MONROE - In a crazy season opener, Monroe senior Sarah Kloepping coaxed a walkoff walk with the bases loaded to give the Cheesemakers a dramatic, 6-5 nine-inning win over Madison Edgewood Tuesday at Twining Park.
"Hats off to her," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "She didn't swing at bad pitches. She did what she is supposed to do. She was poised and confident to take those marginal pitches."
Madison Edgewood's Megan Tancill tripled in the top of the ninth and Rachel Wabers delivered a RBI single to give the Crusaders a 5-4 lead.
The Cheesemakers rallied with freshman Chandra McGuire leading off the bottom of the ninth by crushing a double to center. Fellow freshman Ellie Grossen bunted for a single. Monroe junior Alyssa Montgomery, who was 3 for 5, delivered a game-tying RBI single to center. That set the stage for Kloepping's at-bat that gave the Cheesemakers the winning run.
Montgomery was excited she could come through with a clutch hit.
"I just had to get a hit," said Montgomery, who had two RBIs. "I knew I had to get that run in or it would be a tight game. I just wanted to get the run in so we could get the win."
Montgomery credited Kloepping for staying patient.
"Edgewood had really good pitching," Montgomery said. "Everyone came up and got hits. Sarah made good decisions and it just worked out really well. It was good to finally pull out the win."
The Cheesemakers committed an uncharacteristic four errors. Monroe sophomore starting pitcher Becca Armstrong and first baseman Kendra Clark collided and dropped a fly ball in the first that led to an unearned run for the Crusaders. Armstrong pitched a complete game striking out nine and walking six.
"We made enough mistakes to get beat today," Buvid said. "We just had some gaffes defensively the first few innings."
Buvid said Armstrong had a lot of pace on her pitches in the first four innings, but the speed decreased in the later innings.
"When she threw it down the middle, they hit some rockets," Buvid said.
Monroe rallied from a 2-0 deficit when the Crusaders committed two errors in the third and opened the door for the Cheesemakers' four-run inning. Grossen, who was 2 for 4, came through with an RBI single. Monroe senior Kelsey Erickson then delivered a two-run double to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead. Montgomery added an RBI single to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 4-2.
The Crusaders battled back to tie the game at 4 after the Cheesemakers committed three errors in the sixth. The Crusaders had a golden scoring opportunity in the eighth before Armstrong closed the door. The Cheesemakers threw out Edgewood's Megan Lancaster at third after she tried to advance on a wild pitch. Armstrong then struck out the Crusaders top two hitters - Tessey Tuschen and Maggie Seibert to end the threat.
"We have a talented team that can be good at the end of the year," Buvid said. "We know we will take our lumps and may lose some games early on because we have so many inexperienced and young players."
"Hats off to her," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "She didn't swing at bad pitches. She did what she is supposed to do. She was poised and confident to take those marginal pitches."
Madison Edgewood's Megan Tancill tripled in the top of the ninth and Rachel Wabers delivered a RBI single to give the Crusaders a 5-4 lead.
The Cheesemakers rallied with freshman Chandra McGuire leading off the bottom of the ninth by crushing a double to center. Fellow freshman Ellie Grossen bunted for a single. Monroe junior Alyssa Montgomery, who was 3 for 5, delivered a game-tying RBI single to center. That set the stage for Kloepping's at-bat that gave the Cheesemakers the winning run.
Montgomery was excited she could come through with a clutch hit.
"I just had to get a hit," said Montgomery, who had two RBIs. "I knew I had to get that run in or it would be a tight game. I just wanted to get the run in so we could get the win."
Montgomery credited Kloepping for staying patient.
"Edgewood had really good pitching," Montgomery said. "Everyone came up and got hits. Sarah made good decisions and it just worked out really well. It was good to finally pull out the win."
The Cheesemakers committed an uncharacteristic four errors. Monroe sophomore starting pitcher Becca Armstrong and first baseman Kendra Clark collided and dropped a fly ball in the first that led to an unearned run for the Crusaders. Armstrong pitched a complete game striking out nine and walking six.
"We made enough mistakes to get beat today," Buvid said. "We just had some gaffes defensively the first few innings."
Buvid said Armstrong had a lot of pace on her pitches in the first four innings, but the speed decreased in the later innings.
"When she threw it down the middle, they hit some rockets," Buvid said.
Monroe rallied from a 2-0 deficit when the Crusaders committed two errors in the third and opened the door for the Cheesemakers' four-run inning. Grossen, who was 2 for 4, came through with an RBI single. Monroe senior Kelsey Erickson then delivered a two-run double to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead. Montgomery added an RBI single to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 4-2.
The Crusaders battled back to tie the game at 4 after the Cheesemakers committed three errors in the sixth. The Crusaders had a golden scoring opportunity in the eighth before Armstrong closed the door. The Cheesemakers threw out Edgewood's Megan Lancaster at third after she tried to advance on a wild pitch. Armstrong then struck out the Crusaders top two hitters - Tessey Tuschen and Maggie Seibert to end the threat.
"We have a talented team that can be good at the end of the year," Buvid said. "We know we will take our lumps and may lose some games early on because we have so many inexperienced and young players."
