BELOIT — After tying the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Monroe lost to Turner 4-3 on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth during a WIAA Division 2 Sectional Semifinal on Tuesday, May 30.

Despite the loss, freshman Kaegann Paulson scattered seven hits for four runs, struck out 10 and walked just two. In the postseason, her strikeout-to-walk ratio was 28:3. 

“Kaegann did a great job. The whole game doesn’t come down to a wild pitch,” Monroe head coach Joe O’Leksy said. “She proved to everybody here that she’s a very good pitcher. She’s maturing as a pitcher, and we have her for another three years, which is great.”

This season, Paulson also led the Cheesemaker offense with a .389 batting average. She sparked the offense with a single in the top of the first. Katrina Sathoff bunted her over to scoring position, and Brinley Roidt lined a two-out RBI single to center for a 1-0 lead.

Monroe had an opportunity to score again in the second, as Kate Kundert lifted a two-out double to left. Pinch runner Alexis Herbst was caught stealing, though, to end the inning.

With the momentum, Turner pressed the issue in the bottom of the second. Sammy Schleis lined a one-out single to right that got passed Sydnee Conway. Schleis raced around all the bases headed for home, but Monroe’s relay to Kundert beat her there, and she was tagged out going for the inside-the-park home run. Paulson then struck out Maddy Pingel to get out of the inning unscathed. 

Chesney Slotten kept the tides in favor of the Cheesemakers with a lead-off double in the bottom of the third, but got caught in a pickle on Paulson’s grounder to third. Despite a single from Sathoff, Monroe ran itself out of the inning as both Paulson and Sathoff were caught stealing.

“We had some opportunities early,” O’Leksy said. “We made some base running errors. That really cost us early.”

The Trojans tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Kamdyn Davis led off with a single, Rylie Rose walked, and Maddy Hoenig singled to load the bases. Paulson limited the damage to just one run, as she struck out Taylor Viens, induced a groundout and got Pingel to line out to second.

The Cheesemakers regained the lead in the top of the sixth with an RBI double from Sophie Golembiewski. Paulson led off the inning with an infield single, Sathoff bunted her into scoring position and Golembiewski delivered. The next two batters grounded out.

Turner loaded the bases again in the bottom half of the frame, as Davis singled, Hoenig walked and Viens reached on an error. Schleis tied the game on a push bunt that got passed Paulson in the circle, and Hoenig scored on a fielder’s choice for a 3-2 lead. 

Pingel hit to third baseman Katie Witt, who threw home for the force out. The home plate umpire called Hoenig safe — a call that the Monroe fans didn’t agree with.

“We had her out by a step and a half, and he called her safe,” O’Lesky said. “That ended up being the difference in the game right there. We win the game if we get her out. That’s the way it goes — sometimes you don’t get the calls.”

Down to their final outs, the Cheesemakers didn’t quit.

Olivia Feller led off with a first-pitch single, and Sydnee Conway moved her over with a sacrifice bunt. Kundert’s grounder to first moved Feller to third, sending Slotten to the plate with two outs. The sophomore, who had 15 RBIs on the season, came through with an RBI single that was just out of the range of first baseman Viens. 

“We fight for each other, and it showed today,” senior Witt said. “We stayed calm up there.”

Monroe forced extra innings, as Witt recorded two of the three outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Cheesemakers went down in order in the top of the eighth, giving Turner a chance to take the game in the bottom. 

Paulson got the first out, inducing a grounder to Witt, before Schleis lined a single to center. Pingel’s sacrifice bunt moved her to third. Paulson went down in the count 3-0 before the fourth pitched sailed over Kundert’s head, allowing Schleis to score.

Feller and Slotten recorded multiple-hit games. Paulson proved to be a valuable, two-way player, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. On the mound she gave up four runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts. 

With the loss, Monroe ended its season as Regional Champions and a 17-12 record.

“We put up a good fight,” Conway said. “I knew we could make it far, but I didn’t think it was going to end here.”

The 2023 team graduates just two seniors — Witt and Conway — and will return seven remaining starters. 

“Obviously, we have a very young team,” O’Leksy said. “We will be back.”