Never underestimate the power of the
MADISON — Down to the last out in the bottom of the eighth, junior Jerrica Schwartz smoked a double that one-hopped the fence, scoring Taetum Hoesly from second to give Brodhead the Division 3 state title at Goodman Diamond on Saturday, June 10. Brodhead defeated Mayville 1-0 in eight innings in the championship and Somerset 5-0 in the semifinal game on Friday, June 9.
Schwartz, the definition of a team player, had sacrificed two at-bats in the tournament to advance runners. This time, she was glad to swing the bat.
“I just did that,” Schwartz said of hitting the state-winning RBI. “It was such a good feeling. Usually, I sac[rifice] bunt and run back to the dugout. I’m not on the bases.”
The championship celebration came just 24 hours after the smaller jubilation of defeating Somerset 5-0. Although the team was happy with its tournament-opening win, third baseman Sophia Leitzen knew it was just a step toward the bigger goal.
“I think we are ready. We’ve been preparing for this,” Leitzen said before the championship game. “We wanted to prove that we deserved to be here. I think we proved it, and now it’s time to finish the job.”
Mayville and Brodhead remained scoreless through seven innings, despite many opportunities to score. Brodhead put the pressure on in the first, with back-to-back two-out singles from Mckenna Young and Hoesly. Mayville starting pitcher Allie Schwirtz ended the inning with a ground out.
Young held the visiting Cardinals at bay for four innings, striking out eight batters, including all three batters in the third inning.
Mayville threatened in the fifth, though. After a lead-off pop out by Addy Youngbeck, Avah Feucht drew an eight-pitch walk. Harley Schabel then laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached on an error, as Allie Dahl couldn’t scoop the throw from Young. Both runners moved into scoring position on a passed ball.
“We were tight, tense,” Hoesly said. “There was only one out and there was the thought that this could be the end of it. We don’t want it to end that way. I’m telling her to ‘Stay loose — it’s you and me out there. We got this. There’s nobody better.’”
Young left Feucht and Schabel stranded on the bases, striking out the remaining batters to escape the jam.
Brodhead rode the momentum, as Tatum Ceslok drove a low pitch to the outfield for a lead-off single. Ava Risum fouled off her first bunt attempt then swung away, popping out to third. Schwirtz ended the inning with two ground outs.
The momentum stayed in Mayville’s favor, as Addie Anderson reached on a hard ground ball that first baseman Alexis Kammerer couldn’t handle. Schwirtz then singled to the left side to put yet another runner in scoring position.
Young bore down once again, striking out Schabel and inducing a ground ball from Addy Youngbeck.
“When we got in those situations where we needed outs, I trusted my stuff,” Young said. “It’s either going to be a strikeout, pop up or blooper. That’s what we need is outs. I don’t care if I get a strikeout, I just want outs.”
In yet another momentum swing, Hoesly led off the bottom of the sixth with a double in the left-center gap. With a sacrifice bunt from Kammerer, Hoesly stood on third — just 60 feet from home.
Jaelyn Hilliard, the team’s only lefty slapper, then laid down a bunt between the catcher, third baseman and pitcher. Third baseman Izzy McFadden fielded the ball and immediately looked back to Hoesly, who was stranded in no-man’s land. Hoesly got tagged in a pickle play, as Hilliard advanced to second. Schwartz then popped up to end the inning.
Despite Brodhead’s third error in the top of the seventh, Young put the bats in her teammates hands by striking out the side.
Dahl provided the spark in the bottom of the frame with a lead-off single. Ceslok then bunted her into scoring position, and Leitzen drew a two-out walk. Young had the chance to help herself at the plate, but Schwirtz got Young to fly out, sending the game into extra innings.
Mayville went down in order, giving Brodhead another chance to win the game.
“I felt it. Maybe we looked nervous, but we were the home team. We got the last at-bat. We knew we had it. We all had the confidence,” Schwartz said.
Hoesly led off with a hit, just as she did in the sixth. Keeping to the script, Kammerer bunted her into scoring position. Hilliard flew out to shallow left, sending Schwartz to the plate. In her three previous at-bats, Schwartz hadn’t reached base, but she used those at-bats to help her.
“The second one I just knew she had been throwing it there all night. The second one was always a strike,” Schwartz said. “I knew I had to do something with it or I wouldn’t get another chance.”
So, on the second pitch of her at-bat, Schwartz smoked a double to left, scoring Hoesly from second to walk-off Mayville 1-0 in the Division 3 state championship.
“And Jerrica . . . it’s perfectly scripted,” head coach Steve Krupke said. “Grab someone like her, who is a team player and doesn’t seek attention, she squared it up. I’m so happy for her.”
Brodhead finished with nine hits. Hoesly went 3-for-4 with a double, while Dahl collected two hits. The offense made up for an uncharacteristic three errors from the defense.
“That was my biggest fear coming in,” Krupke said. “When we aren’t getting key hits and it’s not clicking, how are we going to respond? I was wrong for thinking they wouldn’t respond.”
In the circle, Young pitched all eight innings. She gave up two hits and one walk. With 16 strikeouts, Young is now tied with Kayla Schwebke from Laconia for the third-most strikeouts in a Division 3 state tournament game.
Young turned in another stellar pitching performance in Brodhead’s 5-0 win over Somerset in the semifinal on Friday, June 9.
Somerset attempted to play Brodhead’s game, moving lead-off runners into scoring position with bunts. In both the first and second innings, the Spartans trounced their scoring opportunities by popping up bunts to Young in the circle.
The Cardinals’ ability to lay down a bunt came into play during the fourth inning, when the team scored all five of its runs.
Hoesly led off the inning with a single to center. Kammerer then laid down a sacrifice bunt, only to reach on an error by first baseman Natalie Hansen. In the same play, Hoesly advanced to third. The Spartans committed another error, as Hilliard laid down another bunt and Hoesly scored.
“It’s really important,” Hilliard said of Brodhead’s small-ball game. “We have a lot of players that can get a bunt down. We’ve used it all year, especially Alexis and I right next to each other in the lineup. A lot of times it gets our leadoff hitters in when they get on base.”
Schwartz put down the third straight bunt, moving both pinch runner Tessa Kloepping and Hilliard into scoring position. Dahl then lined a shot through the left side, scoring two runs. Ceslok laid down yet another sacrifice bunt, and Risum drove Dahl home with a single to center. The last run came around to score on a triple from Letizen, her second of the game.
“It’s what makes this team special,” Krupke said. “If I ask them to bunt, they bunt. If I ask a pitcher to come out and make a switch, they do it. If I ask to switch my catcher, they do it. It’s the right recipe. I’ve coached a long time, and you don’t always get the right recipe. Right now, we’ve got it.”
Young recorded two more outs in the top of the fifth before Risum came in for relief in the sixth. There, Risum recorded all three outs via ground out. In the seventh, Risum got the first two outs via fly out and strikeout before Krupke made a visit to the mound.
“I told them, “Don’t get hurt during a celebration,’” Krupke said. “’This is special, but let’s not tackle each other. We don’t need anyone going down. Not at this point.’”
So, when Risum struck out Chloe Greeder to end the game, the team hugged in the circle before shaking hands.
Leitzen led the Cardinals, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two triples. She tied two other batters —including Pecatonica’s Barb Kapke in 1993 — for the most triples in a Division 3 game, and most triples in the tournament.
“I hit the outside pitch pretty well. I was on the plate a bit because I tend to like to poke that outside pitch,” Leitzen said. “When she was pitching me outside, I knew I was going to be able to take it. She had a very good curveball.”
Young and Risum combined for a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts.
With 11 strikeouts in the semifinal and 16 in the championship game, Young recorded 27 strikeouts in the tournament, which is fourth best in Division 3, tied with two other pitchers. In two games, Brodhead never gave up a run, which ties another Division 3 state tournament record. In fact, the pitching and defense didn’t give up a single run in the entire post season.
“If we aren’t giving up runs, it’s hard to lose,” Krupke said.
Brodhead finished its season as state champions with a 23-2 record. The Cardinals graduated a talented senior class in Young, who will continue to play softball at South Dakota State University, Hoesly, who will continue her softball career at College of Lake County, Kammerer, who will play volleyball at the University of Dubuque, and flex Macayla Lang.
