Before Tuesday, May 21, Marshall softball junior Lyliane Browne hadn't hit a homerun. The outfielder had played an important role in the Cardinals' success in the spring of 2024 as they claimed a share of the Capitol - South conference and earned the No. 3 seed in Sectional 3 of Division 3 for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament. Just no homeruns.
Her team certainly needed her in the bottom of the seventh inning of their WIAA regional opener against No. 6 seed Beloit Turner on that day. The visiting Trojans got their bats going at the perfect time in the top half of the inning, erasing a two-run deficit to tie the game at two runs each.
With the game on the line, the batter before Browne grounded out. With no one on base, she connected on the second pitch she saw. The ball launched off her bat, a missile bound for the grass beyond the fence in left field. The Marshall bench spilled onto the diamond as she rounded the bases, her hand pointing to the heavens as she rounded first and to the Marshall faithful as she headed home. Browne's first homerun of her career had delivered the Cardinals another round in the tournament, an 8-7 victory.
"There are so many emotions," Browne said of the clutch hit. "The nerves were definitely in my head, but I just told myself 'I got this.' It felt great off the bat. Seeing the ball clear the fence just got my heart racing. I just wanted to do what was best for my team."
"It was a very good game," Marshall head coach Kevin Knudson said. "We found a way to battle back every time we were challenged. The girls really stuck together. They always work so hard and play together. We survived because these girls act like a family. You take it and move on."
Browne's dramatic walk-off hits was a fitting crescendo for this back-and-forth regional semifinal. The game featured three lead changes as there was no shortage of hits and runs from either side.
Beloit Turner set this pace of scoring in the top of the first inning. The Trojans utilized a sacrifice bunt and a well-placed double to score the opening run off of Marshall's sophomore starting pitcher Kennedy Weisensel.
As a response to the solo score in the top of the first inning, Marshall then put up two of its own in the bottom half. Junior Sydney Stuntebeck did her best Browne impression, bashing a solo homerun to open the Cardinals' scoring. Their bats remained hot as senior Kate Luzenski followed with a double before Browne brought her home with a single into left field. Through one inning, Marshall led 2-1.
Weisensel had her best half inning in the top of the second. She struck out two of the three batters she saw, sandwiched around a pop out, to get her offense right back to the plate. Weisensel rewarded herself by driving in another insurance run in the bottom half. With two outs on the board, she smoked a single into center field to score junior Makayla Nemec and make it a 3-1 ballgame.
Once Beloit Turner had been through the batting order once, they timed up Weisensel in the top of the third inning. The Trojans caught fire, connecting on five singles and utilizing a pair of drawn walks to push four runs across home plate. In a flash, they retook a 5-3 lead.
Marshall's offense didn't flinch. In the bottom half of the inning, Turner committed back-to-back errors. The second of which allowed both sophomore courtesy runner Erin Rateike and Browne to score. Nemec then connected on an RBI groundout to bring in senior Naomi Dahl. Just like that, the Cardinals were back on top 6-5.
The Cardinals opted to bring in senior Emily Brodbeck to pitch in the top of the fourth inning. The investment seemed paid off immediately as she delivered three straight scoreless innings. Her effort included three strikeouts as she calmed down the previously humming Beloit Turner offense.
The offense took advantage by adding another run to the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior Mollie Fritter laid down a picture-perfect bunt up the first base line. The throw over to first base sailed over the fielder's head, buying time for Weisensel to score all the way from first base to make it a 7-5 lead.
The score remained this way until the top of the seventh inning. With their backs against the wall, the Trojans scrapped. They connected on a double and a pair of singles to push a pair of runs across the board and tie the game. Weisensel then stepped back into the pitching circle and delivered a three-pitch strikeout to end the rally.
This set the stage for Browne to do her work. She launched that game-winner over the fence in left, granting her Cardinals an 8-7 win and, more importantly, another game to play.
Up next, Marshall will be on the road to take on No. 2 seed Poynette on Thursday, May 23. The Pumas will be out for revenge as the Cardinals handed them a 3-2 loss in last season's state tournament to claim a regional championship. The two teams have already played this spring, a 5-0 home win for Poynette way back on Tuesday, April 9.
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