MADISON - It wasn't the way Monroe senior pitcher Becca Armstrong envisioned walking off the mound in the seventh inning.
There was no late-inning comeback, and the Cheesemakers lost a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal 6-0 to New London.
"I'm still not convinced they are the better team," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said after the Cheesemakers' loss Thursday at Goodman Diamond in Madison. "They were better than us today. That's sports."
Monroe (27-3) got off to an inauspicious start. Armstrong walked three in the first inning. New London's Morgan Georges then lined an RBI single to right field. The Bulldogs scored two additional runs on an error to take a 3-0 lead. Armstrong, who had only walked just 1.4 batters per game going into the state tournament, walked four against the Bulldogs and all four came around to score. Four of the six runs Armstrong gave up were unearned.
The Cheesemakers, the state runner-up last year making their third state appearance and seventh in the last 11 years, committed an uncharacteristic two errors that led to two runs for the Bulldogs.
"We can't let this one loss take away from the great season we had," Armstrong said. "It's bittersweet. My rise ball wasn't working. I wasn't happy with my spots. I had to just rely on my fastball."
Buvid will always remember the record-setting year the Cheesemakers had. Monroe set a school record for wins in a season (27) and won the Badger South Conference with the school's first unbeaten conference record (12-0). Armstrong also set personal records for strikeouts (247) and wins (25).
"There is no explanation for it," Buvid said of the state semifinal loss. "I think (Armstrong) had a great career here. Sometimes you just can't explain it. That's sports. She was a little off and it cost us."
New London (16-5) added to its lead when Armstrong walked leadoff hitter Shelby Sommer in the third. Sommer later scored on a wild pitch to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead. Armstrong pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits. After being called for an illegal pitch in the second, Armstrong bounced back and retired nine of the next 10 batters.
"I was kind of frustrated," she said of the illegal pitch that wiped out a strikeout. "They don't call that during the year. I had to shake off that one illegal pitch. I had to throw strikes."
She did just that. She rebounded and struck out New London's Kansas Walbruck to spark a perfect second.
Sommer wasn't overpowering on the mound, but she kept the Cheesemakers off-balance by changing speeds and locating her pitches in a four-hit shutout. Monroe sophomore Kari Jordan went 2-for-4 to lead the Cheesemakers.
"We tried our hardest," Jordan said. "It just didn't work out the way we wanted. I'm just very proud of the team that we could get to this point. They came to play and we did too. It's too bad we couldn't go on."
The Cheesemakers had a golden scoring opportunity in the fourth. Monroe junior Kayla Updike crushed a triple to left. The Cheesemakers squandered the scoring opportunity, though, when Sommer struck out Taylor O'Leksy and Heather Barta to work out of the jam.
"We knew 90 percent of the time she was going to throw a first pitch fastball for a strike," Buvid said. "When she got ahead that is when she went to the changeup and curveball. The top of our order has to do more and they were just not able to do it."
Barta remained confident despite the early hole the Cheesemakers faced.
"You have your at-bats to get back up there," Barta said. "I'm always confident in our at-bats. We just didn't hit them today."
As a senior, Barta added that "It's hard. It hasn't sunk in yet. Not going to practice tomorrow at 3:45 will be hard on me."
New London's Abby Elsholt singled up the middle off Armstrong in the sixth. Kansas Walbruck then lined an RBI single to right and Alanna Beyer delivered an RBI double to left, but she was thrown out on a perfect relay throw at third. Beyer and Elsholt were each 2-for-3 to lead the Bulldogs.
"Give credit to New London," Buvid said. "They put the ball in play. When we gave them a few opportunities with walks, they made us pay and knocked the door down."
Monroe senior Samantha Solberg entered in relief in the seventh and struck out Georges to get out of the inning.
"Sam is a good pitcher herself," Buvid said. "She wanted to pitch the whole inning. The intent was to get the seniors in and to honor Becca. I wanted to honor Becca for her accomplishments."
Monroe graduates eight seniors, but seven of the Cheesemakers' starters will return next year.
"Hopefully, we can continue the tradition and come back next year," Jordan said.
There was no late-inning comeback, and the Cheesemakers lost a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal 6-0 to New London.
"I'm still not convinced they are the better team," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said after the Cheesemakers' loss Thursday at Goodman Diamond in Madison. "They were better than us today. That's sports."
Monroe (27-3) got off to an inauspicious start. Armstrong walked three in the first inning. New London's Morgan Georges then lined an RBI single to right field. The Bulldogs scored two additional runs on an error to take a 3-0 lead. Armstrong, who had only walked just 1.4 batters per game going into the state tournament, walked four against the Bulldogs and all four came around to score. Four of the six runs Armstrong gave up were unearned.
The Cheesemakers, the state runner-up last year making their third state appearance and seventh in the last 11 years, committed an uncharacteristic two errors that led to two runs for the Bulldogs.
"We can't let this one loss take away from the great season we had," Armstrong said. "It's bittersweet. My rise ball wasn't working. I wasn't happy with my spots. I had to just rely on my fastball."
Buvid will always remember the record-setting year the Cheesemakers had. Monroe set a school record for wins in a season (27) and won the Badger South Conference with the school's first unbeaten conference record (12-0). Armstrong also set personal records for strikeouts (247) and wins (25).
"There is no explanation for it," Buvid said of the state semifinal loss. "I think (Armstrong) had a great career here. Sometimes you just can't explain it. That's sports. She was a little off and it cost us."
New London (16-5) added to its lead when Armstrong walked leadoff hitter Shelby Sommer in the third. Sommer later scored on a wild pitch to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead. Armstrong pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits. After being called for an illegal pitch in the second, Armstrong bounced back and retired nine of the next 10 batters.
"I was kind of frustrated," she said of the illegal pitch that wiped out a strikeout. "They don't call that during the year. I had to shake off that one illegal pitch. I had to throw strikes."
She did just that. She rebounded and struck out New London's Kansas Walbruck to spark a perfect second.
Sommer wasn't overpowering on the mound, but she kept the Cheesemakers off-balance by changing speeds and locating her pitches in a four-hit shutout. Monroe sophomore Kari Jordan went 2-for-4 to lead the Cheesemakers.
"We tried our hardest," Jordan said. "It just didn't work out the way we wanted. I'm just very proud of the team that we could get to this point. They came to play and we did too. It's too bad we couldn't go on."
The Cheesemakers had a golden scoring opportunity in the fourth. Monroe junior Kayla Updike crushed a triple to left. The Cheesemakers squandered the scoring opportunity, though, when Sommer struck out Taylor O'Leksy and Heather Barta to work out of the jam.
"We knew 90 percent of the time she was going to throw a first pitch fastball for a strike," Buvid said. "When she got ahead that is when she went to the changeup and curveball. The top of our order has to do more and they were just not able to do it."
Barta remained confident despite the early hole the Cheesemakers faced.
"You have your at-bats to get back up there," Barta said. "I'm always confident in our at-bats. We just didn't hit them today."
As a senior, Barta added that "It's hard. It hasn't sunk in yet. Not going to practice tomorrow at 3:45 will be hard on me."
New London's Abby Elsholt singled up the middle off Armstrong in the sixth. Kansas Walbruck then lined an RBI single to right and Alanna Beyer delivered an RBI double to left, but she was thrown out on a perfect relay throw at third. Beyer and Elsholt were each 2-for-3 to lead the Bulldogs.
"Give credit to New London," Buvid said. "They put the ball in play. When we gave them a few opportunities with walks, they made us pay and knocked the door down."
Monroe senior Samantha Solberg entered in relief in the seventh and struck out Georges to get out of the inning.
"Sam is a good pitcher herself," Buvid said. "She wanted to pitch the whole inning. The intent was to get the seniors in and to honor Becca. I wanted to honor Becca for her accomplishments."
Monroe graduates eight seniors, but seven of the Cheesemakers' starters will return next year.
"Hopefully, we can continue the tradition and come back next year," Jordan said.
