By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Lake Geneva Badger softball team, which lost its first two games of the season, has won six in a row to move into a tie for third place in the Southern Lakes Conference.
The Badgers defeated Burlington 9-3 at home on April 16 in a game moved to Badger from Burlington because of wet field conditions in Burlington. Burlington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Badger cut that lead in half in the home half of the inning on a homerun by Madison Hunt that glanced off the outstretched glove of the Demon centerfielder before carrying over the fence.
The Badgers tied the score in the third inning. Hunt doubled with one out and advanced to third on a groundout. Alyssa Bockelmann drove Hunt in with a single to make it 2-2.
Burlington (4-7, 1-4 SLC) took a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth, but the Badgers stormed right back with five runs in the bottom of the inning. Jeni Johnson and Kayla Kerns walked to lead off the inning. After a flyout and a strikeout, Bockelmann walked to load the bases with two outs.
Seneca Peterson struck out for what could have been the third out, but the final strike was a wild pitch. Peterson ended up safe at first and Johnson scored. Lace Atkinson then brought two more home with a single and two more came home on a triple by Leah Sanders.
The Badgers added two insurance runs in the sixth. With one out, Kerns singled and scored on a double by Hunt. Pinch runner Megan Potter then moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
Hunt led the way with three hits and two RBI. Sanders had two hits and two RBI. Atkinson had one hit and two RBI. Peterson pitched all seven innings giving up just four hits and three runs.
The Badgers also defeated Delavan-Darien 7-4 at home on April 18. The Badgers (6-2, 3-2 SLC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Hunt led off by drawing a walk and moved to second on a groundout. Hunt then scored on a double by Bockelmann. Peterson reached on a pop fly that fell in for a hit, but Hunt had to hold at second. Atkinson walked to load the bases and Kerns unloaded them with a double that scored two.
The Badgers added two more in the third. Bockelmann led off with a single and moved to second and third on two groundouts. Sanders tripled scoring Bockelmann and Kerns brought Sanders home with a single to give the Badgers a 5-0 lead.
Anna Weise held the Comets scoreless over the first three innings. The Comets did push across one run in the fourth. The Badgers got that run back and one more in the fifth on a two-run homerun by Paterson after a single by Bockelmann.
The Comets made things interesting in the late innings. Brooke Challe came on in relief of Weise and the Comets scored once in the sixth and twice in the seventh before Coach Glen York put Peterson in to close the Comets outs.
Bockelmann again led the team with three hits and an RBI. Peterson had two hits and two RBI. Kerns had two hits and three RBI.
The Badgers traveled to Union Grove (5-8, 3-2 SLC) on Tuesday. The Badgers travel to second-place Westosha Central (6-4, 4-2 SLC) on Thursday and host Union Grove on Friday. The Badgers will host Waukesha North (5-3) in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday.
See more Lake Geneva sports in the Times/Report.
