By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Badger High School softball team defeated Waterford 8-4 at home on May 8. The win avenged a 6-4 loss in Waterford on April 12.
Badger scored all eight of its runs in the first two innings and then hung on behind the pitching of Anna Weise, who pitched all seven innings giving up three earned runs on seven hits.
Waterford got two hits in the top of the first but could not score. Badger took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Ella Jenson and Seneca Peterson singled with one out. Hannah Galitz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jenson scored on a single by Emily Potter. Peterson scored on a sacrifice fly by Alyssa Bockelmann.
Waterford cut the lead in half in the top of the second inning on a solo homerun by Brooke Walek. The Badgers answered that with a six-run barrage in the bottom of the second, all with two outs.
Madison Hunt walked and Jenson and Peterson singled to load the bases. Hunt scored on a single by Galitz. Jenson and Peterson scored on a single by Potter. Galitz and Potter scored on a single by Bockelmann. Bockelmann scored on a single by A.J. VonSeth.
Waterford got a little closer in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Natalie Horn singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Jemma Fiehweg’s double scored Horn. Fiehweg then scored from third on a double steal to make it 8-3. The Wolverines (9-9. 4-8 Southern Lakes Conference) added one more in the sixth on a solo homerun by Grace Trautman.
Peterson led the way on offense with three hits and two runs scored. Jenson and Potter each had two hits.
The Badgers (7-8, 6-6 SLC) lost a close non-conference home match-up with East Troy 12-11 in eight innings on May 7. The offenses for both teams lit up the scoreboard with 22 Badger hits and 19 East Troy hits. Badger also committed four errors that helped the Trojans come away with the win.
The Trojans led 1-0 after one inning as Peterson gave up a single, hit a batter and walked two. East Troy got two more in the second. Isabelle Atkinson doubled, reached third on an error and scored on a single by Sarah Gilpatrick. The Trojans loaded the bases before Sophia Heimos scored the final run of the inning.
Badger stormed back with six in the bottom of the second. Potter and Ashlyn Welch walked. VonSeth singled to load the bases. Kayla Kerns singled to score Potter. Hunt doubled, scoring Welch and VonSeth. Jenson reached first on a bunt single. Galitz singled to reload the bases with one out. Peterson singled bringing home Megan Potter, who was running for Hunt. Jenson was thrown out at home trying to score on a fielder’s choice by Bockelmann. Emily Potter then brought Galitz and Peterson home with a single, and the Badgers led 6-3.
East Troy scored single runs in the third and fourth to inch closer, then took a 7-6 lead in the sixth with two runs. Badger quickly regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Peterson doubled and advanced to third on a groundout. Megan Potter singled with Peterson scoring. Welch singled with Potter moving to third. VonSeth brought Potter home with a single. A sacrifice bunt by Kerns put runners on second and third with two outs, but the Badgers could not get them in.
East Troy tied it in the seventh with a single run. The Badgers could not score in the bottom of the seventh, so the game went to extra innings.
East Troy (9-8) looked to seal the win with four runs in the top of the eighth. Half of that was courtesy of a two-run homer by Atkinson. Heimos singled and stole second. After a walk and a strikeout, Danielle Rudolph singled to score the other two runs.
Instead of folding, the Badgers put a score into the Trojans in the bottom of the eighth. Megan Potter singled, VonSeth walked and Kerns was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Hunt singled to score Potter. VonSeth scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Jenson with Hunt being out at second. Kerns scored on a single by Galitz to bring the Badgers to within one run, but Peterson flew out to centerfield to end the game.
Peterson had four hits on the day with one RBI. Jenson, Emily Potter and VonSeth each had three hits. Hunt had two hits and three RBIs.
The Badgers lost two games to Burlington on May 10 in Burlington. The first-place Demons (12-5, 10-1 SLC) won the first game 13-2. Burlington scored twice in the first. The Badgers answered with two in the second on an RBI double by Marrisa Nurnberg and an RBI groundout by Hunt.
That was all the Badger offense could get off Burlington’s Josie Klein. Burlington scored three times in the bottom of the second, five times in the third and three more times in the fourth to end the game in five innings.
The Badgers, as the home team in the second game, got much closer to a victory before falling 7-3. The Demons took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Badger cut that in half in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Peterson.
Badger took a 3-2 lead in the third. Hunt singled with one out. Galitz doubled. Another RBI groundout by Peterson scored one run, and Galitz scored on an error.
Burlington scored two in the sixth and three in the seventh to pull away late.
Hunt and Galitz had two hits apiece to lead Badger (6-12, 2-9 SLC). Peterson had two RBIs and gave up just two earned runs on five hits over four innings pitching.
Baseball splits pair
The Badger baseball team split two games with Union Grove last week.
The Badgers beat the Broncos (11-6, 6-5) 2-0 on May 8 at home. The game was a pitcher’s duel as Badger’s Addison Hochevar gave up just one hit and no runs over 6.1 innings, and Union Grove’s Cameron Drier gave up five hits and two earned runs in six innings. The game was scoreless into the sixth inning.
The Badgers scored both of their runs in the sixth. Colton Surges walked, Brant Stahulak doubled with Surges advancing to third and Vance doubled, scoring Surges and Stahulak. Vance had two hits and two RBIs on the day.
The Badgers lost the rematch in Union Grove on May 10 by the score of 7-0. Jake Zimmermann pitched all seven innings for the Broncos, shutting out the Badgers on four hits.
Union Grove scored once in the second, three times in the fourth and three more times in the sixth. Badger played a clean defensive game with no errors.
