Milton plays like a top seed, beats Beloit Memorial by 10-run rule in playoff opener

MILTON — Beloit Memorial found itself in Thursday’s WIAA Division 1 regional championship game against top-seeded Milton after scoring first, pitching well and playing clean defense on a windy day at Janesville Parker in the regional semifinal on Tuesday.

The Red Hawks made sure that formula wouldn’t be viable against them at Schilberg Park.

Milton ace Gwen Baker retired the first 10 batters she faced, and her leadoff single in the bottom of the third kicked off a six-run inning in a 10-0 mercy-rule win over the Purple Knights.

“I liked Gwen, I think our bats were great, defense was great — we had one little error at the end — I thought our baserunning was good,” Red Hawks coach Kurt Mussey said. “That’s championship softball.”

Beloit also committed four errors, and all four Milton batters who reached base that way came around to score.

Sophie Mezera kept the line moving all day at the plate for the Red Hawks, reaching all four times in a 2-for-2 outing with three RBI. Seven Milton hitters collected hits, and eight scored a run.

Some of the Red Hawks made a scouting trip to Janesville on Tuesday to watch the Parker-Beloit game.

“It prepared us more for the style of pitching we were going to see,” Mezera said.

Her bloop single to right in the first inning gave Milton its first run, but it seemed Beloit freshman starter Rilynne Cleland might’ve found the same groove she caught Tuesday against Parker when she sat down the Red Hawks in order in the second.

Milton disproved that notion quickly in the third. After Baker’s single, Kylie Reed bunted courtesy runner Olivia Schuetz to second. Ella Knoble and Kenzie Marquardt followed with consecutive RBI doubles, then Mezera hit a pitch deep to right field that popped out of the Beloit outfielder’s mitt.

That error allowed Julia Shultz, courtesy running for the catcher Marquardt, to score from second, and Mezera wound up on third base. She scored on another error that resulted in Kylee Buttchen reaching second, then Jenna Benash drove her in with a base hit.

Lynden Briggs added one more run-scoring bloop single into the shallow outfield to plate Benash and give their team a 7-0 lead.

As the inning unfolded, the string of success infused the Milton dugout with energy that helped sustain the rally.

“Everyone’s up, the adrenaline is high,” Mezera said. “It’s just a fun environment in the dugout.”

Jasmine Smith broke up Baker’s perfect run with a one-out hit in the fourth, and Beloit managed a pair of singles in the fifth that put a runner at third base with two outs, but Baker got out of both innings unscathed.

The Purple Knights changed pitchers after Milton’s outburst in the third, and while Delayna Hyser limited the Red Hawks to just two hits in her 2-plus innings, she had an error committed behind her in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Both of those baserunners came around to score.

Hyser also issued three walks, including two straight and a hit-by-pitch to start the sixth, and Benash dropped a game-ending RBI single into the outfield to end the game.

Baker had nine strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter to help the Red Hawks claim their regional championship plaque after the game.

Mussey said his team showed a new level of focus for its playoff opener after it seemed to slip just a little after a big late-season result.

“We had Turner and MG (Monona Grove), and they kind of lost focus after that huge win against Watertown, and that makes you worry a little bit,” he said. But the Red Hawks showed they were ready for the mission against Beloit.

“We need to hang on to that moving forward,” Mussey said.

Next up for them is another postseason meeting with Kettle Moraine, who hung on to beat Burlington 4-3 on Thursday to win its regional championship. It’ll be the third straight season the teams are meeting in the playoffs.

The Lasers beat Milton 1-0 in 10 innings at Schilberg Park in a sectional semifinal in 2023.

“We’ll definitely be hyped to get redemption,” Mezera said.

MILTON 10, BELOIT MEMORIAL 0 (6)

Beloit 000 000 — 0 3 4

Milton 106 111 — 10 9 1

Leading hitters — Mezera (M) 2x2, Benash (M) 2x4. 2B — Knoble (M), Marquardt (M), Mezera (M).

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) — BM: Cleland L, 3-7-7-3-0-1; Hyser 2-2-3-1-3-2, faced four batters in the sixth. M: G. Baker W, 6-3-0-0-0-9.