FREEPORT - Before entering the Freeport (Ill.) Softball Tournament, Monroe head coach Dale Buvid made sure his players were ready for some good competition.
"When I got in this tournament, I didn't realize it was going to be this high-powered," Buvid said. "But in order to beat the best (at the end of the season), you have to prepare by playing the best. And that's what we're doing here."
Facing teams over twice the enrollment of Monroe High School, the Cheesemakers should be pleased with Friday's two-game split in pool play.
Monroe lost its first game to Aurora West, 3-2, in the final inning, and knocked off stateline rival Freeport, 7-2, in the second game.
Aurora West 3, Monroe 2
The Cheesemakers had their work cut out for them, going against one of the Midwest's top teams, and a top college recruit. That recruit is Stephanie Becker, a tall lefty with devastating stuff from the mound. Now a senior, Becker is in her final prep season before playing in college for Mississippi State - a school she signed with as a sophomore.
"She's very good. And it's not just the speed, she locates very well," Buvid said of Becker. "She hits the edges and can go up in the strike zone whenever she wants.
"And she's got the D-1 body - she's long, lean and left-handed."
Monroe managed to get on the bases early, with Paisley Bennett and Emily Rufenacht each reaching on walks in the first inning. However, Becker struck out the side and closed out the inning.
In the bottom half, Monroe pitcher Kristin McArdle shut down the Blackhawks 1-2-3. Becker countered, taking down Monroe's next three hitters in order via the strikeout.
"Kristin pitched a nice game. She put the ball in there and gave us a chance," Buvid said.
Neither team could get much going offensively. Monroe had Maggie Schuttler reach on a walk in the third and move to third base when Rufenacht collected the Cheesemakers' first hit. Rufenacht took second base on the attempted throw to third. However, Gwen Sutter struck out to end the threat.
"Gwen is struggling a little bit right now," Buvid said of his junior first baseman, who finished the two games 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a walk. "But she'll come around."
Aurora West got a run against McArdle in the bottom of the fourth inning - a run that looked as if it would stand to be the lone score of the game.
However, in the final inning (the fifth), Monroe strung together some hits, setting itself up for a win against a school with more than 3,000 students from the Chicagoland area.
Bethany Meier flew out to center to lead off the inning and McArdle struck out. With two outs, the top of the order came through in the crunch. Bennett walked and Schuttler singled to center. Bennett dashed to third and Schuttler took the unoccupied base at second on the throw.
Then Rufenacht stepped up to the plate - leading to the ultimate three-pitch roller coaster of emotions in one at-bat.
Rufenacht hit a fastball from Becker down the right-field line, but the ball landed just inches foul. The next pitch was called a strike, despite narrowly missing the dirt as it crossed home plate.
"She got jobbed on that second strike. And to go down 0-2 to a pitcher like that, it's usually lights out," Buvid said. "But credit to her, she got a bat on the ball and found the hole. To get two hits off of a D-1 pitcher is pretty impressive."
Rufenacht, an all-around athlete any coach would want, came through with two strikes and the game on the line. The senior shortstop sent a second single up the middle, scoring both runners and giving Monroe a 2-1 lead.
"Emily was super all day. She's a great competitor and a great kid. I'm glad she's on my team," Buvid said.
In the bottom of the fifth and final inning of a timed game, Aurora West got a quick single to center. But the pinch runner, who stole second, got tossed out by Bennett at third base. Aurora West got another single and a triple. A sac fly down the right-field line scored the game-winning run.
"You never like losing, but I told the kids that this is a better game than beating Reedsburg 12-1 or 14-1."
Monroe struck out 13 times against Becker.
Monroe 7, Freeport 2
The Cheesemakers got some early production from the top half of its lineup against the Pretzels. Bennett reached on an infield hit to lead off the game and Schuttler walked. Rufenacht flew out to deep center field for the first out and Bennett wasn't able to return to the base in time for out No. 2.
Sutter then walked, and Brandi Trewartha doubled to deep left, scoring both runners. The next batter, Kendra Clark, hit a bloop single and snagged second base with no one looking. The inning ended, but Monroe already had the runs it would need for the win.
With Meghan Roberts mixing her pitches on the mound, any extra runs the Cheesemakers could get would be insurance.
"Meghan pitched all right. She got burned when she brought it in on them. She needs to keep it low and keep it away," Buvid said.
Rufenacht scored with two outs in the third on a hit by Clark to put the score at 4-2.
Monroe's fifth run came in the fifth inning as Trewartha knocked Schuttler home from second base.
"Trewartha was great today. "She really lit our spark in that second game," Buvid said.
Monroe got its final two runs in the sixth inning. Stephanie Hoover had a pinch-hit double down the left-field line and scored when Rufenacht hit into a fielder's choice with bases loaded. The choice, a flip from the shortstop to the second baseman, fell out of the latter's glove and Dana Gempler came around to score the final run for Monroe.
"I'll give us a chance to win against larger schools when we can score seven runs in a game," Buvid said. "We could have played better, but we'll take it."
Monroe plays Metamora at 10:30 a.m. today at Freeport's Read Park. The Cheesemakers would play next at noon with a win, and at 1:30 p.m. with a loss. The tournament's championship and consolation title games are at 3:30 p.m.
"When I got in this tournament, I didn't realize it was going to be this high-powered," Buvid said. "But in order to beat the best (at the end of the season), you have to prepare by playing the best. And that's what we're doing here."
Facing teams over twice the enrollment of Monroe High School, the Cheesemakers should be pleased with Friday's two-game split in pool play.
Monroe lost its first game to Aurora West, 3-2, in the final inning, and knocked off stateline rival Freeport, 7-2, in the second game.
Aurora West 3, Monroe 2
The Cheesemakers had their work cut out for them, going against one of the Midwest's top teams, and a top college recruit. That recruit is Stephanie Becker, a tall lefty with devastating stuff from the mound. Now a senior, Becker is in her final prep season before playing in college for Mississippi State - a school she signed with as a sophomore.
"She's very good. And it's not just the speed, she locates very well," Buvid said of Becker. "She hits the edges and can go up in the strike zone whenever she wants.
"And she's got the D-1 body - she's long, lean and left-handed."
Monroe managed to get on the bases early, with Paisley Bennett and Emily Rufenacht each reaching on walks in the first inning. However, Becker struck out the side and closed out the inning.
In the bottom half, Monroe pitcher Kristin McArdle shut down the Blackhawks 1-2-3. Becker countered, taking down Monroe's next three hitters in order via the strikeout.
"Kristin pitched a nice game. She put the ball in there and gave us a chance," Buvid said.
Neither team could get much going offensively. Monroe had Maggie Schuttler reach on a walk in the third and move to third base when Rufenacht collected the Cheesemakers' first hit. Rufenacht took second base on the attempted throw to third. However, Gwen Sutter struck out to end the threat.
"Gwen is struggling a little bit right now," Buvid said of his junior first baseman, who finished the two games 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a walk. "But she'll come around."
Aurora West got a run against McArdle in the bottom of the fourth inning - a run that looked as if it would stand to be the lone score of the game.
However, in the final inning (the fifth), Monroe strung together some hits, setting itself up for a win against a school with more than 3,000 students from the Chicagoland area.
Bethany Meier flew out to center to lead off the inning and McArdle struck out. With two outs, the top of the order came through in the crunch. Bennett walked and Schuttler singled to center. Bennett dashed to third and Schuttler took the unoccupied base at second on the throw.
Then Rufenacht stepped up to the plate - leading to the ultimate three-pitch roller coaster of emotions in one at-bat.
Rufenacht hit a fastball from Becker down the right-field line, but the ball landed just inches foul. The next pitch was called a strike, despite narrowly missing the dirt as it crossed home plate.
"She got jobbed on that second strike. And to go down 0-2 to a pitcher like that, it's usually lights out," Buvid said. "But credit to her, she got a bat on the ball and found the hole. To get two hits off of a D-1 pitcher is pretty impressive."
Rufenacht, an all-around athlete any coach would want, came through with two strikes and the game on the line. The senior shortstop sent a second single up the middle, scoring both runners and giving Monroe a 2-1 lead.
"Emily was super all day. She's a great competitor and a great kid. I'm glad she's on my team," Buvid said.
In the bottom of the fifth and final inning of a timed game, Aurora West got a quick single to center. But the pinch runner, who stole second, got tossed out by Bennett at third base. Aurora West got another single and a triple. A sac fly down the right-field line scored the game-winning run.
"You never like losing, but I told the kids that this is a better game than beating Reedsburg 12-1 or 14-1."
Monroe struck out 13 times against Becker.
Monroe 7, Freeport 2
The Cheesemakers got some early production from the top half of its lineup against the Pretzels. Bennett reached on an infield hit to lead off the game and Schuttler walked. Rufenacht flew out to deep center field for the first out and Bennett wasn't able to return to the base in time for out No. 2.
Sutter then walked, and Brandi Trewartha doubled to deep left, scoring both runners. The next batter, Kendra Clark, hit a bloop single and snagged second base with no one looking. The inning ended, but Monroe already had the runs it would need for the win.
With Meghan Roberts mixing her pitches on the mound, any extra runs the Cheesemakers could get would be insurance.
"Meghan pitched all right. She got burned when she brought it in on them. She needs to keep it low and keep it away," Buvid said.
Rufenacht scored with two outs in the third on a hit by Clark to put the score at 4-2.
Monroe's fifth run came in the fifth inning as Trewartha knocked Schuttler home from second base.
"Trewartha was great today. "She really lit our spark in that second game," Buvid said.
Monroe got its final two runs in the sixth inning. Stephanie Hoover had a pinch-hit double down the left-field line and scored when Rufenacht hit into a fielder's choice with bases loaded. The choice, a flip from the shortstop to the second baseman, fell out of the latter's glove and Dana Gempler came around to score the final run for Monroe.
"I'll give us a chance to win against larger schools when we can score seven runs in a game," Buvid said. "We could have played better, but we'll take it."
Monroe plays Metamora at 10:30 a.m. today at Freeport's Read Park. The Cheesemakers would play next at noon with a win, and at 1:30 p.m. with a loss. The tournament's championship and consolation title games are at 3:30 p.m.
