FORT ATKINSON - Monroe softball coach Dale Buvid is fairly certain the last pitch to leave Becca Armstrong's right hand Tuesday was a ball well out of the strike zone.
That didn't matter to Fort Atkinson cleanup hitter Maddie Bare, who clubbed the ball high over the fence in straight-away center field for a walk-off grand slam in the Blackhawks' 6-2 victory.
Bare's blast completed a six-run Fort Atkinson rally without Monroe recording an out in the bottom of the seventh inning and handed the visitors their second straight last-inning loss.
"We had them on the ropes, but that's the way it has gone for us all year," Buvid said. "We go into the last inning with a lead and just kind of melted down.
"We had a chance to beat the two time defending (Badger South) Conference champs on their field and we just unraveled a little bit in the seventh inning."
It appeared the Cheesemakers (6-6, 3-3 Badger South) had done enough against Fort Atkinson starter Kaitlyn Hollman, who allowed just three hits - the first a one-out single in the fifth by senior Kasey Gutzmer.
Monroe scored twice in the sixth, sophomore Kayla Updike lining a 2-2 fastball up the middle to score junior Heather Barta and sophomore Ellie Grossen.
But Fort Atkinson (9-2, 6-0) used a walk and two errors to tie the game quickly in the seventh. Then, with a runner on third base, Buvid elected to walk two batters intentionally.
Bare made Monroe pay, ripping a 2-2 fastball that cleared the fence "by over 10 feet," Buvid said.
"The pitch was up quite a bit, but she's their cleanup hitter and she's a big strong kid," Buvid said. "She put a nice swing on it.
"But we have to make some plays defensively earlier in the inning and (Armstrong) can't walk the No. 9 hitter there. We gave them a little bit of an opening, but give them credit, they took advantage of it."
Armstrong had five strikeouts and issued four walks, two of them intentional.
"We just can't seem to get over the hump," said Buvid, whose team allowed Milton to score five seventh-inning runs in a 10-8 loss on Thursday. "We had a great team beat for six innings, we just couldn't finish it out."
That didn't matter to Fort Atkinson cleanup hitter Maddie Bare, who clubbed the ball high over the fence in straight-away center field for a walk-off grand slam in the Blackhawks' 6-2 victory.
Bare's blast completed a six-run Fort Atkinson rally without Monroe recording an out in the bottom of the seventh inning and handed the visitors their second straight last-inning loss.
"We had them on the ropes, but that's the way it has gone for us all year," Buvid said. "We go into the last inning with a lead and just kind of melted down.
"We had a chance to beat the two time defending (Badger South) Conference champs on their field and we just unraveled a little bit in the seventh inning."
It appeared the Cheesemakers (6-6, 3-3 Badger South) had done enough against Fort Atkinson starter Kaitlyn Hollman, who allowed just three hits - the first a one-out single in the fifth by senior Kasey Gutzmer.
Monroe scored twice in the sixth, sophomore Kayla Updike lining a 2-2 fastball up the middle to score junior Heather Barta and sophomore Ellie Grossen.
But Fort Atkinson (9-2, 6-0) used a walk and two errors to tie the game quickly in the seventh. Then, with a runner on third base, Buvid elected to walk two batters intentionally.
Bare made Monroe pay, ripping a 2-2 fastball that cleared the fence "by over 10 feet," Buvid said.
"The pitch was up quite a bit, but she's their cleanup hitter and she's a big strong kid," Buvid said. "She put a nice swing on it.
"But we have to make some plays defensively earlier in the inning and (Armstrong) can't walk the No. 9 hitter there. We gave them a little bit of an opening, but give them credit, they took advantage of it."
Armstrong had five strikeouts and issued four walks, two of them intentional.
"We just can't seem to get over the hump," said Buvid, whose team allowed Milton to score five seventh-inning runs in a 10-8 loss on Thursday. "We had a great team beat for six innings, we just couldn't finish it out."
