B-T softball team beats G-E-T, Arcadia, C-FC

After a pair of wins over Coulee Conference teams, the Blair-Taylor softball team improved its Dairyland Conference record with a road win.

The Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat one of the top CC teams, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, on Tuesday. On Thursday, B-T bested another one of the top CC teams, Arcadia, by a score of 14-6. The team kept rolling on Friday, besting DC rival C-FC 12-4 on the road.

B-T (16-7 overall, 12-1 in DC) had already locked up the Dairyland Conference Small Division title before the win over C-FC. The team finished DC play at Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Monday of this week. B-T will play one final regular season game on Thursday when the team hosts Thorp as both teams have byes in the first round of Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament. 

B-T will play in Division Five this year, earning the second seed as it begins tournament action at home against (7) Pittsville next Tuesday. The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between (3) Pepin/Alma and (6) New Lisbon next Thursday. 

B-T 5 G-E-T 4

Four runs in the bottom of the seventh gave the Wildcats the win over one of the top teams in the Coulee Conference.

B-T entered the final frame trailing 4-1 and Elissa Smetana hit a pop-up to start the inning. Then B-T’s bats got going as the team had five of its eight hits in its final at-bat. 

Andrea Aleckson and Landonn Daffinson singled before Frankie Zentgraf doubled them both home. 

After a pop-up for the second out of the inning, Maddie Frederixon tripled Zentgraf home to tie the game. Avery Peterson delivered the game-winner, sending a 0-1 pitch to center field to score Frederixon. 

Frederixon also scored the first run of the game, coming home on an Andi Beck sacrifice fly in the fourth. 

Caroline Mack put G-E-T ahead with a two-run single in the fifth. Alexis Ouellette tripled in two runs with two outs in the seventh, making the score 4-1.

Frederixon had two of B-T’s eight hits and scored two runs. Zentgraf had one hit and batted in two runs. 

Aleckson got the win for B-T, striking out 14 Red Hawks while allowing seven hits and four walks. 

Halene DeJager had three of G-E-T’s seven hits. Samantha Stanton took the loss, striking out four without a walk. 

B-T 14 Arcadia 6

The Wildcats got going in the third inning and didn’t slow down much from there. 

The game was tied 1-1 before Andi Beck singled in two runs to put B-T ahead. Andrea Waldera then smashed a Kaitlyn Bremer offering over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 6-1 advantage. Kayli Benedict added an RBI single before the end of the inning.

Aleckson hit an RBI single to make the score 9-1 — after another run scored on an error earlier — in the top of the fourth. B-T went ahead by 10 runs in the fifth when a run scored on a groundout and another on a single by Beck.

Arcadia battled back as Bremer hit a two-run triple and then scored on a hit by Tessah Ely. B-T got those runs back on one hit as Frederixon singled and an Arcadia error on the play allowed her to come all the way around to score, plating two other runs in the process. 

Arcadia scored two more runs in the sixth, but B-T maintained control.

Aleckson was in control again, striking out five while allowing two hits and one walk in four innings. Frederixon finished the game, allowing seven hits and striking out one without a walk.

The Wildcats got nine hits off of Bremer and seven more off of reliever Megan Breska. Beck and Waldera both went four-for-five, Waldera batted in four runs and Beck, three. Frederixon had three hits and both Zentgraf and Benedict had two.

Kiley Fitzpatrick led Arcadia with three hits, and Bremer had two. 

B-T 12 C-FC 4

The Wildcats took control with seven runs in the second and they didn’t allow the Pirates to sneak back in the game.

C-FC got off to a fast start with two runs in the bottom of the first, but B-T quickly erased the deficit. Waldera led off the second with a double and scored on a double by Aleckson. Daffison singled the tying run home before the go-ahead scored on an error. 

Frederixon doubled two runs in before scoring herself on an error. When Peterson stole home, B-T took a 7-2 lead.

C-FC got one run back in the bottom of the second, but Zentgraf doubled and Emma Wathke homered in the third to put B-T ahead 10-3.

Beck hit an RBI double in the seventh then another B-T run scored on an error.

The Wildcats had 12 hits in the game as Frederixon, Peterson, Aleckson, and Wathke all had two. Daffinson and Frederixon both batted in two runs.

Aleckson struck out two while allowing four hits in four innings to earn the win. Frederixon pitched the final three frames, striking out four while allowing two hits. Neither allowed a walk and only one C-FC run was earned.