The Waterloo softball team is on the hunt to replicate its postseason success from last spring. The Pirates are the reigning Division 4 state runners-up thanks a magical run to the 2023 state title game. This time around, they're hungry to do it again.
The Pirates earned the No. 2 seed in Sectional 4 of Division 4, granting them home field advantage to open the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament. They welcomed in No. 7 seed Williams Bay on Tuesday, May 21 and delivered a statement win. It took only five innings for Waterloo to build a 10-0 lead, a mercy rule victory to start the postseason off on the right foot.
The visiting Bulldogs collected just two hits on the day against Waterloo's two-headed pitching monster of freshman Ally Schaumann and sophomore Nevaeh Lawson. Schaumann only pitched the top of the first inning but left a good impression with three strikeouts. Lawson handled the final four innings. She earned three strikeouts over that span and allowed just one hit with no walks.
Waterloo immediately took a lead with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Brenna Huebner put herself in position to score by hitting a single, stealing second, and advancing to third on a passed ball. Fellow senior Katrina Freund then lifted a sacrifice fly into center field, buying time for Huebner to tag up and score to make it a 1-0 ballgame. Things could have gotten even worse for Williams Bay as Waterloo loaded the bases before the inning ended on a ground out.
The dam fully broke for the Pirates' in the bottom of the second inning with five runs. Huebner kickstarted the scoring with a single to left to bring freshman Callie Davison home. After an error on a hit from Freund, sophomore Emma Baumann stepped to the plate. She bashed a grounder into center field to score both Huebner and Freund. Fellow sophomore Marissa Spoke capped the inning with an RBI single to right field to bring in junior Alix McCarthy. When the dust had settled, Waterloo was up 6-0.
The Pirates had their first scoreless half inning in the bottom of the third but returned to form the following inning with two more runs. Waterloo quickly loaded the bases as Huebner drew a walk, Freund hit a double, and Baumann was hit by a pitch. Spoke came up clutch again, connecting on a hard grounder to right field to bring both Huebner and Freund home.
A three up, three down top half from Lawson in the fifth inning set the stage for Waterloo to put the game away in the bottom half. The Pirates needed only two runs and got the baserunners to do it as senior Briana Lauersdorf drew a walk and Davison reached on an error. Huebner walked it off, bashing a double into left field to score both. Her big hit made it a 10-0 lead for her Pirates, bringing the game to a premature end.
The win sends Waterloo to the regional championship game, where it will meet No. 3 seed Deerfield. The Demons knocked off No. 6 seed and Capitol - South conference rival Cambridge to get to the game themselves.
This will be the second meeting of the season between Waterloo and Deerfield. The Demons attended a tournament hosted by the Pirates back on Saturday, April 20 and left with a 10-0 loss in five innings. In that game, Schaumann threw a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts. Davison was the star of the show offensively with a pair of doubles to drive in two RBIs.
Waterloo will again be the host team for the rematch at Waterloo Fireman's Park on Thursday, May 23. The winner will claim a regional title and advance to the sectional semifinals to face the winner of No. 1 seed Horicon and No. 4 seed Palmyra-Eagle.
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