The second-seeded Lake Mills softball team withstood a tough test from seventh-seeded Stoughton to earn a 9-4 victory in a Division 2 regional semifinal at Rotary Park on Tuesday, May 21.
"The No. 1 strongest mental feature of our team as a whole is we don't get shook up," Lake Mills softball coach Jim Clift said. "We handle pressure very well. We seem to stay dialed into the moment and do what's needed to succeed. You never see any sense of panic. It was a tight game for most of it."
The seventh-ranked L-Cats (20-4) were clinging to a 5-4 lead entering the home half of the sixth before plating four runs on four hits. Emily Wollin ignited the rally with a one-out double to center. After Savannah Radtke drew a walk, Lily Doerr lined a single to center -- her fourth hit of the game -- to score Wollin and make it 6-4. Haydenn Sellnow and Payton Quest added RBI singles while Ava Kleinfeldt's ground out also plated a run for the final margin.
"By the sixth, we had two or three looks at their pitcher Madelyn Barsness," Clift said. "If we get that many looks at one pitcher, we've been pretty good at capitalizing on that all year. In softball, hits can be contagious. We rolled that momentum to a real nice inning in the sixth."
The freshman-laden Vikings (10-15) got a two-run shot to left from Madyson Verville in the first.
Lake Mills scored four runs on five hits in the home half of the first. Kleinfeldt and Taylor Wollin doubled in runs while winning pitcher Aubrey Lepak contributed an RBI single.
In the second, Doerr singled home Emily Wollin before Stoughton scored twice in the fourth to get within 5-4.
Lepak allowed three earned runs on three hits in three frames. Kleinfeldt relieved her and pitched four shutout innings of two-hit ball with five strikeouts, no walks to slam the door.
"Aubrey has done a nice job for us this year," Clift said. "It's a nice 1-2 punch and change of pace those two give us. Ava gave us a completely different look and they never really got on to Ava."
The L-Cats host third-seeded Monroe, which beat sixth-seeded Edgewood 5-2, in Thursday's regional final at 5 p.m.
"Our formula will never change, regardless of the opponent, and that's that the most important thing is the next pitch," Clift said. "We have a lot of respect for Monroe's program."
LAKE MILLS 9, STOUGHTON 4
Stoughton 202 000 0 -- 4 5 4
Lake Mills 410 004 x -- 9 13 0
Leading hitters -- S: Ch. Buell 2x3, Verville (HR); LM: Doerr 4x4, Sellnow 2x4, T. Wollin 2x4 (2B), E. Wollin 2x3 (2B), Kleinfeldt (2B).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- S: Barsness L; 6-13-9-9-1-6; LM: Lepak W; 3-3-4-3-3-3, Kleinfeldt 4-2-0-0-0-5.
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