BONDUEL, WI – The Bonduel Bears softball team has turned itself into one of the area’s top programs this spring, combining a challenging schedule with late-game toughness on the way to a standout 2026 season.
Head coach Mark Margelofsky says one of the biggest strengths his team has developed this year has been the ability to win close games in pressure situations.
“We’ve talked a lot as a team about in the last couple of weeks, we’ve won some close games, we’ve won some games where we’ve had to come from behind,” Margelofsky said. “It was really nice that early in the season we won a lot of games by some comfortable margins, but lately we’ve been able to pull out some of those games that could have easily gone either way.”
Bonduel entered postseason play with a 21-2 record and earned the top seed in its regional after a season filled with quality wins and difficult tests against strong competition throughout Wisconsin and even Michigan.
Margelofsky says those close wins late in the season have helped prepare his team for the pressure of playoff softball.
“That’s what’s going to happen at playoff time,” he said. “You’ve got to win close games against some really good teams. A couple of our recent wins have been really good for us in proving we can do that.”
One of the defining stretches of Bonduel’s season came in conference play against Wittenberg-Birnamwood, where the Bears picked up two important wins in tightly contested games.
Margelofsky says those victories showcased both the talent and toughness of his team.
“The second game we had to come back from a late 3-0 deficit,” Margelofsky said. “Then we gave up another run and had to come back from a 4-3 deficit. That’s the kind of toughness that you need to go along with the talent that you have if you want to make a good postseason run.”
Bonduel intentionally built one of the tougher schedules in the area this season, facing teams such as Algoma, Kewaunee, Stratford, Seymour, Sevastopol, Marshall, and Norway, Michigan.
Margelofsky says the difficult schedule was by design.
“We knew we’d have a pretty good group this year,” Margelofsky said. “We wanted to get as many good competition games as we can.”
He added that playing strong programs throughout the year has helped prepare the Bears for postseason play.
“Algoma and Kewaunee are always tough in the Packerland,” Margelofsky said. “Stratford the other day was a great chance for us to battle against a good team. We play Seymour, which is a great late-season game for us. We’re excited to test ourselves again.”
Bonduel’s depth has also played a major role in the team’s success this season. Margelofsky pointed to senior Gracyn Wudtke as one example of a player who battled through early struggles before emerging as one of the team’s hottest hitters late in the year.
“If you would have looked after the first six or eight games, she was really struggling and frustrated,” Margelofsky said. “Now you look at the last several games and she’s just been tearing the cover off the ball.”
The Bears have also been led by standout pitcher Emery Thompson, who has emerged as one of the area’s top arms this season.
“She’s got the stuff to keep you in just about any game,” Margelofsky said. “She’s having a fantastic season.”
Margelofsky also credited the team’s overall pitching depth, including Kallie Wilcox and Maddie Hert, for helping Bonduel stay fresh throughout the season.
Offensively, the Bears have featured production throughout the lineup from players such as Marlie Hartmann, Juliana Jacobs, Haley Conradt, and Wudtke.
Margelofsky says one of the strengths of this team is that different players have stepped up in different moments throughout the season.
“We should have an offense that as long as somebody takes their turn on that day, we’ll be okay,” he said.
Comments