Wildcats run away with regional softball title
Leah Kidd of Blair-Taylor drove in two with a hit in the first inning of the team’s regional final win over Independence/Gilmanton on Thursday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Lydia Evans (7) and Aubrie Pronschinske (11) went after a pop up during the first inning of their game against Blair-Taylor on Thursday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
The road for a fifth consecutive trip to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Tournament began with two lopsided wins for the Blair-Taylor softball team last week.
The Wildcats made quick work of North Crawford last Tuesday, winning 15-0 in three innings. On Thursday, they took advantage of numerous Independence/Gilmanton errors and won the regional title with a 14-1 win in five innings.
With a 25-0 record on the season, (1) B-T played (2) Hillsboro (14-5) in the sectional semifinal game in Blair on Tuesday. The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between Almond-Bancroft (21-1) and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (17-2) on Thursday. B-T is the top-ranked team in Division Five, Assumption is third and A-B is ninth. Thursday’s game is currently scheduled to be played at A-B.
The state tournament begins next Thursday at Goodman Diamond in Madison. The top seed in Division Five will play the fourth seed at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night. The second and third seeds play each other at 8 a.m. on Friday with the state championship game scheduled for 8 a.m. on Saturday.
B-T 15 N. Crawford 0
The Wildcats scored six in the first inning, eight in the second then one in the third to win by rule after three innings.
Lindsay Steien led off tournament play for the Wildcats with a triple then scored on an error. Lexi Lofgren later added a two run single before Steien came up again and singled in two more runs.
After runs scored on an error and a fielder’s choice in the second, Madalynn Frederixon singled in two. Steien batted in another run to make the score 11-0 before more runs scored on walks and passed balls.
The game ended in the third when Frederixon walked and scored on an error.
Despite only playing three innings, the Wildcats had eight hits, as Steien went three-for-four with three RBIs. Lofgren was two-for-two with two RBIs.
Thompson got the win, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out eight of the 11 batters she saw.
B-T 14 I/G 1
The Indees couldn’t get out of the first inning as a number of hard-hit balls forced errors and B-T took a 9-0 lead.
Officially, five errors were counted against the Indees in the first inning. The first one could’ve been crucial as the Indees had one out in the inning with a runner on first when pitcher Lydia Evans got Chloe Wagner to pop up in the infield. Evens and shortstop Aubrie Pronschinske both went after the ball before bumping into each other and seeing it fall to the ground.
After a walk issued to Callie Wagner loaded the bases, two runs scored on another error. Another run scored on a groundout before Leah Kidd singled two home. Two more errors brought home two more runs before Thompson singled in another. Chloe Wagner doubled to make the score 9-0 before the Indees got the third out.
Kidd led off the bottom of the third with a triple then scored on an error. Thompson then hit into an error to score Frederixon. Lofgren later doubled to put B-T ahead 14-0.
I/G’s only run came in the top of the fifth when Aubrie Pronschinske and Hilari Klopp both hit doubles.
The Wildcats had eight hits in the game as Steien and Kidd both had two.
Thompson again got the win, striking out seven with two walks and three hits allowed.
Evans took the loss despite allowing just one earned run. She walked four and struck out one.
Three different Indees had hits in the game.
