Ticket Sales
Tickets to Monroe's Division 2 state softball semifinal game on Friday, June 6, will go on sale Tuesday at Monroe High School. Tickets can be purchased for $6. The Cheesemakers will play Rice Lake at 8 p.m. Friday, June, 6, at Goodman Diamond in Madison.
WHITEWATER - No stranger to appearing indestructible on the pitching plate, Renee Schuttler was like Tupperware in sending her softball team to state Thursday.
Monroe's senior ace bent several times but refused to break, and Emily Rufenacht delivered the silence-shattering RBI-double in the bottom of the eighth inning to upend Prairie du Chien, 1-0, in a WIAA Division 2 sectional final at Whitewater High School.
The Lady Cheesemakers play in a state semifinal at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6, in Madison against Rice Lake, a 5-4 winner Thursday over Altoona. New Berlin Eisenhower and Southern Door play in the other state semifinal at 6 p.m. June 6.
After Renee's junior sister Maggie reached with a flare over third base, the junior Rufenacht drilled a clothesline into right center and Monroe coach Dale Buvid didn't hesitate to windmill Schuttler in without a play.
"It was right there and felt so perfect and felt so right," Rufenacht said of the letter-high fastball. "I knew Maggie was on, she was fast and I could get her home."
"It was the one run we needed to stop and we couldn't," Blackhawks ace Britni George said. "It's not the end of the world, but it's gonna be pretty big for a while."
Without Schuttler wriggling off the hook with regularity and a stellar play by Brandi Trewartha, the heroics would not have been possible.
Months after Buvid heavily weighed three athletes to play in right field this season, the sophomore made good on his endorsement by cutting down the potential game-winning run at the plate.
Blackhawks junior catcher Laken Polodna socked a line drive to right with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, and skipper Ron Sedgwick sent Candace Kazynski, trying to score his senior from second base.
Trewartha was quick to the ball and unleashed a 150-foot strike to home, where Kylie Kaiser caught the yellow ball on the fly and had to wait for Kazynski to finish her last four strides before applying the tag.
"Usually in practice, I have to hit Renee as a cutoff, but I knew I just had to give it my all and make the best throw that I could," Trewartha said. "I've never had to make a throw as important as that one was."
"I was thinking, 'Should I cut it off? Should I cut it off?' Schuttler recaps, '"but then I said, 'No, Brenda (Brandi) can do it.'"
Buvid knew speed was seemingly on Prairie's side on the pivotal play.
"If the throw is just a little off, the kid's probably safe; that was their leadoff hitter and we knew she could run," Buvid said. "What an outstanding play for a sophomore to just throw a dart."
Rufenacht, who finished 2-for-4 and nearly squeezed the rubber grip off the bat when she was left on deck with a runner on in the fifth, said the momentum shift was palpable.
"That was a big boost," Rufenacht said. "That was the biggest play ever and without it, my hit wouldn't have happened."
When Trewartha wasn't helping Schuttler squash rallies, the ace was flat out dealing her way out of danger. Schuttler scattered nine hits, struck out 15 batters and stranded 11 Prairie baserunners.
She worked around an error in the second and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out scenario by inducing a groundout to third baseman Katie Lenz before striking out Kazynski, who went down on strikes three times.
The Blackhawks put two runners on with two outs in the eighth before Schuttler fanned Terrilyn Farmer for her last K.
Schuttler fanned two batters in every inning but the seventh. She did it without her best heat, as she relied on her devastating changeup that looks almost identical to her fastball coming out of the hand.
After Polodna led off with a triple in the third, Schuttler overmatched Lindsey Mezera with heat before pulling the string on a 1-2 changeup that Alana Skemp couldn't possibly wait for as she anxiously whiffed.
Polodna had three hits and her battery mate, also a junior, lamented her streaky team's inability to finish off a rally.
"Unfortunately, we're a one-inning team and when one person's hitting the ball, we're hitting the ball," George said.
George fanned three and walked two on the hill but failed to put a duck on the pond in the No. 2 hole, going 0-for-4 in front of Polodna.
With zeros still glowing in the fifth inning, Schuttler put mind over matter.
"I told our players this would not be my last game; we were going to win," Schuttler said.
But she knew it wouldn't come easy as every athlete was battling to stay alive.
"I had two strikes on almost every batter, but you've gotta push even harder now to get that third strike," Schuttler said.
Buvid knows as well as anyone how hard every cog will have to turn for the push to continue next Friday at Goodman Diamond in Madison. But, albeit momentarily, he's just grateful for right now.
"I'm really happy for the kids, I've been fortunate to be here," Buvid said. "Renee and Carlie Olsen put a ton of time into this. And Kaiser and (Kayla) Rackow were part of the basketball title, but they weren't in the spotlight like they are now. I'm just so proud of everyone on this team."
Monroe's senior ace bent several times but refused to break, and Emily Rufenacht delivered the silence-shattering RBI-double in the bottom of the eighth inning to upend Prairie du Chien, 1-0, in a WIAA Division 2 sectional final at Whitewater High School.
The Lady Cheesemakers play in a state semifinal at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6, in Madison against Rice Lake, a 5-4 winner Thursday over Altoona. New Berlin Eisenhower and Southern Door play in the other state semifinal at 6 p.m. June 6.
After Renee's junior sister Maggie reached with a flare over third base, the junior Rufenacht drilled a clothesline into right center and Monroe coach Dale Buvid didn't hesitate to windmill Schuttler in without a play.
"It was right there and felt so perfect and felt so right," Rufenacht said of the letter-high fastball. "I knew Maggie was on, she was fast and I could get her home."
"It was the one run we needed to stop and we couldn't," Blackhawks ace Britni George said. "It's not the end of the world, but it's gonna be pretty big for a while."
Without Schuttler wriggling off the hook with regularity and a stellar play by Brandi Trewartha, the heroics would not have been possible.
Months after Buvid heavily weighed three athletes to play in right field this season, the sophomore made good on his endorsement by cutting down the potential game-winning run at the plate.
Blackhawks junior catcher Laken Polodna socked a line drive to right with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, and skipper Ron Sedgwick sent Candace Kazynski, trying to score his senior from second base.
Trewartha was quick to the ball and unleashed a 150-foot strike to home, where Kylie Kaiser caught the yellow ball on the fly and had to wait for Kazynski to finish her last four strides before applying the tag.
"Usually in practice, I have to hit Renee as a cutoff, but I knew I just had to give it my all and make the best throw that I could," Trewartha said. "I've never had to make a throw as important as that one was."
"I was thinking, 'Should I cut it off? Should I cut it off?' Schuttler recaps, '"but then I said, 'No, Brenda (Brandi) can do it.'"
Buvid knew speed was seemingly on Prairie's side on the pivotal play.
"If the throw is just a little off, the kid's probably safe; that was their leadoff hitter and we knew she could run," Buvid said. "What an outstanding play for a sophomore to just throw a dart."
Rufenacht, who finished 2-for-4 and nearly squeezed the rubber grip off the bat when she was left on deck with a runner on in the fifth, said the momentum shift was palpable.
"That was a big boost," Rufenacht said. "That was the biggest play ever and without it, my hit wouldn't have happened."
When Trewartha wasn't helping Schuttler squash rallies, the ace was flat out dealing her way out of danger. Schuttler scattered nine hits, struck out 15 batters and stranded 11 Prairie baserunners.
She worked around an error in the second and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out scenario by inducing a groundout to third baseman Katie Lenz before striking out Kazynski, who went down on strikes three times.
The Blackhawks put two runners on with two outs in the eighth before Schuttler fanned Terrilyn Farmer for her last K.
Schuttler fanned two batters in every inning but the seventh. She did it without her best heat, as she relied on her devastating changeup that looks almost identical to her fastball coming out of the hand.
After Polodna led off with a triple in the third, Schuttler overmatched Lindsey Mezera with heat before pulling the string on a 1-2 changeup that Alana Skemp couldn't possibly wait for as she anxiously whiffed.
Polodna had three hits and her battery mate, also a junior, lamented her streaky team's inability to finish off a rally.
"Unfortunately, we're a one-inning team and when one person's hitting the ball, we're hitting the ball," George said.
George fanned three and walked two on the hill but failed to put a duck on the pond in the No. 2 hole, going 0-for-4 in front of Polodna.
With zeros still glowing in the fifth inning, Schuttler put mind over matter.
"I told our players this would not be my last game; we were going to win," Schuttler said.
But she knew it wouldn't come easy as every athlete was battling to stay alive.
"I had two strikes on almost every batter, but you've gotta push even harder now to get that third strike," Schuttler said.
Buvid knows as well as anyone how hard every cog will have to turn for the push to continue next Friday at Goodman Diamond in Madison. But, albeit momentarily, he's just grateful for right now.
"I'm really happy for the kids, I've been fortunate to be here," Buvid said. "Renee and Carlie Olsen put a ton of time into this. And Kaiser and (Kayla) Rackow were part of the basketball title, but they weren't in the spotlight like they are now. I'm just so proud of everyone on this team."
