Fall Creek flusters Coleman in State semifinals

MADISON, Wis. — Grace Herrem silenced the high-powered offense of Coleman to push Fall Creek past the Cougars 12-0 in the semifinals of the WIAA Division 4 State tournament at Goodman Diamond on Thursday.

Coleman entered Thursday’s semifinal matchup with the Crickets averaging 9.3 runs and 5.7 hits per game, but Herrem managed to limit the Cougars to just two base knocks on Thursday.

Herrem finished six strikeouts and no walks in five innings of work.

Fall Creek jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second before piling on five more runs in the next inning to seize a 12-0 advantage.

Norah Kinziger, who smoked a triple, and Madelyn Straub were responsible for Coleman’s hits.

Courtney DenRuyter took the loss after giving up 12 runs, eight of which were earned, five hits and nine free passes through four innings pitched. She added five strikeouts to finish with 617 punchouts for her career.

Herrem and Elena Rafflesberger both had two-RBI afternoons for the Crickets.

Fall Creek’s victory on Thursday earned the Crickets a date with Cuba City (23-3) in the Division 4 finals, where they blanked Cubans 7-0 to win the program’s first State title.

Fall Creek, making its first appearance at State, finishes at 30-2 overall.

Coleman concludes the 2024 season with an overall record of 21-5. The Cougars won the Marinette and Oconto Conference with a perfect 10-0 mark and advanced to their first State tournament with a 4-2 triumph over Random Lake at the Crivitz Sectional.

WIAA Division 4 State semifinalFall Creek 12 — Coleman 0

Fall Creek 075 0xx x — 12

Coleman 000 00x x — 0

WP: Herrem 5IP, 2H, 6K

LP: DenRuyter 4IP, 5H, 12R, 8ER, 9BB, 6K

Leading hitters (Coleman): Kinziger 1x2, 3B; Straub 1x1

Leading hitters (Fall Creek): Herrem 1x2, 2B, BB, 2RBI; Raffesberger 2x3, R, 2SB, 2RBI; Addison Haynes 1x2, 2R, BB, SB, RBI