Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Last Tuesday, Bluejay softball locked horns with Marshfield in a WVC duel at the MARC.
The Tigers would go on to land the first blow with a run in the bottom of the second. The Bluejay bats would be held dormant until the top of the fifth when Lindsey Casper came home off a Madi Weix center field double. Marshfield responded again in the bottom of the sixth, this time with a pair of runs to jump up 3-1.
The ladies would narrow the margin a bit when Makayla Heller plated a run off a Patience Pyan left field double in the top of the seventh, but that would be the last call for the Jays as Marshfield slipped away with a tight 3-2 win.
“You’re never happy with a loss, but this game made 2 in a row that we hustled and played with focus,” comments head coach Matt Ellenbecker.
“We struggled early making any sort of decent contact. Megan Donahue is a very tough pitcher with good velocity and a nice rise ball. She was throwing well today. It was our 2nd time through before Maddix got us going with a base hit in the 4th, and Madi smashed a double off the wall in center to drive in our first run in the 5th.
“Our pitching and defense kept us in it. Taylor threw the ball very well, and our defense made plays behind her all day. They took the lead in the 6th inning with the help of an IF base hit just off Taylor’s glove, and put the go-ahead run on the board on a close play at the plate that very easily could have been called our way. We didn’t panic or fold up there. We made plays and got out of the inning,” he adds.
Even going down by 2 late, we fought back. Steph Schroder got things going with pinch-hit base hit in the top of the 7th and Kelsie and Patience followed suit with 2 outs. Maddix put a good swing on a ball and hit a sharp grounder back to Donahue who snagged it off a hop for the put out. If that gets through we have the lead.”
We fought in this one. Our goal is to be fighters and competitors. I told the girls that it was disappointing to lose, but this one felt a bit like a playoff game, and I was very proud with how we handled things in that type of environment. It bodes well if we keep working and believing in each other.
Batting: Pyan (2/3, RBI, 2B); Madi Weix (1/3, RBI, 2B); Stephanie Schroder (1/1)
Pitching: Krueger (L/7R, 3ER, 3K)
MRL: 0 0 0 0 1 0 1-2
MFD: 0 1 0 0 0 2 X-3
Spaded by SPASH
Thursday, the ladies headed down to Stevens Point for another shot at the current WVC top dogs but would find a much less desired result; falling 11-0 in four innings to the Tigers.
Pitching: Megan Schroeder (L/11R, 10ER)
MRL: 0 0 0 0 0 X X-0
SPT: 1 6 1 3 X X X-11