MONROE — With the end blowing out to left field, the WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal between Monroe and Beloit Turner all eyes were ready to see some fireworks.

By the final out, Monroe was celebrating a cool 12-0 mercy rule win in five innings May 21 at Twining Park — with just one home run in the game.

“This was a 15-7 team and we beat them 12-0. This was a statement-type of game,” Monroe coach Joe O’Leksy said. “We were disappointed in our seed with where we were at. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder now, and I’m hoping it can carry us through the next couple of games at least.”

Grace Tostrud sent a solo shot to deep left center in the bottom of the second inning. A heavy swing led to a booming fly ball that needed no help from the 25 mile per hour gusts.

“Grace’s home run was just a rocket — gone any day,” O’Leksy said.

Tostrud said she tried to keep her head in and track the ball. “Mostly I was just trying to lay off the high ones. It felt pretty good coming off (the bat).” The longball opened the scoring for the Cheesemakers, who tacked on seven more runs an inning later.

The windy day had all hitters thinking of lighting up the scoreboard with one swing of the bat, but outside of Tostrud’s shot, no one else came close the first time through the order, with the exception of No. 9 hitter Sarah Prien.

“If it’s in the air, it’s going to travel,” Monroe shortstop Sydney Updike said. “Every time we go up swinging hard, but it’s to our advantage when wind is blowing out. You want to hit a home run, but you know you’re not going to hit one every time.”

Alyse Maurer led off the first with a strikeout for Monroe, and Hailey Betthauser walked on four pitches. But Sydney Updike went down hacking and Olivia Bobak popped up to the catch to end the frame. 

“I think we were a little anxious at the beginning of the game, swinging at pitches out of the zone. Then we were taking those pitches later on and hitting the pitches that were in the zone,” O’Leksy said.

Bobak, Monroe’s cleanup hitter, popped up to the catcher in her first two at bats, the second of which was with a runner at third and nobody out in the 7-run third.

“I think I was a little excited at the beginning, so I think I was swinging at things I normally don’t. I just remembered I needed to calm myself down, see the ball, and drive it,” Bobak said.

On the mound, Bobak didn’t let her frustrations at the plate — or Turner’s hitters — get to her psyche. She allowed just three baserunners in the game and struck out five.

“Liv was throwing really hard — 62, 63 most of the time. Pretty good spots and so forth. She was around the plate most of the time and was getting ahead in the count,” O’Leksy said. “But what I really liked was we threw the changeup a number of times and it worked. We’ll need those pitches later on in the tournament.”

In the 7-run third, Prien doubled to left to put immediate pressure on Turner pitcher Kennedy Brickson. Maurer and Betthauser each walked to load the bases and Updike then sent a hard liner to the fence in right center, clearing the bases and ending up at third. After Bobak popped out, Tostrud singled to center to bring in Updike and make it 5-0.

“I think we realized that we needed to score and rally up some runs. Everyone got excited, especially since Sarah started it off,” Updike said.

Katie Hayes then singled to center and Sloane Ambrose hit a 2-RBI double to left in the six-hole. Lizzy Snider plated the final runner with a sacrifice fly to put Monroe ahead 8-0.

The only threat against Bobak on defense came in the top of the fourth inning. After a two-out single, Turner’s Azariah Martin stole second and went to third on an errant throw that dribbled into center field. Bobak then threw four straight strikes and induced a weak flair into shallow right that Maurer tracked down from second on an over-the-shoulder catch.

“We made a number of good defensive plays. We never really allowed them in. They had the one slapper get on and around to third, and then Alyse makes a great over-the-shoulder catch,” O’Leksy said. “Lizzy Snider made a number of plays over at first base — we knew they would be bunting, because that’s how they’ve won in the past, and we basically squashed that right away.”

With their eyes on the 10-run mercy rule, the Cheesemakers didn’t hesitate in the bottom of the fourth with the top of the order leading off. Maurer singled and Betthauser walked for the third time in three trips to the plate, then Updike doubled to left to drive in a run. Bobak got a chance to redeem her offensive output, blasting a high fly to right that reached deepest part of the outfield for a 2-RBI triple. Tostrud then hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 12-0.

“If the wind did anything, it affected Bobak’s hit — that’s normally out of the park, too. She hit that hard,” O’Leksy said.

Bobak needed just eight pitches in the top of the fifth to put the Trojans down in order. She finished the game throwing just 64 pitches in five innings, including 14 first-pitch strikes to the 18 batters she faced.

“We were hoping to make a really big statement, to let people know that we are not here to mess around — we’re here to achieve our goal,” Bobak said, adding that the goal is to make it to state. “I think we performed really well today. Turner is a really good team and has been really good in the past. I think it’s a really big accomplishment to pull this off.”

Updike finished 2 for 3 with two runs and four RBIs, while Tostrud was 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Ambrose was also 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. 

Monroe (19-4, ranked third in Division 2) advanced to play Jefferson (23-3, ranked eighth) in the regional final May 23. At the seeding meeting, Jefferson used a last-ditch effort to jump Monroe for home-field advantage. The Rock Valley school was awarded the higher seed in a 6-4 vote, with all six votes for coming from Rock Valley schools in the half sectional. The winner will take on either top-seeded and second-ranked Whitnall (22-4) or Whitewater (16-6).

“I really want to win that game,” Updike said. “Obviously we want to win every game, but I feel like since we were the three-seed, people underestimated us a little bit. I just want to show everyone that we can win games and make it to state.”