MONTICELLO — Monticello-New Glarus entered the seventh inning trailing Parkview 4-3 before the Vikings scored nine runs in the top of the inning to run away with a 13-3 win in the WIAA Regional Quarterfinal on Thursday, May 18.

The last time the two teams played, Parkview defeated MNG 11-9 in eight innings. Given such a close matchup early in the season, and home-field advantage, the Ponies were excited to play the Vikings again.

“We went eight innings with them the first time we played them. We were coming into this with the home field advantage — it was a big game,” junior captain Melanie Fink said. “It hurts the way it ended with the one inning. We stuck close to the end.”

Kira Whisler got the start, settling in after walking the first batter on four straight pitches. Dalana Trumpy threw the runner out trying to steal two, and Whisler struck the next batter out. The Ponies escaped the inning unscathed, as Whisler induced a grounder to Fink. 

She got two quick outs in the second inning before an error gave Parkview a second chance. The Vikings then hit back-to-back singles to take a 1-0 lead.

The Ponies responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame, scoring two runs. Grace Seffrood drew a seven-pitch walk, followed by a double to left from Trumpy. Veronica Tollakson’s grounder to the right side scored pinch runner Stella Hauser from third. With two outs, Fink singled to center for another run. 

Parkview knotted the game at two with an RBI groundout from Chloe Mielke. Despite not being able to respond in the bottom half of the inning, MNG head coach Mitch Cernek was happy with his team’s early-game performance.

“We came in talking about winning the first three innings. Sometimes we get out of games too early. The idea was if we can stay in and be winning after the first three innings, we felt good about our chances,” Cernek said. “We wanted to break the game down and not think about it in the whole seven inning chunk.”

Parkview broke the tie in the top of the fifth, as Jazmyn Wiedmer led off the inning with a walk. A groundout moved her to second, and she took third on a wild pitch. Mielke brought Wiedmer home on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Megan Peterson.

The Vikings scored another run with two outs, as Kylie Stark singled and Katelynn Weeks hit an RBI triple over right fielder Sadie Wilkins’s head.

Monticello-New Glarus chipped away, scoring one run in the bottom of the fifth. Peterson reached base with two outs on a hit by pitch, and Molly Olson walked to load the bases. Karlee Wilkins drew a bases-loaded walk to get the RBI.

The two teams were scoreless in the sixth, setting up a dramatic seventh. MNG started off on the wrong foot, though, letting the leadoff batter reach on an error. The defense then attempted to get the lead runner out on the next play but was unsuccessful, putting two runners on with no outs. 

Parkview capitalized on the errors — both physical and mental — scoring three runs on three consecutive hits. Relief pitcher Olson recorded a strikeout for the first out of the inning before a double and two walks extended Parkview’s lead to 9-3. The final four runs came across on a fielder’s choice, two-RBI single and wild pitch.

Down to their last at-bats of the season, the Ponies continued to fight. Fink led off with a single to right. Peterson was hit by another pitch, and Olson drew a five-pitch walk. Stark left the Ponies stranded and ended the game with a strikeout and groundout.

“I was proud of them for that,” Cernek said of his team getting runners on. “That started with Melanie Fink, our junior captain, who had a really good game for us tonight. She got a chance to set the tone that inning, and I thought she did exactly that. We wanted to fight to the end.”

Fink went 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and run scored. Trumpy recorded the only other hit. Whisler suffered the loss, giving up three earned runs on six hits. She struck out five batters.

MNG concludes its season with a 3-17 record, which was identical to a season ago. However, the Ponies earned two wins against Black Hawk, and the Warriors didn’t have a team this year. The results leave Fink hungry for next season.

“There’s always next year. We are only losing two seniors,” Fink said. “It will be my senior year next year, so I’ll put in a lot of work this offseason.”