MADISON — The L-Cats started the game with a big-time two-out rally, then stormed back to tie it up in the late innings.
The Indians, however, had the last laugh.
Fourth-seeded Lake Mills lost a dramatic and captivating Division 2 state semifinal to top-seeded Mosinee, 10-9 in walk-off fashion at the State Softball Tournament at Goodman Diamond on Friday afternoon.
“It was a great game and we really battled hard,” senior pitcher Ava Kleinfeldt said. “We were down there right until the last pitch. It could have been anyone’s game with one turn of a pitch.”
Lake Mills, which plated four first-inning runs and promptly responded to a seven-run Mosinee outburst to tie it at 9-9 in the sixth, could not put up a zero to force extras in what was a slugfest throughout.
With one away, Mosinee center fielder Amber Gonzalez singled up the middle off junior pitcher Aubrey Lepak. Catcher Alanna Bembenek followed suit, advancing Gonzalez to third while taking second on the throw.
Right fielder Maggie Woller, the team’s cleanup hitter, hit a shallow fly ball to left field that Lake Mills senior Natalie Grulke made a charging catch on. Gonzalez tagged up and dashed home well ahead of the throw to end a game that saw the teams combine for 31 base hits.
Mosinee (29-1) had eight hits in its seven-run fifth inning to claim a 9-5 lead.
“The strike zone got real tight, so in the fourth inning Ava was painting the corners, or at least we thought she was painting the corners,” Lake Mills softball coach Jim Clift said. “We felt like the strike zone tightened and Mosinee did a really nice job of picking up on that, especially in the fifth. Mosinee is a really nice hitting team and we haven’t seen anyone hit like that against Ava or Aubrey.”
Second baseman Addyson Henrich hit a one-hopper off the left-field wall to open the fifth. First baseman Tristan Wicklund followed with a bloop single. Left fielder Adeline Strejc then tripled to deep right, cutting the Indians’ deficit to 5-4.
Designated player Brooklyn Simonis ripped a ground ball that senior first baseman Taylor Wollin made a kick save type play to slow down, but the ball caromed away with Simonis just beating out the throw and Strejc scoring the game-tying run.
Shortstop Taelyn Jirschele dug in next, lacing a hit to the deepest part of the park which senior center fielder Emily Wollin laid out trying to track down. Jirschele sped around the bases for an inside-the-park home run that gave Mosinee a 6-5 lead. That hit chased Kleinfeldt, Lake Mills’ starter.
“Once they got through a couple times in the lineup, they were able to time me up,” Kleinfeldt said. “Mosinee has all really good hitters who were able to put the bat on the ball.”
Gonzalez, who went 4-for-5, greeted Lepak with a hard-hit single. Bembenek then singled through the right side of the infield. After Woller struck out swinging, Henrich sent a first pitch double down the line that plated two runs to cap the inning.
The L-Cats (23-5) answered with a three-spot in the home half of the sixth. Emily Wollin bunted for a hit, taking second on sophomore pitcher Ava Busse’s errant throw to the bag. With one out, sophomore catcher Lily Doerr singled to left. Wollin took third on the hit and scored on Strejc’s bobble in the outfield, which allowed Doerr to reach second.
Junior shortstop Haydenn Sellnow then roped a 2-run home run over the 218-foot marker in left-center field, cutting the deficit to 9-8.
“That pitch was a meatball, to sum it up,” Sellnow said. “I knew the umps were a little all over the place with their strike calling, so I didn’t want to go deep into the count. If it was there, I was going to go. It was there and I hit it perfectly.”
Lepak pitched 1-2-3 sixth, the only time Mosinee was retired in order. The inning included Emily Wollin making a leaping grab in deep center to rob Simonis of extra bases.
Lepak got the wheels turning in the L-Cats’ seventh with a one-out infield hit. With two outs, Emily Wollin fell behind 0-2 in the count and was given new life when a foul pop fly fell between home plate and third base. Wollin proceeded to rip a double over Strejc’s head in left, allowing Lepak to easily score the tying run.
“The Wollin sisters — Emily and Taylor — are so clutch when the pressure is at the greatest,” Clift said. “Emily seized that moment. You know when there’s a Wollin in there and the pressure is on, something good is going to happen and we saw that.”
Junior leadoff hitter Savannah Radtke was then hit by a pitch, a decision that was confirmed after a lengthy conversation. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before Busse got Doerr to fly out to right to end the threat.
Lake Mills, in the program’s first-ever state game, got off to a rousing start, scoring four times on six straight two-out hits.
Sellnow’s bloop single to left started the proceedings, followed by a Kleinfeldt chopper through the right side. Junior designated player Payton Quest rocketed a single by Wicklund’s glove at first base, bringing Sellnow around.
Taylor Wollin’s first-pitch single to right loaded the bases for Lepak, whose pop fly single fell just between a converging Henrich and Woller in shallow right to score two runs. Sophomore Mads Sherry’s single to right plated Wollin to cap the inning.
“Our ability to stay calm through those big moments stands out,” Sellnow said. “State is a big stage and there’s a lot of emotions. Despite having two outs in the first inning, everyone stayed calm, did their job and executed amazingly.”
Mosinee got on the board in the third when Jirschele led off the inning with a double to the wall in left, stole third and scored on Woller’s ground out.
Lake Mills tacked on a run in the fourth, as Doerr singled to right-center and scored from first on Sellnow’s line-shot double behind Strejc in left.
The Indians cut their deficit to 5-2 on Jirschele’s two-out run-scoring single in the fourth.
Sellnow powered the Lake Mills offense with three hits and drove in three runs. Doerr, Lepak and Taylor Wollin added two hits apiece.
The L-Cats had a golden opportunity to stretch their lead in the third, when they got Quest to third and Taylor Wollin to second with no outs after Strejc’s throwing error. Busse got a pop out and two ground outs to escape the jam.
Busse allowed nine earned runs on 14 hits in the complete-game decision.
“We felt like we had Busse scouted pretty well and we jumped on her,” Clift said. “Busse works the high strike zone and turns to her changeup quite a bit. We jumped on those early. We knew Busse liked to get up in counts and she would come with early strikes, and we capitalized on that as well.”
Kleinfeldt surrendered seven earned runs on 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Lepak, who took the loss, allowed three earned runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The L-Cats still experienced an unforgettable day.
“We had a crazy fun morning,” Sellnow said. “We went to the middle school and elementary school to celebrate with the younger L-Cats. We also got a ride here in a coach bus. The team bonding we had all day contributed to how well we did on the field. We were super comfortable.
“It’s so amazing how much our community came out and watched us today. That’s so cool to see. This has been an amazing ride and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.”
Clift called the fan and community support “incredible and energizing”, adding his gratitude for all the former and current players for their contributions to the program. The 11th-year coach enjoyed every minute of guiding this bunch.
“Our theme the entire year has been to dream big and work hard,” Clift said. “This being the biggest of dreams was getting to state and ultimately winning it. We stuck to it and worked hard.
“The thing that stands out about this group is their pure mental toughness. Whatever the circumstance was, we were very mentally tough. We almost got stronger when the pressure got greater when with most teams it’s the opposite.
“Being here at state is a moment everyone associated with our program will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Third-seeded Waupun beat second-seeded New Berlin Eisenhower 2-1 in the other semifinal, then defeated Mosinee in Saturday’s state title game, 7-3.
MOSINEE 10, LAKE MILLS 9
Lake Mills 400 103 1 — 9 14 1
Mosinee 001 170 1 — 10 17 5
Lake Mills (ab-r-h-rbi) — Radtke 4-0-0-0, Doerr 5-2-2-1, Sellnow 4-2-3-3, Kleinfeldt 4-0-1-0, Buchholtz 0-1-0-0, Quest 3-1-1-1, T. Wollin 4-1-2-0, Lepak 4-1-2-2, Sherry 4-0-1-1, E. Wollin 4-1-2-1, Grulke 0-0-0-0. Totals 36-9-14-9.
Mosinee (ab-r-h-rbi) — Jirschele 5-2-3-3, Gonzalez 5-2-4-0, Bembenek 4-1-2-0, Woller 4-0-0-2, Henrich 3-1-2-2, Wicklund 4-1-1-0, Strejc 4-1-2-2, Simonis 4-1-3-1, Yirkovsky 0-1-0-0, Verhasselt 4-0-0-0, Busse 0-0-0-0. Totals 37-10-17-10.
2B — Sellnow (LM), E. Wollin (LM); Jirschele (M), Henrich (M) 2, Simonis (M).
3B — Strejc (M).
HR — Sellnow (LM); Jirschele (HR).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — LM: Kleinfeldt 4.1-12-7-7-2-3, Lepak L; 2.1-5-3-3-0-2; M: Busse W; 7-14-9-9-0-2.
Most Popular
Comments / 0