BRODHEAD — The Cardinals entered the final week of the regular season on a high note, having won in extra innings against Evansville June 3 and then routing Edgerton in a doubleheader the next day. That puts Brodhead’s win streak at 15 games, with the only blemish of the season coming on opening day at top-ranked Jefferson.
Brodhead (15-1) and Jefferson (18-0) were set to meet June 8 in what amounts to the conference championship.
Against Evansville (10-7), McKenna Young pitched all eight innings for the Cardinals, giving up one unearned run in the top of the sixth inning. She walked four, hit a batter and allowed four hits while striking out 14 Blue Devils.
In the bottom of the sixth, Sophia Leitzen smashed a leadoff solo home run on the second pitch she saw to tie the game at 1. Opening the bottom of the eighth, Taetum Hoesly went after the first pitch she saw and crushed it over the wall in centerfield to win the game. Hoesly finished the contest three hits, including a double.
The next day, Brodhead defeated Edgerton 17-0 and 15-5 in a doubleheader.
Young tossed a 5-inning perfect game with eight strikeouts on just 46 pitches. The Cardinals scored five runs in the first inning and then 11 more in the second to blow the game wide open. Abbie Dix hit two home runs and drove in seven while going 3-for-3 with a walk. Bailey Matthys had two hits, a walk and three RBIs. Young was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Cori Hafen doubled.
In the nightcap, Young tossed four innings, striking out six and allowing a hit on 49 pitches. Leitzen replaced Young in the bottom of the fifth and gave up five runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks. She also struck out five batters.
Young and Hoesly homered for Brodhead, while Nataley Bump tripled, and Madisyn Kail, Dix, Matthys and Young all doubled. Leitzen, Kail and Young all had two hits and two or more RBIs. Matthys had a pair of hits, and Bump finished with two hits and a walk.
Monroe 3, Milton 0
MONROE — The Cheesemakers scored a win over Milton in a Badger Conference game June 3.
Emma Wild was efficient on the mound, scattering four hits with no walks and one strikeout in seven innings of work. She tossed just 66 pitches, including 45 for strikes. In fact, she opened 20 of 25 at-bats with a strike.
Monroe took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Karis Paulson hit a 1-out triple to right field. Lizzie Snider then grounded to second base, reaching on an error, which brought home Paulson.
The Cheesemakers scored twice more in the fifth. With bases loaded and one out, Maddie Leck drove a single to left, plating Sarah Prien and Sydney Updike.
Monroe was set to host Oregon June 7 in the regular season finale. The Cheesemakers open the postseason with a home game against McFarland June 14 at Twining Park.
River Ridge 9, Monticello-New Glarus 7
PATCH GROVE — The Ponies took a 6-4 lead after three innings and went ahead 7-4 in the fifth inning, but River Ridge scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to pick up a nonconference win June 3.
Jaden Zuber was 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, three steals and an RBI for MNG. Harley Disch and Alivia Palmer each walked twice. Kenna Pfeuti had three steals, while Katelyn Eyler and Chloe Kramer each had two steals.
Disch took the loss on the mound, giving up seven runs on 15 hits and two walks with a hit batter.
