MONROE — The Cheesemakers won an important conference game April 4 before getting swept by one of the state’s top teams.

Monroe knocked off Oregon 6-3 in the conference opener behind a timely hitting performance up and down the lineup, and then two days later lost to Oak Creek 5-3 and 12-2 at Madison Area Technical College. Oak Creek has reached state 10 times in the past 20 seasons, including each of the last two.

“They’re legit,” Monroe coach Joe O’Leksy said of unbeaten Oak Creek. “They’ve been to state and they have a great program.”

In the win over Oregon at Twining Park, the Cheesemakers fell behind briefly early on, allowing a run in the top of the first inning on back-to-back Panther hits. 

The Cheesemakers responded right away, scoring three in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead they would never relinquish. Alyse Maurer walked to open the game and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Sydney Updike singled up the middle to bring home the run. Updike then swiped second and scored on Olivia Bobak’s triple to right. Katie Hayes made it three straight hits with a grounder up the middle, bringing home Bobak.

“They took the lead on up, but I was really happy with our response in the bottom of the first inning,” O’Leksy said. “Oregon came in 3-0 and 2-0 in the conference. We knew our hands would be full.”

Oregon inched closer with a run in the third on a sacrifice fly, but the Cheesemakers again took a 2-run lead in the following half inning. With Updike standing on third and one out Hayes, the team’s No. 5-hitter, laid down a bunt up the first baseline and beat the throw from the catcher.

The inning ended with the bases loaded, as Sloane Ambrose and Lizzy Snider struck out back-to-back. Snider watched strike three right down the middle of the plate, and then didn’t run to first when the catcher couldn’t handle the toss from Oregon’s Kenadee Nelson.

“I was very upset from my strikeout, especially since it was right down the middle,” Snider said. 

Two innings later, Snider again found herself at the plate with two outs and bases loaded, with the score still 4-2.

“I was nervous, but I thought I could either watch it, or make a play and score a few more runs and get on base,” Snider said. “I just followed the pitch — it was outside, so I took it to right field.”

The Monroe junior took a full-count pitch down the right field line for a double, landing just 8-inches from the foul line.

“You could just see it in that (earlier strikeout) that she just wanted that pitch again. Then with two outs, full count and everybody running she hits it right down the right field line. She just tracked the ball and hit it where it was pitched,” O’Leksy said. “She knew she had to put it in play, and she did it.”

Snider is trying to fill one of three key spots in the lineup vacated by graduated all-conference players.

“It makes me very happy,” Snider said of the playing opportunity. “Last year I was very upset, but this year I am happy to have that boost of confidence at the beginning of the season.”

Meanwhile, Updike finished the game 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Bobak was 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk and Hayes had two hits.

“You just have to time it out,” Updike said of Nelson’s pitching. “It’s about the same speed as the pitching machine so we could just pound the ball.”

Nelson, who had struck out 18 against Monona Grove early this season, rung up nine Cheesemakers but allowed nine hits and six walks.

“Just because she struck out 18 doesn’t mean she’s going to strike out 18 here, so we’ve got to have the right mentality and just thinking that we can hit the ball and get on base every time,” Updike said.

Bobak struck out eight on the mound. The all-state senior allowed just two earned runs in the game and scattered eight hits. 

“I thought she was even better late in the game than she was at the beginning of the game,” O’Leksy said. “We started going to her rise ball a little bit more. She was locating her fastball better in the second half of the game.”

Oak Creek sweeps Monroe

MADISON — Errors haunted the Cheesemakers in a nonconference doubleheader April 6 at MATC.

Oak Creek finished last season No. 5 in the WFSCA Division 1 poll. In the 12-2 win over Monroe, the Cheesemakers committed five errors to Oak Creek’s zero. 

Monroe took a 1-0 lead after the first inning, but Oak Creek scored two in the third, five in the fourth, and two more in the sixth to put Monroe in a deep hole. 

Olivia Bobak allowed three earned runs and seven overall in five innings of work, giving up five hits and five walks while striking out four. Alyse Maurer pitched the final two innings, allowing three earned runs and five total while striking out one.

The Cheesemakers scattered five hits, with Hailey Betthauser tripling home Alyse Maurer in the first inning. In the sixth, Grace Tostrud singled home Sydney Updike, who reached on a walk.

In the 5-3 loss, Monroe took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning, but allowed three runs to cross the plate in the bottom half of the inning.

Grace Tostrud was 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Hayes and Bobak also brought in runs. Updike doubled to lead off the sixth and was Monroe’s only extra base hit.

Bobak took the loss on the mound, allowing all five runs in six innings of work. She struck out two and gave up 10 hits and a walk.