Softball: Day 1 at DCE Invite, host Evergreens win season opener while Wausau West, Wausau East go 0-2.

The temperature didn't reach the freezing mark on Friday but the 2026 softball season got underway, indoors, at the DCE Invitational at the Greenheck-Turner Community Center. Day 1 of the 2 day event saw Wausau West and Wausau East play twice while the host D.C. Everest played once.

Wausau West started their season with a 5-3 loss to D-1 10th ranked Neenah in a game broadcast on the Wausau Area Sports YouTube channel. The Warriors got RBI hits from Breanne Bushong and Taylor Bauer but couldn't overcome an early 3-0 deficit. West pulled to within 3-2 in the 4th but Neenah scored twice in the 7th and held on for the win. West senior Kaitlyn Butler pitched well for the Warriors, tossing a complete game, giving up 8 hits and striking out 3. The second game saw the Warriors struggle to hit Pulaski starter Kamrie Dorn. West only got two hits off the junior lefty and fell 10-1. Jaidyn Oelke and Jaidyn Calmes had the only Warrior hits and Taylor Bauer had an RBI single. The Warriors will spend spring break next week in Arizona playing four games.

D.C. Everest is coming off their first trip to the state tournament and a Wisconsin Valley Conference title in 2025. The 2026 Evergreens started with a bang, scoring 8 runs in the first inning en route to a 10-2 win over Antigo. Piper Schulz was the winning pitcher and helped her own cause with a solo home run as part of the big first inning. Everest will play twice more at the event on Saturday.

Wausau East started the new season with plenty of offense but came up short in games against Antigo and Pulaski. In the opener, the Lumberjacks took a 7-5 lead into the Red Robins' last at-bat in the 7th inning. However, Antigo rallied for five runs in that inning to pull out a 10-7 win. In their second game, East started fast as Adriana Bodner hit a two-run homer followed by a solo shot by Carlie Kluz to take a 3-1 lead in the first inning. East would add three more runs in the second, including an RBI triple by freshman Addi Steinke to take a 6-1 edge. However, it was all Pulaski after that as the Red Raiders took the lead with a 10 run 4th inning and went on to win 17-7 in five innings.

Saturday the DCE Invitational will conclude with games at 10 am, 12 noon, and 2 pm at Greenheck-Turner Community Center.