BRODHEAD — A 10-run mercy rule opened the WIAA Division 3 softball playoffs. But for those at the game, it was a little unexpected.

After falling behind 8-0 to Palmyra-Eagle in the fourth inning, Brodhead rallied with 18 combined runs in the fourth and fifth to advance.

“I’ll be honest, we were sitting in the dugout worrying about getting 10-runned,” Brodhead coach Tommy Meier said. “We were the higher seed. We were supposed to win this game. But the girls came through.”

The outcome looked bleak for the Cardinals. Hannah Myhre had Brodhead’s first two hits of the game in the first and third innings, but Nataley Bump was thrown out at the plate to end the third inning, leaving Palmyra-Eagle ahead 5-0.

The visiting No. 9-seed put the 8th-seeded Cardinals further on their heels in the top of the fourth, plating three runs on two singles, a triple and a ground out to go up 8-0.

“I honestly didn’t think we would come back from it. From the past, we would usually get down on ourselves,” Myhre said. “Our coach said something that sparked us. I don’t know what it was, but it worked.”

Meier knew his players needed a spark to get going, and that spark would have to come from the lumber on their shoulders.

“The first innings I think we counted maybe 18 watched strikes. We wanted to cut down on that. If you put the ball in play, good things can happen,” Meier said. “We hit the ball hard, but the thing is, we just started swinging the bats.”

The Cardinals answered with an 11-run inning that saw 16 batters come to the plate.

Katie Goecks opened the bottom of the fourth with a single to center. Brooke Teubert, Daisy Nelson and Cora Hafen walked back-to-back-to-back, with Goecks scoring on a passed ball in the process. Pinch hitter Kiara Butke then hit sacrifice fly to center, scoring Teubert. 

Madisyn Kail singled to re-load the bases and Bump walked to drive in a run and make it 8-3 with the top of the order coming up.

Freshman Bailey Matthys then singled to short and Myhre hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 8-5. Goecks, batting for the second time in the inning, was hit by a pitch and Teubert and Nelson each drew walks to make it 8-7.

“Once you see someone else do it, that starts something in everyone and it’s a chain-reaction,” Myhre said of the contagious hitting. 

Suddenly, Palmyra-Eagle was the team on its heels.

With all the momentum on the side of the home team, and the home crowd roaring, Kate Millis tossed wildly on her first pitch to Hafen, which allowed Goecks to score the tying run. Millis was pulled for center fielder Ally Fredrick, who promptly gave up a bases-clearing double to Hafen. Butke then doubled to left to cap the 11-run inning.

“The girls came through in the fourth inning. They got some confidence and started hitting the ball,” Meier said. “It snowballed from there.”

Bump relieved Kail on the mound defensively for Brodhead. The southpaw kept the momentum on her side, tossing a scoreless fifth on 12 pitches.

“Those two are pretty similar when it comes to numbers,” Meier said of his two pitchers. “We just decided that Natalie is a little better coming on in relief. It’s a little bit of a different look than Madisyn, so that’s the route we went.”

Matthys led off the bottom of the fifth by reaching on an error to third, and Myhre doubled to deep left. Goecks then hit the hardest ball of the day — a frozen rope right back up the middle that nearly took Fredrick’s face mask off — to drive in both runners. Hafen had her second RBI double of the game later in the inning, and Butke and Kail each drove in runs to make it 16-8. 

With Kail and Bump on base with two outs, Meier told Matthys, the 10th batter in the frame, not to swing at the first pitch. The freshman listened and Bump swiped second, setting up the potential walk-off with runners on first and second. Two pitches later, Matthys singled to second, driving home both runs and ending the game.

“This was exciting. We usually are on the other end of a game like this. It’s exciting for the girls — I hope they enjoy it,” Meier said.

Myhre and Kail each had three hits for Brodhead, while Goecks, Matthys and Hafen each had two. Butke had three RBIs off the bench.

“I thought Madisyn threw it really well today. She didn’t hit a lot of barrels, they just hit the ball where we weren’t and we had a couple of errors,” Meier said. “Nataley, she spins it a little more than Madisyn does, and I think that messes with hitters a little bit.”

Kail gave up just four earned runs in four innings of work, allowing six hits and a walk. Scoring a playoff win is something not every team in the state can accomplish. The Cardinals said they would relish the win, because a showdown against the state’s top team — unbeaten and defending state champion Poynette — loomed for Round 2 May 21. 

“We’ll probably see the No. 1 pitcher in D3, so we’ll have our work cut out for us. But it’s softball and anything can happen,” Meier said.

Poynette has 10 state appearances in the last 20 years.

“We lost to them last year in our second regional game, so let’s hope we bring this energy to the next game,” Myhre said.