Todd Frohwirth never made the playoffs during his Major League Baseball career.
Famous for his submarine-style delivery, the Milwaukee native spent parts of nine seasons as a relief pitcher in the big leagues from 1987-1996 -- mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles -- and had a relatively effective career. He appeared in 284 games and had a career 3.60 ERA, including a 1.87 over his 57 games in 1991.
"I loved basketball as a kid and I got cut in high school, so I never got my dream," Frohwirth said via conference call Sunday. "My passion was basketball and my job was baseball, but I always loved basketball more."
Now coach of the Whitefish Bay varsity girls basketball team, which will make an appearance in the WIAA State Tournament that begins Thursday at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Frohwirth will get his chance to glimpse the big time postseason stage in a completely different capacity.
The Blue Dukes enter the tournament with a 21-3 record and will face Mosinee (21-3) on Friday, approximately 20 minutes after the preceding 1:35 p.m. game between New London (20-4) and Monroe (21-3) concludes. One of those four teams will carry home the Division 2 title, with the championship game slated for Saturday.
Frohwirth still serves as a scout for the Orioles in the spring and summer and has served as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pitching coach for seven years, but all that remains on hold while his basketball team's season extends into the final weekend.
"They know that I was (a big leaguer), but none of my kids love baseball or watch a lot of baseball in the summer," he said. "I brought it up once when I first got the job a few years ago, but that's all."
He apparently knows a thing or two about this sport as well, having led the squad to a shared title in the talent-heavy North Shore Conference for the first time in roughly two decades. Led by 6-foot-0 guard Katie Wysocky, her 21.9 points and borderline preposterous 16.8 rebounds per game, Bay won an overtime meeting with Pewaukee in the sectional semifinal March 3 before recording a 57-53 win over Wisconsin Lutheran in the sectional final March 4.
"We don't have a captain," Frohwirth said. "We have six seniors that just lead us and they're self-sufficient. It's very easy to coach this group on and off the court; I sit back and let them do their thing."
Certainly Wysocky is a major component, with team-leading numbers in assists (115), steals (82) and blocks (17) making her one of the most dangerous all-around threats in the area, if not the state. She shoots 59 percent from the floor and has made a full half of her three-point attempts (14-for-28).
Fellow senior Meghan Warner also averages close to a double-double with 15.2 points per game and 9.3 boards, and she joins a starting five that also includes senior Katie Schumaker, senior Katie Lanke and sophomore Lauren Gruber.
"I don't try anything fancy or new ... I just ask the girls how badly they want to compete," Frohwirth said. "Our sophomore class really responded to the types of things you need to compete (two years ago), going to summer camps and stuff like that. This group has earned what they deserve."
Division 2 capsules
Mosinee: defeated Rice Lake, 54-45, in sectional final, shooting 16-for-19 from free throw line in the fourth quarter ... second place in Cloverbelt Conference ... Indians have won 14 straight games entering state tournament ... led by twin sisters Carmen and Jamie Stankowski, with the former scoring 13.8 points per game and latter bringing in 11.9 ... Jamie also collects 8.3 rebounds per game and has 95 total assists, 96 steals and 36 blocked shots ... senior Jamie Kimball rebounded from ACL surgery to be team's third leading scorer at 11.5 ppg ... "It's the first time in about a year and a half that we've been fully healthy," coach Rory McKellips said. "Other starters have picked up playing different positions (during the season). We're pretty versatile because of the injuries early."
Monroe: defeated Lakeside Lutheran, 61-46, in sectional final. ... tied for first with Madison Edgewood in Badger Conference ... leading scorer Ellie Radke (18.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg) will play Division 1 basketball at Canisius next season, the first-ever Wisconsin player to join the Griffins' program ... Radke has Monroe school record for points in a season and also thrives in the pool, where she has won Division 2 100-yard freestyle event twice and took top-three finishes in the 100 and 50 free this season ... also competed in the high jump at last year's state meet... "Ellie's an amazing athlete and an outstanding individual," coach Kevin Keen said. "The kids look to her because she's got that state experience in other sports. She's been an amazing kid at Monroe and it's tough to see her leave." ... Cheesemakers carried undefeated seasons into playoffs before falling short of state both of previous two seasons, last year in sectional finals.
New London: defeated Appleton Xavier, 53-30, in sectional final ... third place in Bay Conference ... making first state appearance in school history ... did not graduate a player from 2004-'05 squad ... guard Tracy Palmer leads the team with 14.7 points per game. ... two of team's four losses came at hands of Division 1 state qualifier Ashwaubenon, and a third came to defending Division 1 state champions DePere. ... Palmer, Alyssa Birkholz, Michelle Hanschke and Andrea Fleace have started all 22 games for the Bulldogs this season ... "Tracy Palmer and Alyssa Birkholz have been playing with each other since third or fourth grade, and they went to state last year for softball, which helped tremendously to get them to think they could get someplace," coach Troy Krause said. "Over half of these girls were on the softball team. It's all the girls just wanting to get it done."
In Division 1, Milwaukee-area teams Waterford (20-4), Cedarburg (18-6) and Divine Savior Holy Angels (19-5) each qualified for the year-end event, with the latter pair meeting each other in the tournament opener on Thursday at 1:35 p.m. Waterford will meet perennial state tournament staple Janesville Parker (20-3) in the last game of the Thursday session, 20 minutes after a 6:35 p.m. contest between Marshfield (21-2) and Sheboygan North (22-2). The final pairing involves DeForest (22-1) and Ashwaubenon (19-5), who will meet 20 minutes after game one.
Division 1 capsules
Divine Savior Holy Angels: defeated Milwaukee Washington, 55-45, in sectional final ... co-champions of Greater Metro Conference with Wauwatosa East ... led by Brittany Powell (14.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg) ... Five losses came by a combined 18 points, including three of three points or less ... "Our first four losses were all times when we've been beaten in the last minutes of the game," coach Scott Witt said. "If the game were 30 minutes long, we'd be undefeated. But it gave us things to work on. We worked on some of those areas and turned those close defeats to close victories." ... won three of four overtime games this season.
Cedarburg: defeated Arrowhead, 45-30, in sectional final ...shared North Shore Conference title with fellow state qualifier Whitefish Bay ... junior Morgan Herrick (17.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) leads team and has garnered attention from numerous Division 1 schools, including Marquette ... sophomore sister and fellow standout Meghan Herrick has been limited to three games this year with injuries ... Molly Malone returned from ACL injury by late December and stands as team's second leading scorer at 7.8 ppg ... "She immediately had an impact, handling the ball and with her outside shooting," Bulldogs coach Dave Ross said.
Waterford: defeated Racine Case, 59-43, in sectional final ... won Lakeshore Conference ... offense operates through 5-foot-3 guard Rae Lin D'Alie, who leads team with 15.3 points, 125 total assists and 80 steals ... also second on the team with 6.2 rpg ... "The community around us has been watching this group for a while," coach Mark Peperkorn said. "Even as sixth and seventh graders, there was a lot of hype surrounding this team. They embraced the idea of doing well and really though the year have bonded well together. Our up-tempo style of play and what we create on defense has really created a fun atmosphere around here." ... Wolverines lost first two games of the season but ride a 15-game winning streak into Madison.
Janesville Parker: defeated Kenosha Tremper, 49-33, in sectional final ... won the Big Eight Conference and shares first round opponent's 15-game winning streak ... has been to the state tournament 12 times, all since 1990, for most trips for any WIAA member ... making seventh trip in eight years ... traditionally a bastion of solid post play, Vikings have no consistent contributor taller than 5-foot-9 on the current roster ..."We changed quite a few things to make it as much of a full court game as we can," coach Tom Klawitter said. "We were just trying to survive. I thought a .500 record would be pretty good. Realistically, we didn't think wed be in this position. I know a lot of coaches feel like their teams play with a lot of heart, but I definitely think that's what got this team there."
Ashwaubenon: defeated defending state champs DePere in sectional final, 46-37 ... second place in Bay Conference ... graduated talented senior triumvirate last year including Kim Wypiszynski, Kelsey Deacon and Kati Hardy ... Deacon has started 13 games for Northern Michigan as a freshman this year and Hardy has played in 27 games for UW-Green Bay, while Wypiszynski has played 23 for UWM ... center Danae Danen leads team with 11.0 ppg ... Ashwaubenon boys team has also enjoyed banner year, going 20-0 in regular season ... "The school is kind of torn right now," Jaguars coach Kerry Janquart said. "We assume if people aren't at our games, they're going to be there for our guys. It's an exciting time for our community ... they've got to pick, and that's a lot of fun."
DeForest: defeated LaCrosse Logan, 53-46, in sectional final ... first place in the Badger Conference ... Norskies lost first game of year against Arrowhead and haven't lost since ... team lost in state semi-finals last year to eventual champion DePere ... 5-foot-2 point guard Emily Gerber leads team in scoring at 13.0 ppg and has 153 total assists ... second leading scorer Brittany Staffeil (12.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg) will attend Duke University on volleyball scholarship ... the senior was not part of last year's state team after leaving the squad with injuries ... "I told her after we beat LaCrosse Logan that you really deserve to play in the state tournament," coach Doug Pickarts said. "All she's done for our volleyball program and basketball program, it's nice to see her rewarded."
Marshfield: needed overtime to defeat Chippewa Falls in sectional final, 49-43 ...second place in Wisconsin Valley Conference ... loss to Stevens Point in regular season finale precluded Tigers from winning conference ... "That was a hard one to lose because that had been a goal of ours," coach Heidi Michaelis said. "We lost Friday and on Monday, it was still pretty easy to re-focus and get them going. They weren't pouting. They were ready to get it going and we had a tremendous two weeks of practice" ... led by Jamie Braun (18.6 ppg, 115 assists) and Jenna Southworth (12.9 ppg).
Sheboygan North: defeated Stevens Point in sectional final, 43-36 ... first place in Fox River Valley Conference ... five players score 7.7 points per game or better, led by Shelby Churchill (11.5) and Kayla Tetschlag (10.6) ... "Last year we got beat in the sectional semis against a very good Cedarburg team and this year our goal was to take another step," coach Susie Runaas said. "This is a work in progress an taking it a step further, the girls are real excited.
Division 1 Quarterfinals -- Thursday, March 9
Game 1: Cedarburg (18-6) vs. Divine Savior Holy Angels (19-5) -- 1:35 p.m.
Game 2: Ashwaubenon (19-5) vs. DeForest (22-1) -- approximately 20 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: Marshfield (21-2) vs. Sheboygan North (22-2) -- 6:35 p.m.
Game 4: Janesville Parker (20-3) vs. Waterford (20-4) -- approximately 20 minutes following Game 3
Semifinals -- Friday, March 10
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 -- 6:35 p.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 -- approximately 20 minutes following Game 5
Championship Game -- Saturday, March 11
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 -- approximately 20 minutes following Division 3 Championship Game
Division 2 Semifinals -- Friday, March 10
Game 1: New London (20-4) vs. Monroe (21-3) -- 1:35 p.m.
Game 2: Mosinee (21-3) vs. Whitefish Bay (21-3) -- approximately 20 minutes following Game 1
Championship Game -- Saturday, March 11
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 -- approximately 20 minutes following Division 4 Championship Game
Division 3 Semifinals -- Thursday, March 9
Game 1: Amherst (21-3) vs. Cuba City (24-1) - 9:05 a.m.
Game 2: Neillsville (24-1) vs. Ozaukee (23-2) - approximately 20 minutes following Game 1
Championship Game -- Saturday, March 11
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 -- 6:35 p.m.
Division 4 Semifinals -- Friday, March 10
Game 1: Newman Catholic (24-1) vs. Barneveld (22-3) -- 9:05 a.m.
Game 2: Flambeau (23-1) vs. Rio (22-3) - approximately 20 minutes following Game 1
Championship Game -- Saturday, March 11
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 -- 12:05 p.m.
