Wildcats clinch DC title with four wins
Lindsay Steien of Blair-Taylor slid into third base well ahead of a tag attempt during their game against Alma/Pepin on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
While a couple of games were close, the Blair-Taylor softball team clinched the Dairyland Conference title with four wins in conference play last week.
The Wildcats outscored Alma Center Lincoln 34-0 in a doubleheader last week Tuesday before sneaking by second-place Melrose-Mindoro, 2-1, on Thursday. They clinched sole possession of the conference title with an 8-1 win over Alma/Pepin on Friday.
With a 20-1 overall record — 17-0 in DC play — the Wildcats will enter the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament as a first seed and, therefore, will have a bye in the first-round of games set to be played on Thursday.
The Wildcats will close out the regular season with games at Augusta on Monday, at home against Prescott on Wednesday and Thorp on Thursday.
After regularly advancing to the state tournament in Division Five in recent seasons, B-T will play in Division Four this year. Their tournament run begins this coming Tuesday when they take on the winner of the game between (9) Loyal/Greenwood and (8) Bangor.
B-T 13 AC Lincoln 0
Lindsay Steien held ACL to one hit while getting two — and two RBIs — herself in B-T’s win.
Steien scored the first run of the game when she reached base on an error and scored on a single by Abby Thompson. Two more runs scored on another error before Kierstyn Kindschy added an RBI single to put B-T ahead 4-0.
Steien led off the second with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly as part of a two-run inning. She added an RBI single in the third then scored on a single by Sydney Fremstad. Thompson tripled to make the score 11-0.
B-T added two more runs on sacrifice flies to go ahead by the final score.
ACL’s only hit was a double in the fourth inning. Steien struck out 11 and walked one.
B-T 21 AC Lincoln 0
The Wildcats out-hit the Hornets 16-2 as they took control of the game with 10 runs in the first two innings.
B-T scored three in the first then Steien, Thompson and Lofgren had consecutive RBI hits in the second. Lydia Frederixon and Madalynn Frederixon added RBIs later in that inning before the latter scored on a passed ball that made the score 10-0.
Andi Beck doubled in a run in the fourth before Steien and Thompson had consecutive run-scoring hits, making the score 14-0. B-T added seven more in the fifth as Thompson and Callie Wagner had RBI hits.
Thompson led B-T with three hits and four RBIs while Steien, Lofgren, Wagner and Madalynn Frederixon all had two hits.
Thompson got the win, striking out 10 without a walk.
B-T 2 Mel-Min 1
The Wildcats clinched at least a tie of the conference title by edging the top contender.
The Mustangs came into the game with a 16-1 record, including a 14-1 mark in Dairyland Conference play, with their only loss coming against B-T. The Wildcats scored five runs in the first inning of a 12-2 win in April, but this game would be different.
B-T scored in the first as Steien led off with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly, but they’d need a run in the final inning to secure the win.
The Mustangs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Cooper Zeman tripled and came home on the throw.
Wagner led off the top of the seventh with a double for B-T. Pinch runner Elissa Smetana moved to third on a groundout then scored on a fielder’s choice hit into by Madalynn Frederixon. Frederixon hit the ball to second and Smetana beat the tag home to put B-T ahead 2-1.
Thompson then came on to pitch the seventh, getting two groundouts and a strikeout to send B-T home with a win.
Steien pitched the first six innings, striking out 11 while holding B-T to two hits and one walk.
The Wildcats struggled offensively with just three hits in the game.
B-T 8 P/A 1
The Wildcats scored the first eight runs before the Eagles got on the board.
Steien led off with a single and scored on a dropped fly ball. A double by Wagner put B-T ahead 2-0 after one.
B-T added two more runs on RBI singles by Madalynn Frederixon and Fremstad in the third. Thompson doubled in a run in the fourth before another scored on an error and Kindschy hit an RBI single to make the score 7-0.
Steien singled and scored on a passed ball in the fifth.
B-T had 11 hits as Steien, Thompson, Madalynn Frederixon and Kindschy all had two.
Steien got the start and the win, tossing the first four innings with four strikeouts and two walks, exiting with a no-hitter intact. Thompson pitched the final three innings, striking out two while allowing three hits and one walk.
