Chris Caporale sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Recent graduate Alli Raddant, a four-year starter in the Shawano Community High School softball program, finished her high school career with a three-run home run at the WFSCA senior all-star game Tuesday.
Contributed Photo Alli Raddant poses with her father and Division 2 Red assistant coach, Ty Raddant, left, and head coach Kevin Isaacson, right, who was chosen by the WFSCA to coach one of the five Division 2 senior teams at its season-ending, all-star event.
Recent Shawano Community High School graduate Alli Raddant put the final touch on her Hawks career with her first career home run at the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association senior all-star event in Wisconsin Dells on Tuesday.
Raddant helped the Division 2 Red team go undefeated on the day, defeating the White team, 3-2, and the Blue team, 6-5. Her squad was coached by Kevin Isaacson, who resigned as the SCHS head coach late in the Hawks’ spring season but was chosen by the WFSCA as one of five Division 2 coaches for the all-star event.
“It was nice to have him back there,” Raddant said. “It was kind of like old times.”
Raddant’s three-run, inside-the-park home run against the Blue team was one of her three hits on the day.
Raddant knew she had a solid double as she left the box, then heard Isaacson telling her to get to third base. As she rounded second, Isaacson was already trying to send her home as the outfielder took the wrong angle at the ball. Raddant’s speed ensured there wouldn’t even be a play at the plate.
“Definitely not expecting it,” Raddant said of her first home run in her final game. “It was a really good way to end it.”
Raddant will walk away from the program with two school records: her single-season batting average of .576 from her freshman season and her four-year career average of .508. She also was named to numerous all-Bay Conference teams and to the WFSCA all-district team.
Despite the numbers at the plate, it was her work at second base that secured her spot on the roster.
“Alli worked hard to become a tremendous defensive player,” Isaacson said. “Her range at second base is incredible, and her instincts are among the best I have ever seen at the high school level.”
Isaacson remembers when Raddant was a 3-year-old cheerleader for a team he coached with her father, Ty Raddant. Alli’s older sister Samantha was the leadoff hitter and shortstop.
Raddant’s above-average coordination at a young age allowed her to be a successful hitter, even at the ages of 5 and 6, Isaacson said. She competed at an under-10 travel tournament when she was 7.
As a freshman at SCHS, Raddant was a major contributor to the 2013 WIAA regional champion softball team. The Hawks fell one run short of a regional title this spring.
Raddant plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh this fall, studying psychology while participating on the cheer team. She hopes to become a child life specialist after getting her master’s degree.
Raddant said she would not have been successful without the help of her parents, extended family and Schutt Industries of Clintonville.