MONROE - After a shaky regular season, the Cheesemakers took care of business in the opening round of the WIAA Division 2 softball playoffs. Monroe knocked off Dodgeville, 5-1.
"It wasn't exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to do more on offense," Cheesemakers head coach Dale Buvid said. "We wanted to hit the ball harder with a little bit more consistency, but we did enough."
Paisley Bennett and Kelsey Erickson jump-started the offense and Kaylee Craigo came up with a pair of clutch hits for Monroe.
"Kaylee Craigo did a nice job off the bench, getting a couple big hits and helping us score some runs. Kelsey had a nice game on offense," Buvid said.
In the first inning, Bennett drew a leadoff walk and Erickson hit into an error. Two batters later, Brandi Trewartha picked up an RBI ground out.
The Cheesemakers scored two more runs in the bottom of the third. Erickson reached first again on an error which advanced a runner to third. Erickson then stole second and Dodgeville's catcher threw the ball into center field, plating a run. Moments later, Kristin McArdle hit a routine fly to right that was dropped, allowing Erickson to score.
"We all had to step it up and I think we did that," Erickson said. Dodgeville finished the game with five errors.
The runs and solid defense - the Cheesemakers had just one error - allowed freshman Becca Armstrong to find her groove.
"I think she just got a little bit more comfortable. Eventually getting a few more runs helped out," Buvid said. "She's a young kid. She battle's and competes. She's a little tough on herself when things don't go right.
"But she's a freshman who came up from the J-Vs halfway through and is now throwing in the postseason on varsity. After a couple of starts she's definitely increased her speed. We're very happy with her growth and what she's done for us."
Armstrong was pretty pumped about picking up her first win. She struck out seven and walked seven while allowing just two hits.
"I'm pretty pumped up. It was a great win," Armstrong said. "The girls played great all the way around. I didn't pitch my greatest and I know I could do better, but I was throwing the ball hard and it can only get better from here."
The Cheesemakers added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the final being on a Craigo single up the middle. Craigo was 2-for-2 in the game and Erickson was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs.
"Apparently I was seeing it pretty well," Erickson said with a laugh. "We knew we had to be on top of our game. We communicated really well. We played pretty good but we still have more to do."
Monroe, the state's runner-up the past two seasons, will host Mount Horeb Tuesday in the second round.
"Going back a year ago, we didn't start the playoffs very well. But we put it together and hopefully we can do the same," Buvid said. "We had some positives (Thursday). We made some big defensive plays when we needed and didn't kick it around. That was encouraging."
"It wasn't exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to do more on offense," Cheesemakers head coach Dale Buvid said. "We wanted to hit the ball harder with a little bit more consistency, but we did enough."
Paisley Bennett and Kelsey Erickson jump-started the offense and Kaylee Craigo came up with a pair of clutch hits for Monroe.
"Kaylee Craigo did a nice job off the bench, getting a couple big hits and helping us score some runs. Kelsey had a nice game on offense," Buvid said.
In the first inning, Bennett drew a leadoff walk and Erickson hit into an error. Two batters later, Brandi Trewartha picked up an RBI ground out.
The Cheesemakers scored two more runs in the bottom of the third. Erickson reached first again on an error which advanced a runner to third. Erickson then stole second and Dodgeville's catcher threw the ball into center field, plating a run. Moments later, Kristin McArdle hit a routine fly to right that was dropped, allowing Erickson to score.
"We all had to step it up and I think we did that," Erickson said. Dodgeville finished the game with five errors.
The runs and solid defense - the Cheesemakers had just one error - allowed freshman Becca Armstrong to find her groove.
"I think she just got a little bit more comfortable. Eventually getting a few more runs helped out," Buvid said. "She's a young kid. She battle's and competes. She's a little tough on herself when things don't go right.
"But she's a freshman who came up from the J-Vs halfway through and is now throwing in the postseason on varsity. After a couple of starts she's definitely increased her speed. We're very happy with her growth and what she's done for us."
Armstrong was pretty pumped about picking up her first win. She struck out seven and walked seven while allowing just two hits.
"I'm pretty pumped up. It was a great win," Armstrong said. "The girls played great all the way around. I didn't pitch my greatest and I know I could do better, but I was throwing the ball hard and it can only get better from here."
The Cheesemakers added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the final being on a Craigo single up the middle. Craigo was 2-for-2 in the game and Erickson was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs.
"Apparently I was seeing it pretty well," Erickson said with a laugh. "We knew we had to be on top of our game. We communicated really well. We played pretty good but we still have more to do."
Monroe, the state's runner-up the past two seasons, will host Mount Horeb Tuesday in the second round.
"Going back a year ago, we didn't start the playoffs very well. But we put it together and hopefully we can do the same," Buvid said. "We had some positives (Thursday). We made some big defensive plays when we needed and didn't kick it around. That was encouraging."
