Winning Season Ends in Regionals
Four late runs pushed Grafton past the Vikings on the softball diamond on Monday, as Wisco's season ended in the regional semifinals with a 7-3 loss to the Blackhawks at Kulwicki Park.
The visitors struck first, scoring on a dropped third strike in the top of the 1st. Kylie Bilitz had the answer for Wisco in the bottom of the 2nd, singling to center to score Leah Pinnow with the tying run. A two-run error--one of four costly miscues for the Vikings--put Grafton back on top in the 3rd, but a pair of RBIs from Eden Rader (one in the 3rd, one in the 4th) knotted the game at 3 apiece.
The Blackhawks would pull ahead for good in the 5th inning, when a double, a passed ball, and an RBI groundout gave them a 4-3 advantage. A triple and RBI single the same inning stretched the lead to 5-3, and Grafton tacked on two more runs in their half of the 6th. The Vikings put runners in scoring position in both the 5th and the 7th but were unable to capitalize.
Rader paced the offense at the plate with a 3-4, 2-RBI day. Emily Buch and Katie Meyer each picked up a pair of hits. Senior Leah Pinnow was 1-3 with a run scored and fellow senior Melissa Tonn struck out 6 in her final appearance in the circle. The season saw the Vikings finish above .500 and post their highest win total in recent memory. The team finished at 11-9.
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The visitors struck first, scoring on a dropped third strike in the top of the 1st. Kylie Bilitz had the answer for Wisco in the bottom of the 2nd, singling to center to score Leah Pinnow with the tying run. A two-run error--one of four costly miscues for the Vikings--put Grafton back on top in the 3rd, but a pair of RBIs from Eden Rader (one in the 3rd, one in the 4th) knotted the game at 3 apiece.
The Blackhawks would pull ahead for good in the 5th inning, when a double, a passed ball, and an RBI groundout gave them a 4-3 advantage. A triple and RBI single the same inning stretched the lead to 5-3, and Grafton tacked on two more runs in their half of the 6th. The Vikings put runners in scoring position in both the 5th and the 7th but were unable to capitalize.
Rader paced the offense at the plate with a 3-4, 2-RBI day. Emily Buch and Katie Meyer each picked up a pair of hits. Senior Leah Pinnow was 1-3 with a run scored and fellow senior Melissa Tonn struck out 6 in her final appearance in the circle. The season saw the Vikings finish above .500 and post their highest win total in recent memory. The team finished at 11-9.
