The Marshall softball team is currently ranked No. 7 in Division 3 of the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (WFSCA) coaches poll. For the last two weekends, the Cardinals have not been afraid to challenge themselves and put that ranking on the line.
Last weekend, Marshall headed off to Chilton High School and won a pair of games to claim a tournament championship. A similar trend ensued on Saturday, May 11 with a trip to Assumption High School up in Wisconsin Rapids. The Cardinals knocked off Columbus Catholic 9-7 and outlasted Amherst 3-1 for yet another tournament win.
Saturday’s opening game against Columbus Catholic promised to be an entertaining one as both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning. Marshall batted first, led off by a double from sophomore Kennedy Weisensel. After a pair of teammates were hit by pitches, junior Lyliane Browne clobbered the second double of the inning for a pair of runs.
Weisensel also handled the team’s business in the pitching circle. She pitched a complete game, allowing nine hits with 10 strikeouts. Only four of Columbus Catholic’s seven runs counted against her earned run average as three came via error.
Most of Columbus Catholic’s runs came as part of a comeback attempt, however. After allowing two runs in the bottom of the first inning, Weisensel silenced the Dons for the next three. Meanwhile, Marshall’s offense tacked on five runs to build a stable lead.
After a silent top of the second inning, the Cardinals came out swinging in the third. Seniors Kate Luzenski and Mollie Fritter set the pace with back-to-back singles. A third from fellow senior Naomi Dahl brought both of them home. Freshman Carly Checky subsequently hammered a groundout to third base to bring in Dahl and make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Columbus Catholic helped the Cardinals score more in the top of the fourth inning by walking three of the first four batters in the inning. A passed ball allowed Weisensel to come home before Fritter laced a sacrifice fly to center field. Junior Sydney Stuntebeck tagged up on the play to make it a 7-2 lead for the Cardinals.
The Dons found some life late, pushing across three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two more in the bottom of the seventh. This effort was too little, too late. Marshall continued to push runs across with one each in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to maintain its advantage.
Checky made herself a base runner in the top of the fifth thanks to an error at third base. Sophomore Chayse Pennekamp followed up by grounding out to the shortstop. Checky, on third base thanks to a previous wild pitch, easily motored home for the score.
Stuntebeck set the pace for further offense in the top of the sixth with a leadoff double. She then stole third, setting the stage for Fritter to bring her home. Fritter laid down a bunt up the third base line, plenty of space and time for Stutnebeck to motor home for Marshall’s ninth run of the game. This was enough cushion for Weisensel to hang on in the pitching circle for the 9-7 win.
It took much longer for the Marshall offense to get cooking in the day’s final game against Amherst. The Cardinals didn’t score through the first five innings. In the meantime, the Falcons stole one run off of Marshall senior pitcher Emily Brodbeck in the bottom of the second inning.
That was all of the noise the Falcons made as Brodbeck and Weisensel tag-teamed for a strong pitching performance. Brodbeck went four innings and one out, allowing four hits with one earned run and five strikeouts. Weisensel tagged in and was nearly untouchable. In nearly three innings of work, she nabbed eight strikeouts and allowed just one hit.
It took some time, but Marshall’s offense finally tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore Brynn Klimek got a leadoff single and was replaced on the base path by junior Makayla Nemec. Fritter then came up clutch. With two outs on the board, she punished a double into left field to bring in the tying run.
After Weisensel handled business in the bottom of the sixth, Marshall took its first lead in the top of the seventh. Checky led off with a single and Nemec reached on an error to bring the top of the order up. Weisensel helped herself out with an RBI single to center field to score Checky. Stuntebeck kept the good times rolling with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring courtesy runner Erin Rateike.
The 3-1 advantage was plenty for Weisensel. She returned to the pitching circle in the bottom of the seventh inning and struck out the first three batters she saw. Ballgame.
Marshall’s successful weekend came on the heels of yet another strong challenge during the week. The Cardinals made the trip to face a Division 1 program in Oregon on Wednesday, May 8 and battled valiantly in a 2-0 loss.
Weisensel put up a commendable performance in the pitching circle, allowing two earned runs off of six hits with seven strikeouts. The Cardinals’ offense just couldn’t catch up to Oregon junior Carly Zych, who only allowed two hits with nine strikeouts in her complete game shutout.
All of this non-conference action leaves Marshall with a 14-5 record this season. Only one Capitol — South conference game remains, a home matchup with Belleville on Tuesday, May 14. The last time these two met, the Cardinals crushed the Wildcats 16-1 in five innings. A win would lock Marshall into a tie with Waterloo for the Capitol — South conference title at 7-1.
To close the week, Marshall will make a non-conference trip to Laconia on Thursday, May 16. Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) regionals are set to begin the following week. Seedings have already been released. Marshall picked up the No. 3 seed in Sectional 3 of Division 3 and will host No. 6 seed Beloit Turner on Tuesday, May 21.
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Capitol — South conference softball standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Monday, May 13
1. Waterloo, 7-1
2. Marshall, 6-1
T3. Cambridge, 3-5
T3. Wisconsin Heights, 3-5
5. Belleville, 0-7
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