MONROE - It took the Monroe softball team time to get adjusted to Waupun No. 2 pitcher Yvette Navis, but when they did, the Cheesemakers bashed their way to a split in a doubleheader.
Navis, with a slower fastball than the Cheesemakers were used to, pitched 15th-ranked Waupun to a 6-1 win over Monroe in the first game. The Cheesemakers, ranked No. 3 in the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Division 2 poll, pounded out 15 hits against Navis in the second game to win 8-4.
"It's humbling," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "We all feel a little bit frustrated. We prep in warm-ups to hit the 56-, 57- or 58-mile-per-hour rise ball. We practice to beat the best. We don't practice to hit a 48- or 49-mile-per-hour fastball."
The Cheesemakers got off to an inauspicious start when a dropped fly ball in the first game led to three unearned runs for Waupun.
"We have seen pitching like that this year and we have hit the ball," Buvid said. "For whatever reason we couldn't stay back."
Monroe sophomore Natalie Dillon pitched six innings and gave up six runs (three earned) on four hits. She struck out seven and walked six. Senior Sam Hose pitched one shutout inning in relief.
The Cheesemakers were limited to just three hits. Monroe senior Kirsten Vetterli hit a two-run home run in the seventh.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cheesemakers broke the game open with a four-run fourth. Monroe senior Kayla Updike doubled and junior Kari Jordan came through with a game-tying RBI single to tie the game at 1. Vetterli then crushed a two-run home run into the trees in right center to give the Cheesemakers a 3-1 lead. Hose later delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1.
"It might have been as good of a shot as I have seen hit at Twining," Buvid said of Vetterli's home run.
Monroe senior Taylor O'Leksy had an RBI single and Jordan had an RBI double in the fifth for the Cheesemakers. Vetterli went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Hose went 2-for-2 and O'Leksy was 3-for-4 with a double. Senior Ellie Grossen, Updike and Jordan were each 2-for-4 with a double.
Dillon pitched a complete game and gave up four runs on 11 hits and struck out eight.
"She (Dillon) is throwing with a lot more velocity," Buvid said. "We feel good with her progress."
Navis, with a slower fastball than the Cheesemakers were used to, pitched 15th-ranked Waupun to a 6-1 win over Monroe in the first game. The Cheesemakers, ranked No. 3 in the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Division 2 poll, pounded out 15 hits against Navis in the second game to win 8-4.
"It's humbling," Monroe coach Dale Buvid said. "We all feel a little bit frustrated. We prep in warm-ups to hit the 56-, 57- or 58-mile-per-hour rise ball. We practice to beat the best. We don't practice to hit a 48- or 49-mile-per-hour fastball."
The Cheesemakers got off to an inauspicious start when a dropped fly ball in the first game led to three unearned runs for Waupun.
"We have seen pitching like that this year and we have hit the ball," Buvid said. "For whatever reason we couldn't stay back."
Monroe sophomore Natalie Dillon pitched six innings and gave up six runs (three earned) on four hits. She struck out seven and walked six. Senior Sam Hose pitched one shutout inning in relief.
The Cheesemakers were limited to just three hits. Monroe senior Kirsten Vetterli hit a two-run home run in the seventh.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cheesemakers broke the game open with a four-run fourth. Monroe senior Kayla Updike doubled and junior Kari Jordan came through with a game-tying RBI single to tie the game at 1. Vetterli then crushed a two-run home run into the trees in right center to give the Cheesemakers a 3-1 lead. Hose later delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1.
"It might have been as good of a shot as I have seen hit at Twining," Buvid said of Vetterli's home run.
Monroe senior Taylor O'Leksy had an RBI single and Jordan had an RBI double in the fifth for the Cheesemakers. Vetterli went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Hose went 2-for-2 and O'Leksy was 3-for-4 with a double. Senior Ellie Grossen, Updike and Jordan were each 2-for-4 with a double.
Dillon pitched a complete game and gave up four runs on 11 hits and struck out eight.
"She (Dillon) is throwing with a lot more velocity," Buvid said. "We feel good with her progress."
