CW EDGE CONTINUES SOFTBALL SUCCESS
STEVENS POINT, WI - It all started in a Mosinee cafe in 2015 when four friends including Eric Losee combined efforts to create the travel softball team CW Edge. Losee remembers Mosinee native Gene Osowski's generosity in those early days. "Gene donated the money for the uniforms, for the helmets".
The first edition of CW Edge was helped by a contingent from Mosinee including pitcher Kyla Osowski. Osowski was part of the 2018 Mosinee softball team who were state runners-up and were an instant talent infusion to the newly created Edge team.
After the first crop of recruits to CW Edge graduated high school it was back to square one for the team. "We just kind of went from scratch, kinda winged it a little bit", said Losee. The recruiting reach then expanded to the Marshfield area and allowed gave the team more ground to make roster additions. It also added then Marshfield Senior High softball coach Dan Costa to the program. "Costa started getting crazy if you ask me. He wanted to do a 10U, 12U and the next thing you know we have 10U all the way up and now we have six teams".
The current team had eight of its members sign collegiate letters of intent to play at various D3 and Junior College level programs and two members who are still in the recruitment process. The team with coach Losee's guidance plays in tournaments around the country that are designed for college coaches to find their next level talent and make for a compelling reason for the families of young softball athletes to make CW Edge their summer softball choice. "We focus on going to showcases where college coaches are going to be at", said Losee.
The 2021 edition of CW Edge, that includes 10 collegiate level players, went 25-7 on the season and included tournaments in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Tennessee. Megan Clary (Wisconsin Rapids) led the team from the plate batting .415 while blasting six home runs, driving in 27 runs, and swiping 19 bases. From the circle it was Courtney Donahue (Marshfield) striking out 97 with an ERA of 1.96.
Medford High School's Laurissa Klapatauskus has been with CW Edge for the past two years and signed her letter of intent on Sunday with Loras College (IA). "I've loved playing with CW Edge. I started on the 16's and after growing out of that team moved on the the 18s", said Klapatauskus. "In seventh grade their (Loras) pitching coached showed interest in me, then after joining the 16's we started exchanging emails. That turned into a campus tour and now I'm really excited to go to Loras."
CW Edge signing class:
Courtney Donahue (Marshfield) - Des Moines Area Community College
Madalyn Bornback (Marshfield) - UW La Crosse
Sandra Costa (Marshfield) - UW Platteville
Naomi Hamerla (Lakeland) - UW Whitewater
Olivia Losee (Merrill) - Minnesota Morris
Laurissa Klapatauskus (Medford) - Loras College
Dominique Bauer (Oshkosh West) - Rock Valley College, IL
Molly Kable (New London) - Rock Valley College, IL
CW Edge 2022 schedule:
6-17/ Badger Summer Showcase Watertown, WI
6-23 Rhinestone Classic Mauston WI
6-30 WSC Firecracker New Berlin WI
7-7 Dave Betcher Stars and Stripes Orland Park IL
7-17 USSSA World Championships Kansas City, MO