commitment to play softball at the University of Northwestern St. Paul. In 2024, she was named second team all-region and second team all-conference.
The regular season has started for the Crickets and the team is off to a 0-3 start. Westrate said the team has a lot of learning going on but there is no concern.
“Focusing on success even in failure is a staple in our program,” she said. “I don’t think any of us take those losses as anything meaningful, we look at it as an opportunity to grow and to get better every day.”
Tumm is committed to play at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In 2023, she earned first team all-conference. She was named honorable mention all-state the past two seasons.
Tumm said her biggest role is making sure everyone feels welcome and never put pressure on anyone to perform to a certain level.
“Softball is a huge sport of failure and you never want to feel that failure,” she said. “As a captain, we are supposed to keep the positive energy and lift one another up.”
Westrate said captain is just a title, but there is no meaning to the word. She said in the Fall Creek program everyone is a leader.
Herrem is committed to play at Des Moines Area Community College. Herrem was named Division Four WFSCA Player of the Year. She was also named first team all-state.
“The team is just focused on getting better every day and playing for each other,” she said.
Head coach Brad Ceranski is entering his fifth season with the Crickets. He said the team has a balance where everyone can be depended on.
“We have a really solid lineup up and down and I think that any of the players that are in can do some things on offense and defense,” he said. “We’ve got a good all-around group of kids, especially with that strong senior class.”
Ceranski put an emphasis on the work ethic of the Crickets.
“These kids have worked hard in the off season,” he said. “They work hard at practice and they just truly want to get better every day that they are doing it.”
With nine seniors on the roster, the Crickets bring back a lot of experience.
“As seniors, it is important to be able to pick up the younger kids and help them learn, help them grow and help them meet the expectations that we set into our program,” Westrate said.
Westrate, Herrem and Tumm said the team chemistry was a key to their success last season, and this year the bond is equally as strong, if not stronger.
