BALDWIN – When Nicole Zoellner swung and missed her emotions instantly hit her. She put both hands on the mask of her helmet and knelt to the ground.
On the other side, Ellsworth pitcher April O’Neil tossed her mask and glove in the air in celebration as the Panthers defeated Merrill 4-1 in a WIAA Division 2 sectional final at Mill Pond Softball Complex in Baldwin on Thursday.
Just like that the Merrill softball season was over. It was time to exit the ride of its rollercoaster season. But what a ride it was.
“It was really cool to make it this far,” senior Megan Schroder said. “It doesn’t happen a lot. It’s a special feeling to do it with a group that really cared about each other.”
That’s what made the abrupt end so hard. The Jays were such a tight-knit team. For senior Michelle Lahr this week was a whirlwind of emotions. Lahr, who went to Mosinee High School, came to Merrill for her senior year. Just two days earlier, Lahr was celebrating a sectional semifinal win against her old team. On Thursday, she was in tears following the end of her high school sports career.
“It was just such a special team, special season to be a part of,” Lahr said. “We really bonded, that’s what hurts the most. We would hang out outside of the diamond. I never expected this coming in, I was blindsided by how genuinely everyone cared for each other, like a family and for it to happen so gracefully fall into place..it was great.”
For Ellenbecker it was his second sectional final in eight years as the head coach. He knows team’s like this don’t come around every year.
“This group needs to be super proud of what they’ve done,” he said clutching the sectional final consolation medals in his hand. “Three years ago we were in a sectional final and had a tough loss too. These kind of season’s don’t come along very often. It hurts now, but they will look back and be happy of what they accomplished.”
Merrill got on the board in the first inning when Kelsie Belfiori led off the game with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. Ellsworth quickly responded as O’Neil led off the game with a homer and Brianna Giese followed as the Panthers connected for back-to-back homers to start.
It was stunning because of the run Merrill pitcher Courtney Krueger was on. Krueger hadn’t allowed a run in Merrill’s three playoff wins. In the sectional final, two batters, two runs. But Krueger bared down and settled in after that.
“I think that’s a team thing, a team mentality,” Ellenbecker said. “The four seniors are great examples for our underclassmen and we are all behind each other and supporting one another. Courtney came back and pitched well after that.”
Merrill never really got a sustained threat against O’Neil the rest of the way. In the fifth, a baserunning mistake eventually resulted in Belfiori left in the on deck circle at the end of the frame.
Ellsworth put the game away with runs in the fifth and sixth, including Giese smacking an RBI double in the sixth.
Merrill’s season finishes at 14-10 and despite losing 7 of their last 8 games in the regular season wound up within one win of the state tournament.
“Successful,” Ellenbecker said when asked to describe the season. “We took our lumps and we stuck together. To win a regional title and be one step away from the state tournament, you can’t call that anything but a successful season.”
Added Lahr: “I think we got this far because of how close we were and how genuinely we cared for each other. It sucks right now, but it was a great season with a special group.”