The Waterloo softball team has returned to royalty status in the Capitol — South conference. The Pirates won the conference title outright with an undefeated record in 2022 but let it slip to rival Marshall the year following. This spring, it looks like the Cardinals will tie the Pirates atop the standings for a co-championship.
Waterloo and Marshall split their regular season series. Waterloo claimed the first one at home thanks to a walk-off single from sophomore Marissa Spoke. Marshall bounced back in the rematch to win 7-3. This remains the only conference loss for either team.
The Pirates completed Capitol — South play for the season on Friday, May 10 with a 13-3 win over Cambridge in a shortened five-inning game. Waterloo came out on absolute fire, scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Freshman Callie Davison led off with a double in the bottom of the first inning and the run was on. Senior Brenna Huebner, Spoke, senior Leeah Dorn, senior Bri Lauersdorf, sophomore Emma Baumann, and junior Alix McCarthy all hit singles in the inning. McCarthy would also connect on a double and senior Katrina Freund bashed a triple. The real statement of the inning was an inside the park homerun from Huebner, which scored two additional runs. When the dust had settled, Waterloo led 10-1.
Freshman Ally Schaumann handled all five innings in the pitching circle for the Pirates. She allowed five hits and three runs, only one of which was earned. She walked five batters and struck out four.
With 10 runs to open the game, Waterloo’s offense didn’t need much more to bring the game to an early end. Leeah Dorn tripled in the bottom of the second inning and stole home to bump the lead to 11-1.
After a few scoreless innings, the Pirates went in for the kill in the bottom of the fifth inning. Leading 11-3, Huebner continued her stellar day at the plate with a double. A drawn walk from Freund led to an error on a hit by Baumann. Huebner scored and Freund advanced to third. The game ended in the ensuing at-bat as McCarthy struck a single to center field, scoring Freund for the 13-3 mercy victory.
Waterloo wrapped up Capitol — Conference play with a 7-1 record. Marshall currently sits at 6-1 with only winless Belleville in its path. The Cardinals beat the Wildcats by run-rule mercy last time, making a co-conference championship between Waterloo and Marshall both at 7-1 likely.
While conference play is behind them, the Pirates still continue to challenge themselves in the regular season. They made the trip down to Mineral Point on Saturday, May 11 to compete in a four-team tournament. While Waterloo lost the opening game to Mount Horeb 8-3, the Pirates bounced back in a major way by crushing Lancaster 14-0 in the second.
The Lancaster game included another 10-inning explosion for the Waterloo offense, coming in the top of the seventh inning. It was another stellar day at the plate for both Huebner and Baumann, who connected on two doubles each. In the pitching circle, Schaumann allowed only one hit in her complete game shutout with eight strikeouts.
Now, only one game separates Waterloo from the postseason. The Pirates will host Oakfield, the No. 2 ranked team in Division 5 according to the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (WFSCA) coaches poll, on Thursday, May 16.
This will serve as a final warm up before the start of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament. Waterloo earned the No. 2 seed in Sectional 4 of Division 4 and will host No. 7 seed Williams Bay on Tuesday, May 21.
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Capitol — South conference softball standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Monday, May 13
1. Waterloo, 7-1
2. Marshall, 6-1
T3. Cambridge, 3-5
T3. Wisconsin Heights, 3-5
5. Belleville, 0-7
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