MONROE - Weathering the storm and coming through in the clutch are two intangibles that coaches look for in their team. The Cheesemakers handled both in an 8-5 win over Oregon Tuesday.
First, the Cheesemakers used their bats to take advantage of the porous Panthers defense for two innings, then in the late innings Monroe's defense had to overcome adversity to preserve the win.
"I was really happy that we kept our composure," Monroe head coach Joe O'Leksy said. "I purposely didn't call a timeout in two situations because I wanted them to battle through it and they did. I'm very proud of the way the girls came together."
Olivia Bobak got the win on the mound for the Cheesemakers (15-1, 8-0 Badger South), striking out eight while allowing give walks, a hit batsman, and six hits - three of which came to the first three batters of the seventh inning.
"(Bobak) battled the whole time. At about the fifth inning she had a terrible leg cramp and we were trying to roll it out in the dugout," O'Leksy said. "She said she didn't want to come out of the game. We were going to go to Maurer, but she didn't want to come out of the game. It was a leg cramp that started earlier in the game and just got worse, but she wanted to battle through it, which was awesome."
Oregon (8-3, 4-3) didn't get its first hit of the game until the fifth inning. The Panthers plated three runs in the fifth and threatened in the sixth. Monroe scraped across a run in the bottom of the sixth after back-to-back-to-back hits from Alyse Maurer, Bobak and Sydney Updike.
"That was a big insurance run. Getting ahead by four is a lot different than being ahead by three. It made us more comfortable," O'Leksy said.
Oregon came out swinging in the seventh. Leadoff hitter Kyrsten George smoked a single to lead-off the inning and Meghan Detra doubled right after deep to center. Sadie Gaberell, the No. 3 hitter, then smacked a double to right on a line drive that plated both George and Detra. Bobak was able to settle down and get the next two batters to fly out before getting Sam Mikkelson to swing and miss for the final out.
"They put a rally together and I knew they would. They have some really good players at the top of the order," O'Leksy said. "Hailey (Betthauser) made a great running catch in right center. If she doesn't do that then we are in trouble. She makes that nice catch and then (Updike) makes a nice catch and we can get out of it."
Earlier in the game, the Cheesemakers made Oregon pay with their bats. Updike led off the second by beating out a biffed grounder. The next batter, Alysha Witt, crushed a ball down the left field line for what appeared to be an RBI double. The ball was called foul and Witt popped out to second base, but the next batter, Grace Tostrud, doubled to deep center.
"(I was) just waiting for my pitch to hit," Tostrud said, adding that the momentum of getting that first run is helpful to the entire dugout. "It's definitely a confidence booster."
Madison Katzenberger then singled home Tostrud and nearly scored herself later in the inning on a wild pitch, but a lucky bounce off the backstop helped Oregon get out of the inning with a tag out at the plate.
In the third, Monroe continued where it left off, with Mauer, Bobak and Updike reaching on two walks and a hit by pitch. Witt then hit an RBI single to make it 3-0. With two out, freshman No. 9-hitter Katie Hayes roped a 2-RBI double to bust the game open. Meredith Hose drove in two more in the very next at bat.
"Katie Hayes come up huge. That was a big hit for us, and she's just a freshman," O'Leksy said.
Each player in the Cheesemakers lineup reached base on either a walk or a hit. Hose was the only player with two hits.
"Monroe's a good team. They are solid through and through, and that's what I told my girls," said Oregon head coach and former Monroe star Sydnee Wyss. "It's a good program, and I know that because I played for this program."
Wyss played at UW-Oshkosh after high school and has found coaching to be a deeper connection to the game.
"I felt like I knew a lot about softball coming through this program, and then I got to college and played for Cindy Suess and learned so much more from her. And then you become a head coach and it's just different - you learn a lot along the way," Wyss said.
Oregon now drops to fourth in the conference and the Cheesemakers hold a commanding two-game lead with just six games to play.
"We put Oregon back three games and Fort (Atkinson) and Watertown were playing tonight, so one of them is going to have two losses and the other three," O'Leksy said.
First, the Cheesemakers used their bats to take advantage of the porous Panthers defense for two innings, then in the late innings Monroe's defense had to overcome adversity to preserve the win.
"I was really happy that we kept our composure," Monroe head coach Joe O'Leksy said. "I purposely didn't call a timeout in two situations because I wanted them to battle through it and they did. I'm very proud of the way the girls came together."
Olivia Bobak got the win on the mound for the Cheesemakers (15-1, 8-0 Badger South), striking out eight while allowing give walks, a hit batsman, and six hits - three of which came to the first three batters of the seventh inning.
"(Bobak) battled the whole time. At about the fifth inning she had a terrible leg cramp and we were trying to roll it out in the dugout," O'Leksy said. "She said she didn't want to come out of the game. We were going to go to Maurer, but she didn't want to come out of the game. It was a leg cramp that started earlier in the game and just got worse, but she wanted to battle through it, which was awesome."
Oregon (8-3, 4-3) didn't get its first hit of the game until the fifth inning. The Panthers plated three runs in the fifth and threatened in the sixth. Monroe scraped across a run in the bottom of the sixth after back-to-back-to-back hits from Alyse Maurer, Bobak and Sydney Updike.
"That was a big insurance run. Getting ahead by four is a lot different than being ahead by three. It made us more comfortable," O'Leksy said.
Oregon came out swinging in the seventh. Leadoff hitter Kyrsten George smoked a single to lead-off the inning and Meghan Detra doubled right after deep to center. Sadie Gaberell, the No. 3 hitter, then smacked a double to right on a line drive that plated both George and Detra. Bobak was able to settle down and get the next two batters to fly out before getting Sam Mikkelson to swing and miss for the final out.
"They put a rally together and I knew they would. They have some really good players at the top of the order," O'Leksy said. "Hailey (Betthauser) made a great running catch in right center. If she doesn't do that then we are in trouble. She makes that nice catch and then (Updike) makes a nice catch and we can get out of it."
Earlier in the game, the Cheesemakers made Oregon pay with their bats. Updike led off the second by beating out a biffed grounder. The next batter, Alysha Witt, crushed a ball down the left field line for what appeared to be an RBI double. The ball was called foul and Witt popped out to second base, but the next batter, Grace Tostrud, doubled to deep center.
"(I was) just waiting for my pitch to hit," Tostrud said, adding that the momentum of getting that first run is helpful to the entire dugout. "It's definitely a confidence booster."
Madison Katzenberger then singled home Tostrud and nearly scored herself later in the inning on a wild pitch, but a lucky bounce off the backstop helped Oregon get out of the inning with a tag out at the plate.
In the third, Monroe continued where it left off, with Mauer, Bobak and Updike reaching on two walks and a hit by pitch. Witt then hit an RBI single to make it 3-0. With two out, freshman No. 9-hitter Katie Hayes roped a 2-RBI double to bust the game open. Meredith Hose drove in two more in the very next at bat.
"Katie Hayes come up huge. That was a big hit for us, and she's just a freshman," O'Leksy said.
Each player in the Cheesemakers lineup reached base on either a walk or a hit. Hose was the only player with two hits.
"Monroe's a good team. They are solid through and through, and that's what I told my girls," said Oregon head coach and former Monroe star Sydnee Wyss. "It's a good program, and I know that because I played for this program."
Wyss played at UW-Oshkosh after high school and has found coaching to be a deeper connection to the game.
"I felt like I knew a lot about softball coming through this program, and then I got to college and played for Cindy Suess and learned so much more from her. And then you become a head coach and it's just different - you learn a lot along the way," Wyss said.
Oregon now drops to fourth in the conference and the Cheesemakers hold a commanding two-game lead with just six games to play.
"We put Oregon back three games and Fort (Atkinson) and Watertown were playing tonight, so one of them is going to have two losses and the other three," O'Leksy said.
