Prep roundup (6/16): Fall Creek mounts furious rally to win softball regional title
Jun. 17—The Fall Creek softball team was down, but certainly not out.
The Crickets won a Division 4 regional championship in wild fashion on Wednesday, plating four runs in the top of the seventh inning to overturn a 2-1 deficit and defeat Lake Holcombe/Cornell 5-3.
Down to their final out and facing elimination, Fall Creek's Kennedy Gruhlke tied the game with an RBI single to right field in the seventh. Catrina Cline followed with a two-RBI single to put the Crickets ahead, and Sam Olson added an insurance run with a run-scoring single of her own.
Alyssa Helland hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to get a run back for Lake Holcombe/Cornell, but they couldn't get any more across.
Olson and Izzy Clark dueled in the circle all game. Each pitcher only surrendered one earned run in complete game efforts.
Fall Creek will play Glenwood City in the sectional semifinals on Monday.
McDonell 10, Flambeau 0: The Macks earned a Division 5 regional title with help from the arm and bat of Maggie Craker.
The senior pitched a complete game three-hitter in the circle, striking out five. At the plate, she was 3 for 4 with a double, triple and three RBIs.
Morgan Wirtz and Josie Witkowski both doubled and finished with two hits for McDonell. The Macks will host Thorp in the sectional semis on Monday.
Bloomer 7, Spooner 1: The Blackhawks took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and pulled away with four runs in the fifth to clinch a Division 3 regional title.
Delaney Zwiefelhofer's two-run homer highlighted the scoring in the fifth inning. She finished with three RBIs. Calley Olson earned the win in the circle, pitching 4.1 innings and striking out 10.
Bloomer will face Northwestern in the sectional semifinals on Monday.
Thorp 4, Gilman 1: The Cardinals became regional champions in Division 5, scoring four times in the third inning and riding a dominant performance from Trysta Leech.
Leech pitched a complete game, holding the Pirates to four hits while striking out 13. She was in command all afternoon, only issuing one walk.
Jolene Windl had two hits for the Cardinals, and Brianna Horn drove in two runs.
Thorp will square off with Western Cloverbelt Conference foe McDonell in Monday's sectional semifinals.
Somerset 11, Altoona 1: The Rails' season came to an end in the Division 2 regional finals. The Spartans scored four times in the first inning and five more times in the third to pull away early.
Rylee Spindler had a pair of hits for Altoona, and Averie Varsho tripled. But Roxanne Ring limited the Rails to one run in a five-inning complete game.
Altoona finished the season 21-5.
Independence/Gilmanton 10, Alma Center Lincoln 0: Hillari Klopp homered and Emerson Pronschinske pitched a complete game one-hitter as the Indees won in five innings to clinch a regional crown.
Pronschinske struck out six, and added two hits offensively. Independence/Gilmanton will square off with Columbus Catholic in Monday's Division 5 sectional semis.
Blair-Taylor 4, Auburndale 3: The Wildcats made four early runs hold up to capture a Division 4 regional championship.
Blair-Taylor scored twice in the first inning and twice more in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Auburndale answered with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth, but couldn't plate the tying run.
Abby Thompson earned the win and had two hits at the plate. Blair-Taylor will play Marathon in Monday's sectional semifinals.
Glenwood City 10, Cadott 1: The Hilltoppers, ranked No. 3 in all of Division 4, earned a regional title with a big win over the Hornets. Glenwood City will take on Fall Creek in the sectional semis on Monday.
Baldwin-Woodville 7, Ellsworth 2: The Blackhawks secured a regional title in Division 2 by clipping the Panthers. Baldwin-Woodville, ranked No. 2 in D2, will continue its quest for a state tournament berth against Somerset in the sectional semis on Monday.
Baseball
Regis 5, Spring Valley 4: The Ramblers survived a late surge from the Cardinals to win a Division 3 regional title in dramatic fashion.
Second-seeded Regis led 5-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning before the Cardinals came to life. The first two batters of the frame reached base before Regis recorded two outs. But Carter Deppa extended the game with a two-RBI single, cutting the lead to 5-4.
Spring Valley's two base runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, putting the winning run in scoring position. But Regis pitcher Cooper Dykes buckled down and mustered a strikeout to clinch the Ramblers' first regional title since 2016.
Alex Leis hit a pair of doubles to lead Regis, and Mason Kostka homered. Patrick Callaghan earned the win by working the first four innings.
Connor Ducklow had a pair of hits for Spring Valley, which finished 13-6.
Regis will play Thorp/Gilman in the sectional semis on Tuesday in Cumberland.
Thorp/Gilman 11, Fall Creek 5: The Cardinals brought home a Division 3 regional title, scoring early and often to get past the Crickets.
Thorp/Gilman scored twice in the first inning and three more times in the second to build an early lead. By the end of four innings they led 9-5, and they held Fall Creek scoreless the rest of the way.
Jack Syryczuk had three hits and scored three runs for the Cardinals, while four players added two hits each. Lucas Costley tallied three hits to lead the Crickets.
Thorp/Gilman will face Regis in the Division 3 sectional semis next Tuesday.
Boyceville 6, Immanuel Lutheran 0: The Bulldogs blanked the Lancers in a regional final pitting two of Division 4's top teams head-to-head.
Boyceville, ranked No. 2 in D4, will play Independence/Gilmanton in Tuesday's sectional semis in Shell Lake. They got there by beating Division 4's No. 5-ranked team in the Lancers. Statistics were not reported.
Medford 2, Bloomer 1: The Blackhawks came up just short in a nail-biter against one of Division 2's top teams. Medford scored twice in the bottom of the second and rode a stellar start from Caleb Guden to win the regional title. He struck out 11 in 6.2 innings and held the Blackhawks to four hits.
Bloomer got a run back when Ethan Rothbauer scored on an error in the sixth inning, but the tying run was stranded on second to end the frame. Rothbauer had a hit and stolen base for the Blackhawks, who finish the season 22-3.
Rice Lake 10, Ashland 0: The Warriors had no trouble winning a Division 2 regional title, despite being the lower seed in this matchup.
Easton Stone bashed a pair of doubles and Zack Fisher knocked in two runs as second-seeded Rice Lake cruised past the top-seeded Oredockers. Matt Juza pitched a five-inning complete game, striking out three in the shutout.
Rice Lake will play Osceola in Tuesday's sectional semis.
Cameron 11, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 6: The Comets rolled to a Division 3 regional championship after scoring seven times in the first inning.
Luke Salm drove in four runs to power the offense, while Josh Halverson worked 5.2 strong innings on the mound.
Cameron will play St. Croix Falls in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday.
Osceola 5, Baldwin-Woodville 4: Osceloa scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overturn a two-run deficit and thwart the Blackhawks' upset bid in Division 2.
Blaine Guthrie had three hits for the second-seeded Blackhawks, including a double. Baldwin-Woodville finished the season with a 15-10 record.
St. Croix Falls 16, Cumberland 0: The Beavers couldn't solve Jared Lessman, who struck out 11 while surrendering just two hits in five innings. The Saints opened the scoring with eight runs in the second inning.
Webster 12, Bruce 2: The Red Raiders' season came to an end in the Division 4 regional finals. Webster's Owen Washburn, a South Carolina recruit, struck out 10 to earn the win.
Independence/Gilmanton 3, Cochrane-Fountain City 0: Hunter Guenther was nearly untouchable on the mound, holding the Pirates to two hits while striking out 13 in a complete game shutout. Chris Killian hit a homer to help the Indees win the Division 4 regional title.
The Indees will play Boyceville in Tuesday's sectional semifinals.
