JANESVILLE—Chad Davis knew that the swirling wind that gusted well over 40 miles per hour at times was ripe to cause issues in Beloit Memorial’s WIAA Division 1 Regional opener against Janesville Parker on Tuesday.
Still, the Purple Knights’ second-year head coach didn’t sugarcoat what he saw pregame.
“In warm ups, we looked horrible to say the least. Just dealing with that wind,” Davis said, shaking his head.
But Davis was just as quick to give credit where credit was due when talking about his defense’s performance during the ninth-seeded Knights’ 3-2 win over the eighth-seeded Vikings at a sunny, hot and breezy Janesville Youth Sports Complex.
“Whatever minor adjustments they made, they stuck with every play,” he said. “Some weren’t as routine as they should have been, but they stayed with the ball and made the play.”
The Knights (11-11) committed two errors but with the wind gusting it could’ve been much worse. For Parker (12-13), it was as it totaled four errors.
“The conditions were incredible, but they were the same for both teams,” Vikings’ head coach Robert Getka said. “Credit to Beloit, they put a few more balls in play and made it a little tougher for us. There were just one or two plays that we didn’t make. When it’s a 3-2 game, you’re always going to look back.”
Beloit starter Rilynne Cleland said instead of fighting with the wind, the Knights worked with it.
“Especially on defense, reading off that wind, knowing it’s going to push in and just making sure to capitalize on that,” she added.
Cleland, just a scrappy freshman making her postseason debut, was stellar on the mound for Beloit as she threw all seven innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) on seven hits. She didn’t issue a walk and struck out nine.
“I think Rilynne wanted Parker back from our recent 4-3 loss to them (in the regular season),” Davis said. “She gets in her mind frame and we just stay out of the way and let her do her game. She was on that spot even today even with the wind, just getting the ball across the plate.”
“In a way the wind helped me because it was pushing at my back,” Cleland said. “So, I was able to stride forward a little harder than usual.”
And coming off a bevy of strong starts for Beloit, Cleland said she pitched fairly nerve free.
“I came in confident,” Cleland said. “Knowing that I’ve been on a very good streak recently and knowing if I play my game, I’ll be fine. The umpire really liked his high calls, so I tried to throw my rise ball a lot.”
The Knights struck first in the second inning when Brooklynne Hereford-Foster drew a one-out walk and then scored when Trinity Winfield laced a double into the left-field corner.
After Abigail Middleton singled and Jasmine Smith walked, Allie Gustafson upped it to 3-0 in the fourth when she fought the wind to lace a single into right field. Middleton scored easily on the hit and Smith scored on the throw home.
“Allie’s always there and ready for that clutch moment,” Cleland said. “She really brings so much to the team.”
Parker made it 3-1 in the sixth when Kaelyn Minch brought home a run on a hard-hit ball that ate up Gustafson at third. Delaney King doubled to start the seventh and Grace Sensabaugh singled an out later to put runners on the corners.
After a pop out, Gentry Reed singled to right to make it 3-2.
“Our lineup did a good job adjusting to a unique strike zone for the playoffs,” Getka said. “It was different today. We had to adjust to that and we adjusted to the wind. It’s a hard thing to make that many in-game adjustments. But that’s what you expect from a senior laden team like ours.”
But Cleland coaxed a fly out to left field to escape the jam and seal the victory.
“That definitely nerved me a little bit,” Cleland said. “Knowing that one wrong move, one wrong pitch — if I lay it right down the middle, it could end the game, give them a walk off. But I tried to stay out of the middle, keep it on my spots, and hope my defense could take care of it for me.”
Middleton paced Beloit’s nine-hit effort by going 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot.
“Abby’s been a spark for us all year,” Davis said. “She’s automatic and one of the best contact batters I’ve ever seen. She’s gonna put the bat on the ball and usually make exciting things happen.”
Gustafson and Winfield each added two hits but the Knights let a few opportunities slip from them as they left 13 runners on base, including bases-loaded situations in the second, third and sixth.
Lily Keller worked around nine hits and five walks to allow three runs while striking out four.
“Another solid effort,” Getka said. “She pitched through some struggles. We were very fortunate that (Kaelyn Minch) was able to throw a couple of girls out at home and show that cannon of an arm that she’s developed over the last few years.”
The Knights will next travel to play at top-seeded Milton (21-2), where Butler-bound ace Gwen Baker will start in the circle.
“We’re going to have to be swinging the bat,” Davis said. “There’s going to be no looking because Gwen’s going to put the ball across the plate.”
• LINESCORE:
BELOIT MEMORIAL 3, JANSEVILLE PARKER 2
BM 010 200 0 — 3 9 2
JP 000 0001 1 — 2 7 4
Leading hitters: BM, Middleton 3x4, 1 Run; Gustafson 2x3, 2 RBI; Winfield 2x3, 1 RBI. JP, Pryne 2x3; Kong 2x3, 1 Run; King 1x3, 1 Run; Reed 1x3, 1 RBI. 2B: Winfield (BM), King (JP).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): BM, Cleland 7.0-7-2-1-0-9. JP, Keller 7.0-9-3-3-5-4.
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