Raiders upset Westby, Neillsville to win regional

Throughout the year, Arcadia softball coach Dave Bjorge has been steadfast in his belief that if his team continued to play hard, good things would come. Last week, that proved to be true as the Raiders pulled off two upsets to win their Division Three Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional.

The Raiders came into the tournament as the seventh seed with a record that stood at three games below .500. After defeating (10) St. Croix Central two weeks ago, the Raiders faced a familiar opponent, one that they had fallen two twice before, in Westby. Arcadia lost to Westby 1-0 and 7-3 earlier in the season.

The Norse had only lost one game on the season, but the Raiders scratched out one run late in the game and that would prove to be all they needed.

“I’m super proud of these kids,” Bjorge said. “They really went in with the attitude that they can beat them and believed in each other.”

The Raiders faced another daunting task in the difficult regional bracket with a Neillsville team that came in with an 18-4 record. The teams were even for most of the game, but six runs in the last two innings put the Raiders ahead for good.

The wins improved Arcadia’s record to 10-10 on the season before Monday’s sectional game at (1) Prescott, a team with a 21-3 record.

The winner of Monday’s game will play the winner of (1) Bloomer and (2) Northwestern for the sectional title in Arcadia at 4 p.m. on Wednesday of this week.

Arcadia 1 Westby 0

Scoreless though six innings, the Raiders took the lead in the top of the seventh and then got out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning to preserve the win.

Kianna Suchla singled with one out in the seventh inning then stole second. After a strikeout for the second out, Brynn Aspen roped a single into the outfield to score Suchla and put Arcadia ahead.

 But Westby wouldn’t go away quietly.

With two singles and a walk, the Norse loaded the bases with one out. Courtney Bjorge struck out the next batter then got a groundout to end the game and give the Raiders the upset win.

Bjorge was in control throughout the game as she struck out six while allowing seven hits and three walks — two of which were intentional.

Coach Bjorge also complimented Chloe Halverson’s play in centerfield, noting she made some exceptional catches.

The Raiders managed to get just enough off of Westby’s sophomore ace Jayda Berg, managing four hits with four different players getting one. Berg didn’t allow a single walk and struck out 14.

Arcadia threatened in the fifth with an error and a walk putting two on with no outs, but a groundout was followed by two strikeouts. Arcadia also had runners in scoring position in the first, third and fourth innings, but weren’t able to bring any of them home.

Ultimately, however, they got what they needed offensively.

Arcadia 9 Neillsville 6

With three runs in the sixth and seventh innings, the Raiders broke through for the regional championship win.

Arcadia took the lead with two runs in the second inning, but Neillsville came up with three in the third. Arcadia tied the game again in the fourth and that’s where it stood until the sixth.

Bjorge put the Raiders ahead with a double to score Chloe Halverson. Casidi Pehler doubled courtesy runner Kanah Slaby home then scored herself on a double by Catherine Pehler, putting Arcadia ahead 6-3.

Neillsville came back with one run in the bottom of the sixth, but Arcadia came right back with three more in the top of the seventh.

Suchla singled with one out and came around to score on a double by Aspen. Halverson then singled to put two on for Bjorge, who doubled both home, giving Arcadia a 9-4 lead.

Neillsville came right back, scoring two runs and had a chance for more with one out, but Bjorge got a fly out and a groundout to end the game.

Bjorge allowed 12 hits in the game, but didn’t surrender a walk, while striking out two. She was just as impactful at the plate, going two-for-five with three RBIs.

Halverson led the Raiders with three hits in five at-bats, as she had three RBIs and stole three bases. Arcadia’s first two runs came when she tripled with two on and two out. She added an RBI single in the fourth.

Catherine Pehler and Suchla both had two hits.