BRODHEAD - The Brodhead-Juda Cardinals learned a lot about themselves Saturday, during a 7-4 non-conference win over Monticello. For one thing, the Cardinals kept their cool.
"I saw some poise. They were in a tough situation and they stuck through it," Brodhead-Juda coach Paul Ritschard said. "I was really proud of the kids."
After allowing the Ponies to tie the game at 4 in the top of the fifth inning, the Cardinals followed the play of its veterans and used a 3-run sixth inning to finish off the win.
"We had some leadership that I knew was going to come through with Tyler (Malcook) and Carson (Scheidegger), and they did their job," Ritschard said. "Everyone else kind of followed them and made the plays."
Tate Harnack reached first on an error by Monticello's Trae Seffrood and immediately stole second base. Moments later, Harnack stole third, with Seffrood tagging high, which allowed Harnack to be called safe. A single by Derek Turner scored the game-winning run, and two more runs followed in the inning.
"There were some things defensively that hurt us," Monticello coach Jason Pinnow said. "We need to clean those up. But other than that, win-or-lose, I was fairly pleased with the effort."
Brodhead took the first lead of the game in the second inning, thanks to a lead-off double by Harnack. In the top of the sixth, Harnack, who had two runs, made a sprinting catch near the warning track with two outs, saving a potential run.
"We knew he (Tate) would be our leader in the outfield and we have him at No. 4 in our lineup. We knew what we were getting out of Tate," Ritschard said. "We're just hoping that's going to be a consistent thing."
Monticello got on the board in the top of the fourth, when a Lukas Kolasch double scored Corey McGowan from first base. Kolasch had a second RBI double in the fifth, which tied the score at 4-4.
"We hit the crap out of the ball. Every out we hit was a hard out, and that's good to see early in the season," Pinnow said. "We had the momentum, but a couple of things didn't go out way and they got some late runs."
Brodhead took a 4-1 lead on a 2-RBI single by Matt Trotter. Initially, just one runner was going to score on the two-out hit, but Trotter got into a pickle between first and second and outlasted the defense, allowing the second Cardinal run to cross the plate.
"It was one of those things where we go over the pickle drill and try to have the kids visualize that it happens in games. Now by doing that and manufacturing in a run, it's great to see it come into play," Ritschard said.
McGowan took the loss on the hill for Monticello, while Malcook picked up the win for Brodhead.
"As a senior, (McGowan's) learned to pitch through the mistakes. I don't think he walked too many guys, but it's tough when you're pitching your heart out," Pinnow said.
Brodhead gets back into action on Tuesday at home against McFarland. Monticello will host Shullsburg Friday afternoon.
"It's good to get the early games in. It gets the rust off and the cobwebs loosened up. You don't want to get these games canceled because they're harder to get in later in the season," Pinnow said. "It is good to get out and play with grass, umpires and stuff. I think the guys are excited (for the season) and I am too."
"I saw some poise. They were in a tough situation and they stuck through it," Brodhead-Juda coach Paul Ritschard said. "I was really proud of the kids."
After allowing the Ponies to tie the game at 4 in the top of the fifth inning, the Cardinals followed the play of its veterans and used a 3-run sixth inning to finish off the win.
"We had some leadership that I knew was going to come through with Tyler (Malcook) and Carson (Scheidegger), and they did their job," Ritschard said. "Everyone else kind of followed them and made the plays."
Tate Harnack reached first on an error by Monticello's Trae Seffrood and immediately stole second base. Moments later, Harnack stole third, with Seffrood tagging high, which allowed Harnack to be called safe. A single by Derek Turner scored the game-winning run, and two more runs followed in the inning.
"There were some things defensively that hurt us," Monticello coach Jason Pinnow said. "We need to clean those up. But other than that, win-or-lose, I was fairly pleased with the effort."
Brodhead took the first lead of the game in the second inning, thanks to a lead-off double by Harnack. In the top of the sixth, Harnack, who had two runs, made a sprinting catch near the warning track with two outs, saving a potential run.
"We knew he (Tate) would be our leader in the outfield and we have him at No. 4 in our lineup. We knew what we were getting out of Tate," Ritschard said. "We're just hoping that's going to be a consistent thing."
Monticello got on the board in the top of the fourth, when a Lukas Kolasch double scored Corey McGowan from first base. Kolasch had a second RBI double in the fifth, which tied the score at 4-4.
"We hit the crap out of the ball. Every out we hit was a hard out, and that's good to see early in the season," Pinnow said. "We had the momentum, but a couple of things didn't go out way and they got some late runs."
Brodhead took a 4-1 lead on a 2-RBI single by Matt Trotter. Initially, just one runner was going to score on the two-out hit, but Trotter got into a pickle between first and second and outlasted the defense, allowing the second Cardinal run to cross the plate.
"It was one of those things where we go over the pickle drill and try to have the kids visualize that it happens in games. Now by doing that and manufacturing in a run, it's great to see it come into play," Ritschard said.
McGowan took the loss on the hill for Monticello, while Malcook picked up the win for Brodhead.
"As a senior, (McGowan's) learned to pitch through the mistakes. I don't think he walked too many guys, but it's tough when you're pitching your heart out," Pinnow said.
Brodhead gets back into action on Tuesday at home against McFarland. Monticello will host Shullsburg Friday afternoon.
"It's good to get the early games in. It gets the rust off and the cobwebs loosened up. You don't want to get these games canceled because they're harder to get in later in the season," Pinnow said. "It is good to get out and play with grass, umpires and stuff. I think the guys are excited (for the season) and I am too."
