Posted: June 29, 2009

Stacey Butts went to GreenfieldNOW.com logged on to the 2009 NOW All-Suburban Softball Team voting contest and was faced with a decision.

There, in the player of the year category, were six worthy candidates. One of them was Stacey, the 2008 All-Suburban player of the year who backed up her solid junior campaign with the Greenfield Hustlin' Hawks with a standout senior effort that netted her first-team all-state honors for the third straight season.

But Stacey's choice was easy. She voted for her sister, Shannon, a junior pitcher for the Hawks.

"I definitely was voting for her," Stacey said. "I thought she deserved it. She made our team successful. She did a great job."

Stacey's votes, and those of dozens of others, helped Shannon duplicate Stacey's accomplishment of 2008. Though Shannon finished two votes (74-72) behind Brookfield East's Lexi Sotiros in online player of the year voting, her runner-up placement in addition to the NOW sports staff voting made her the 2009 All-Suburban player of the year.

"She's obviously a great hitter and a very, very good pitcher and a good fielder, but she's got the intangibles," Greenfield coach Jack Miller said. "She's the kind of player that refuses to lose. She gets the job done and rises to occasion, especially in big games."

Joining Shannon on the All-Suburban team were Stacey and senior outfielder Sara Fisher. Miller was named coach of the year.

Shannon, who made the All-Suburban team as a catcher a year ago, switched to pitcher this spring to replace graduated ace Ashley Kowalewski. She went 15-6 during the regular season, helping the Hawks win the Woodland Conference South Division title and eventually advance to the WIAA state tournament.

"I was really comfortable last year at catcher - it's my favorite position," Shannon said. "But I had to (switch) for the team. The team is the most important thing."

At the plate is where Shannon did most of her damage. She batted .482 with an on-base percentage of .516.

"I see hitting as the fun side of the game," she said. "I don't have as much pressure on me when I'm batting. Pitching, I have to concentrate more."

Stacey will continue her career at Tennessee Tech, a Division I program where she will also play volleyball. As a junior, she battled through a hand injury. This season, she endured a position switch from first base to shortstop, despite being left-handed. The move did not faze her offensively. She batted .443 during the regular season with 26 RBIs despite being walked 18 times for a .544 on-base percentage.

"She is a five-tool player," Miller said. "She's either the best player I ever coached or one of the top two or three. Shannon is making a legacy where she'll be challenging that."

Stacey and Shannon followed in their older sister Sarah's footsteps. Sarah, now the leadoff hitter and left fielder for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, made the All-Suburban team as an infielder in 2007. They are the only sisters ever to make the team.

"If you didn't know who they were, you'd never know the accomplishments and awards that have been bestowed on them," Miller said of the soft-spoken trio. "They are so humble, but all three of them dominated."

Fisher, the school's career leader in runs scored, converted to a full-time slap hitter this spring after experimenting with it last season. The four-year varsity player batted .415 and made first-team all-Woodland for the third straight season. She will play at UW-Whitewater next fall.

"Sarah was really the igniter of our teams," Miller said. "She set the table and caused so much havoc. She puts so much pressure on the defense."

 

GreenfieldNOW.com

WestAllisNOW.com

→ Meet the entire All-Suburban Softball Team

→ Greenfield's Jack Miller named coach of the year