JUDA - Softball turned into a roller coaster of emotions for Monticello at the Juda tournament Saturday.
The big blow for the Ponies came when junior Sadi Hilliard broke her tibia on a play in which she was caught stealing in the sixth inning of a 13-12 loss to Argyle at the Juda Community Park.
"She's out for the year," Monticello coach Duane Garrison said. "It's a big blow for us. You hate to see anyone get hurt, especially one of your leaders."
Beloit Memorial (10-1), a Division 1 school, went 3-0 to win the tournament, but gave the trophy to Monticello which lost to the Knights, 5-4, and finished the tournament 1-2. Both Argyle and Juda also finished the tournament 1-2.
"It showed a lot of class," Garrison said. "The trophy is a trophy. Sportsmanship overrides a lot in our eyes, especially for what they did."
Monticello senior Mary Hershberger limited the Knights to five runs on eight hits. Beloit Memorial brought in ace pitcher Ali Goecks, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit. Goecks struck out 17 of the 20 batters she faced to seal the victory.
"I have never seen a girl throw that hard," Garrison said. "We had a couple of mental errors in the fourth on rotations on fielder's choices. Against a good team like that, you can't make those mental errors."
Hershberger came back in the nightcap and pitched a three-hitter to lead the Ponies to a 10-1 win over Juda. Hershberger went the distance, pitching six innings before the game was called due to the time limit.
Juda coach Bill Davis wanted to use the tournament to get innings for sophomore pitcher Aly Pierce and freshman C.J. Dunwiddie. With the loss Juda drops to 4-7.
"I was hoping we could win one of the games this weekend," Davis said. "I also knew we had to give Amber Ramos a rest. I have been pretty much been riding her arm. We have to see what other pitchers can do. Somewhere, she will lose it because she's just a freshman and we have to get other starting pitchers experience to come out and win."
Monticello (3-4) erupted for five runs in the second, which was highlighted by a series of hits. Monticello sophomore Taylor Pfeuti went 3-for-3 to lead the Ponies. Monticello freshman Desiree Marty was 2-for-4. The Ponies had three players who had two RBI, including Becky Nelson and freshman Tanya Smith, who went 6-for-13 in the tournament.
Juda junior Tabitha Theiler led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-2.
Argyle 13, Monticello 12
(8 innings)
Argyle pulled out the extra-inning win over Monticello to open the tournament. Argyle's Jodi Fischer scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch by Monticello freshman Karlie Klossner.
"It's a tough way to lose," Garrison said. "You kind of want to make them earn it."
The Orioles entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 10-7. Argyle's Frida Cuevas lined an RBI single to cut the Ponies' lead to 10-8. Argyle senior Kelsey Ostby, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI and a triple, hit a sacrifice fly that also scored the game-tying run when the relay throw went to second.
"Coming off a tough loss to Juda, coming in here we wanted to win our first game," Ostby said. "We knew coming in Monticello was our first game and it would be instant excitement. It was pretty intense. She (Klossner) wasn't their first starting pitcher, but she put up a fight."
In the extra-inning affair, the game went to international rules and gave both teams scoring opportunities in the eighth with a runner starting at second base. The Ponies' Smith, who was 3-for-5 with four RBI, lined a two-run single to right to give the Ponies a 12-10 lead.
The Orioles answered in the bottom of the eighth when senior Sierra Granberg delivered an RBI double and Jackie Dammen came through with a clutch RBI single. That set the stages for Fischer scoring the game-winning run after she reached on an error.
With the win, Argyle snapped a five-game losing streak. Argyle sophomore Kelsey Bartels pitched six innings to get the win for the Orioles. She struck out four, walked five and hit one batter.
"We really needed this after going 0-5," Argyle coach Heidi Ganshert said. "We needed something to build our confidence and I hope this does it."
Monticello rallied from a 5-0 deficit and capped the comeback with a five-run fifth, highlighted by Smith's go-ahead two-run single that gave the Ponies a 7-5 lead. Klossner pitched a complete game for the Ponies, who were limited without Hershberger for the first game.
"It's probably my fault," Garrison said. "I don't throw her (Klossner) enough in practice to build her stamina up. We were going to live and die by her."
Juda 11, Argyle 9
(8 innings)
Argyle (1-7) couldn't build off the momentum, losing to Beloit Memorial and then falling to Juda in its second extra-inning game of the tournament.
Juda came through with a four-run eighth, highlighted by a go-ahead RBI single by Lauren Dunwiddie that gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead. The big blow in the eighth came when Katlyn DeVoe lined a two-run single to center.
"It felt really good," Dunwiddie said. "I just put the bat out there and hopefully hit the ball."
The Panthers stormed back from a 6-0 deficit with a six-run fifth. The Panthers took advantage of some wildness by Bartels, who walked three batters in the fifth.
"I feel 6-to-nothing, you are not out of the game at all," Davis said. "I thought they showed a lot of heart and came back to win."
Pierce delivered a two-run single to put the Panthers on the board. Juda junior Tara Allen came through with a two-run single to cut the Orioles' lead to 6-5. The Panthers tied the score with a run on a wild pitch.
"I knew we would come back," Dunwiddie said. "We beat them last time. I knew we could come back and hit the ball."
Theiler led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks. Juda had three players drive in two runs, including DeVoe, Allen and Pierce. Pierce pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief and kept the Orioles at bay. Juda freshman Amber Ramos pitched three innings and gave up just one earned run on one hit to get the win. She struck out five and walked two.
Bartels went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Danielle Treuthardt was 2-for-4 to lead the Orioles.
The big blow for the Ponies came when junior Sadi Hilliard broke her tibia on a play in which she was caught stealing in the sixth inning of a 13-12 loss to Argyle at the Juda Community Park.
"She's out for the year," Monticello coach Duane Garrison said. "It's a big blow for us. You hate to see anyone get hurt, especially one of your leaders."
Beloit Memorial (10-1), a Division 1 school, went 3-0 to win the tournament, but gave the trophy to Monticello which lost to the Knights, 5-4, and finished the tournament 1-2. Both Argyle and Juda also finished the tournament 1-2.
"It showed a lot of class," Garrison said. "The trophy is a trophy. Sportsmanship overrides a lot in our eyes, especially for what they did."
Monticello senior Mary Hershberger limited the Knights to five runs on eight hits. Beloit Memorial brought in ace pitcher Ali Goecks, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit. Goecks struck out 17 of the 20 batters she faced to seal the victory.
"I have never seen a girl throw that hard," Garrison said. "We had a couple of mental errors in the fourth on rotations on fielder's choices. Against a good team like that, you can't make those mental errors."
Hershberger came back in the nightcap and pitched a three-hitter to lead the Ponies to a 10-1 win over Juda. Hershberger went the distance, pitching six innings before the game was called due to the time limit.
Juda coach Bill Davis wanted to use the tournament to get innings for sophomore pitcher Aly Pierce and freshman C.J. Dunwiddie. With the loss Juda drops to 4-7.
"I was hoping we could win one of the games this weekend," Davis said. "I also knew we had to give Amber Ramos a rest. I have been pretty much been riding her arm. We have to see what other pitchers can do. Somewhere, she will lose it because she's just a freshman and we have to get other starting pitchers experience to come out and win."
Monticello (3-4) erupted for five runs in the second, which was highlighted by a series of hits. Monticello sophomore Taylor Pfeuti went 3-for-3 to lead the Ponies. Monticello freshman Desiree Marty was 2-for-4. The Ponies had three players who had two RBI, including Becky Nelson and freshman Tanya Smith, who went 6-for-13 in the tournament.
Juda junior Tabitha Theiler led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-2.
Argyle 13, Monticello 12
(8 innings)
Argyle pulled out the extra-inning win over Monticello to open the tournament. Argyle's Jodi Fischer scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch by Monticello freshman Karlie Klossner.
"It's a tough way to lose," Garrison said. "You kind of want to make them earn it."
The Orioles entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 10-7. Argyle's Frida Cuevas lined an RBI single to cut the Ponies' lead to 10-8. Argyle senior Kelsey Ostby, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI and a triple, hit a sacrifice fly that also scored the game-tying run when the relay throw went to second.
"Coming off a tough loss to Juda, coming in here we wanted to win our first game," Ostby said. "We knew coming in Monticello was our first game and it would be instant excitement. It was pretty intense. She (Klossner) wasn't their first starting pitcher, but she put up a fight."
In the extra-inning affair, the game went to international rules and gave both teams scoring opportunities in the eighth with a runner starting at second base. The Ponies' Smith, who was 3-for-5 with four RBI, lined a two-run single to right to give the Ponies a 12-10 lead.
The Orioles answered in the bottom of the eighth when senior Sierra Granberg delivered an RBI double and Jackie Dammen came through with a clutch RBI single. That set the stages for Fischer scoring the game-winning run after she reached on an error.
With the win, Argyle snapped a five-game losing streak. Argyle sophomore Kelsey Bartels pitched six innings to get the win for the Orioles. She struck out four, walked five and hit one batter.
"We really needed this after going 0-5," Argyle coach Heidi Ganshert said. "We needed something to build our confidence and I hope this does it."
Monticello rallied from a 5-0 deficit and capped the comeback with a five-run fifth, highlighted by Smith's go-ahead two-run single that gave the Ponies a 7-5 lead. Klossner pitched a complete game for the Ponies, who were limited without Hershberger for the first game.
"It's probably my fault," Garrison said. "I don't throw her (Klossner) enough in practice to build her stamina up. We were going to live and die by her."
Juda 11, Argyle 9
(8 innings)
Argyle (1-7) couldn't build off the momentum, losing to Beloit Memorial and then falling to Juda in its second extra-inning game of the tournament.
Juda came through with a four-run eighth, highlighted by a go-ahead RBI single by Lauren Dunwiddie that gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead. The big blow in the eighth came when Katlyn DeVoe lined a two-run single to center.
"It felt really good," Dunwiddie said. "I just put the bat out there and hopefully hit the ball."
The Panthers stormed back from a 6-0 deficit with a six-run fifth. The Panthers took advantage of some wildness by Bartels, who walked three batters in the fifth.
"I feel 6-to-nothing, you are not out of the game at all," Davis said. "I thought they showed a lot of heart and came back to win."
Pierce delivered a two-run single to put the Panthers on the board. Juda junior Tara Allen came through with a two-run single to cut the Orioles' lead to 6-5. The Panthers tied the score with a run on a wild pitch.
"I knew we would come back," Dunwiddie said. "We beat them last time. I knew we could come back and hit the ball."
Theiler led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks. Juda had three players drive in two runs, including DeVoe, Allen and Pierce. Pierce pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief and kept the Orioles at bay. Juda freshman Amber Ramos pitched three innings and gave up just one earned run on one hit to get the win. She struck out five and walked two.
Bartels went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Danielle Treuthardt was 2-for-4 to lead the Orioles.
