skip navigation

WFSCA announces 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee Class

01/08/2020, 9:45am CST
By WFSCA

--From the WFSCA--

The Wisconsin Fastpitch Coaches association is proud to announce the 2020 Hall of Fame class including:

Dan Bayreuther – Fort Atkinson and Janesville Craig
Joel Claassen – Milwaukee Pius Catholic High School  
Gary Haus – Rice Lake High School 
Jim “Louie” Lawinger – Hamilton Sussex and Platteville High School  
John Peterson – WIAA Master Umpire, Madison

The Hall of Fame festivities will take place at the WFSCA coach’s clinic at Chula Vista, in Wisconsin Dells on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The Hall of Fame social will begin at 4 pm, the Banquet will follow at 5:00 pm with reserved seating for all 2020 inductees, members, and special guests.

Below are the biographies of the class of 2020: 

Dan Bayreuther – Fort Atkinson and Janesville Craig

Dan Bayreuther coached varsity softball for 28 years at Fort Atkinson and Janesville Craig. He coached in 623 games with a record of 394-229. Out of the 28 seasons, 24 of them had winning records. His teams won 6 Conference Championships, 9 Regional Championships and 1 Sectional Championship. He coached 55 1st team All-Conference Players and 8 All State Players. Twelve of his players played in the WFSCA All Star Game.  Dan coached in the All-Star Game in 2012 and 2017. Dan is married to his wife Debbie. They have 2 children, Zach (Liz) and Haley Sarow (Joe).  They have one grandson (Baker).

Joel Claassen – Milwaukee Pius Catholic High School

Joel Claassen has coached his entire career at Milwaukee Pius XI Catholic high school. In 27 years as the head coach his overall record is 458-157. His teams have won 12 Conference Championships, 8 State Appearances, and won 4 State Championships. Joel married Jean Davis in 1980 and they have two sons, Curtis and Nathan.

Gary Haus – Rice Lake High School

Gary coached varsity softball for 16 years at Rice Lake High School. He had 271 wins, 140 losses, 14 regional championships, 12 sectional finals, 5 sectional championships, 5 state appearances, 2010 State Runner-Up, 2004 State Championship, 2 conference championships and 7 conference runner-ups. Gary has 3 daughters: Lindsay (& Tim) Berkseth, Kortney (& Kyle) Anderson and Haley (& Luke) Fara. He has five grandchildren: Evelyn & Grayson Berkseth, Kennedy & Hudson Anderson, and Carter Fara.

Jim “Louie” Lawinger – Hamilton Sussex and Platteville High School

Jim “Louie” Lawinger coached varsity softball for 37 years at Hamilton Sussex (35)and Platteville (2). He coached in 717 games with a record of 424 - 292. His teams won 9 Conference Championships, 15 Regional Championships and 8 Sectional Championships. Hamilton Sussex advanced to the State Tournament 8 times. Jim is married to his wife Donna, since 1970, and they have one son Jess (Jessica) and one daughter Jaime Chmielewski (Jon) five grandchildren Jacob, Joshua, Rowan, Miller and Evelyn.

John Peterson – WIAA Master Umpire, Madison

John Peterson began his officiating career in 1976 working baseball. The next year he began officiating softball with the Madison Recreation Department and picked up some softball games with high schools that year. John worked his first WIAA State Tournament in 1987. That was followed up in 1988, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2005.  John also worked ASA National tournaments in 1988, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2008 as well as many ASA State Tournaments. In 1990, John worked his first ISC World Tournament and followed that with World Tournaments in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2003. The Big Ten accepted John to umpire the UW Badger Softball games from 1996 to 2013 and during that time traveled to other Big Ten schools. He also worked in the Missouri Valley, Horizon, WIAC, NAC, CCIW and Midwest conferences. John worked a NCAA Division II Regional in 2005 and a Division III Regional in 2008. Over the years, John has also officiated Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball and Soccer. Since 1995 John has presented NFHS Rule changes to umpires and coaches. He served on the NFHS Rules Committee from 2012 to 2016. He is currently working as an Umpire Liaison at the WIAA State Softball Tournament at Goodman Diamond in Madison. John is married to Elaine Peterson (49 years this February) and they have two daughters, Cecelia and Christopher Thompson and Angela and Erik Otterson. Both Cecelia and Angela have three children. John is very grateful to his family for the time he has been away from home during his officiating career.

Tag(s): News Archive  News