MONTICELLO - Some may consider it a lucky play when Belleville's Tara Hanna caught a pop-up that tipped off second baseman Claire Johnsrud's glove in the bottom of the seventh inning to preserve a 6-5 non-conference win over Monticello Thursday.
Belleville coach Connie Wunschel considers it a heads-up play good softball teams must make.
"We have been working on backing up the pop-ups," Wunschel said. "It's the little things that we did to win the game. Tara was a first baseman last year. This is all new to her."
Hanna went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. Freshman teammate Cassidy Heller went 2-for-4 with a double and Taylor Wallom was 2-for-4.
"I think we can use this as a stepping stone and realize that we can play with anyone," Wunschel said. "It's all about having confidence in the box. We were able to turn on it (pitches) a little more and made some things happen."
With the loss, Monticello drops to 13-6, 8-4 Six Rivers East. The Ponies' No. 3-6 hitters went a combined 2-for-14 against Belleville pitcher Ryley Helwig.
"She (Helwig) got into a little bit of trouble," Wunschel said. "She has a really good changeup."
Entering the game, the Ponies had won six of their last seven games and were averaging 7.5 runs per game in that span. Monticello coach Duane Garrison thought they tried to do too much at the plate.
"We were trying to hit the ball way out there too much instead of just hitting it hard anywhere," he said. "They have to get the mental mindset of going back to the basics."
Helwig pitched a complete game and gave up three earned runs on six hits. She struck out four and walked three.
Monticello plays at Darlington today and will play at Juda-Albany Monday.
"I think we were looking forward to Monday at Juda," Garrison said. "The last time we played Belleville we beat them by eight or nine runs."
Monticello senior Samantha DeVoe went 2-for-4 with one RBI and senior Jordan Garrison was 2-for-4 with one stolen base.
Belleville (9-9, 5-7 Capitol South) jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second inning. Taylor Kenkel singled and Monticello's Courtney Leuzinger hit the next batter with a pitch. Heller delivered an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats scored the third run on a fielder's choice.
The Ponies answered in the bottom of the second. Senior Brooke Bidlingmaier singled and scored on Jordan Garrison's bunt single to cut the Wildcats' lead to 3-2.
The Wildcats pushed across two runs in the fourth. Wallom singled and Leuzinger hit Helwig with a pitch. Belleville's Allie Kowalski coaxed a walk and Hanna had an RBI groundout. When the throw went to second base, Helwig scored a second run on the play to give the Wildcats a 5-2 lead.
But Monticello wouldn't go away quietly. Bidlingmaier walked leading off the bottom of the fourth. Monticello senior Brecklyn Klosterman reached on a dropped fly ball in left field. With the bases loaded, Helwig walked Megan Lehr. Jordan Garrison popped into a double play and DeVoe ripped an RBI single to center to cut the Wildcats' lead to 5-4. Helwig got Leuzinger to ground out to third to end the threat.
The Ponies came back to tie the game in the fifth. Monticello sophomore Jessie Garrison walked and Klosterman reached on an error that allowed Garrison to score the game-tying run.
Helwig helped her own cause when she crushed a double to center in the sixth. Hanna then ripped a go-ahead RBI triple to right to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.
Leuzinger pitched a complete game and gave up three earned runs on eight hits. She struck out one and walked five.
Monticello was coming off a 13-0 five-inning win over Black Hawk Tuesday. Leuzinger tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out eight.
Jessie Garrison went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and six RBI to lead the Ponies. Monticello senior Brooke Bidlingmaier also went 3-for-4. Black Hawk was led by Sam Lovelace who went 2-for-2.
Belleville coach Connie Wunschel considers it a heads-up play good softball teams must make.
"We have been working on backing up the pop-ups," Wunschel said. "It's the little things that we did to win the game. Tara was a first baseman last year. This is all new to her."
Hanna went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. Freshman teammate Cassidy Heller went 2-for-4 with a double and Taylor Wallom was 2-for-4.
"I think we can use this as a stepping stone and realize that we can play with anyone," Wunschel said. "It's all about having confidence in the box. We were able to turn on it (pitches) a little more and made some things happen."
With the loss, Monticello drops to 13-6, 8-4 Six Rivers East. The Ponies' No. 3-6 hitters went a combined 2-for-14 against Belleville pitcher Ryley Helwig.
"She (Helwig) got into a little bit of trouble," Wunschel said. "She has a really good changeup."
Entering the game, the Ponies had won six of their last seven games and were averaging 7.5 runs per game in that span. Monticello coach Duane Garrison thought they tried to do too much at the plate.
"We were trying to hit the ball way out there too much instead of just hitting it hard anywhere," he said. "They have to get the mental mindset of going back to the basics."
Helwig pitched a complete game and gave up three earned runs on six hits. She struck out four and walked three.
Monticello plays at Darlington today and will play at Juda-Albany Monday.
"I think we were looking forward to Monday at Juda," Garrison said. "The last time we played Belleville we beat them by eight or nine runs."
Monticello senior Samantha DeVoe went 2-for-4 with one RBI and senior Jordan Garrison was 2-for-4 with one stolen base.
Belleville (9-9, 5-7 Capitol South) jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second inning. Taylor Kenkel singled and Monticello's Courtney Leuzinger hit the next batter with a pitch. Heller delivered an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats scored the third run on a fielder's choice.
The Ponies answered in the bottom of the second. Senior Brooke Bidlingmaier singled and scored on Jordan Garrison's bunt single to cut the Wildcats' lead to 3-2.
The Wildcats pushed across two runs in the fourth. Wallom singled and Leuzinger hit Helwig with a pitch. Belleville's Allie Kowalski coaxed a walk and Hanna had an RBI groundout. When the throw went to second base, Helwig scored a second run on the play to give the Wildcats a 5-2 lead.
But Monticello wouldn't go away quietly. Bidlingmaier walked leading off the bottom of the fourth. Monticello senior Brecklyn Klosterman reached on a dropped fly ball in left field. With the bases loaded, Helwig walked Megan Lehr. Jordan Garrison popped into a double play and DeVoe ripped an RBI single to center to cut the Wildcats' lead to 5-4. Helwig got Leuzinger to ground out to third to end the threat.
The Ponies came back to tie the game in the fifth. Monticello sophomore Jessie Garrison walked and Klosterman reached on an error that allowed Garrison to score the game-tying run.
Helwig helped her own cause when she crushed a double to center in the sixth. Hanna then ripped a go-ahead RBI triple to right to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.
Leuzinger pitched a complete game and gave up three earned runs on eight hits. She struck out one and walked five.
Monticello was coming off a 13-0 five-inning win over Black Hawk Tuesday. Leuzinger tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out eight.
Jessie Garrison went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and six RBI to lead the Ponies. Monticello senior Brooke Bidlingmaier also went 3-for-4. Black Hawk was led by Sam Lovelace who went 2-for-2.
