MILTON — Everybody at Schilberg Park — from the personnel on both teams to the umpires and the fans lining the fence to watch — knew Thursday’s game between Milton and Watertown, ranked No. 7 and No. 6 in the state in Division 1, respectively, was poised to be a tight battle.
Goslings pitcher Cali Craig-Snell and Red Hawks pitcher Gwen Baker made it so, limiting the opposing lineup’s scoring opportunities by racking up strikeouts and working out of occasional tight spots when runners did reach.
Baker struck out 18 Watertown hitters, including striking out the side in both the seventh and eighth innings, and Milton leadoff hitter Kylie Reed scored the game’s only run after reaching on an error and advancing on a pair of wild pitches in the bottom of the eighth.
“We knew it was going to be a battle coming in,” Baker said. “We played really clean today and just kept battling through. We had to manufacture a run, and that’s what we did.”
Reed was one of just two players on either team, along with teammate Molly Baker, not to strike out in the game and had two singles when she came up to start the eighth inning.
She hit a routine fly ball to right field, but Watertown’s Ella Peirick couldn’t squeeze it for the out. Running hard out of the box, Reed reached second base safely.
“That’s who she is; she hustles, hustles, hustles,” Milton coach Kurt Mussey said of Reed. “Anybody who just runs that out disappointed they hit a pop fly doesn’t get to second. Not even close. So all that happens from her being engaged in the moment and hustling.”
Ella Knoble singled next but couldn’t move the runner up because Reed had to stay close to second to see if the bloop single would be caught.
Reed got a good jump on a wild pitch that didn’t get too far away from Goslings catcher Drew Hinrichs to reach third, and another wild pitch over Hinrichs’ head allowed the walk-off run to score.
“I was like, ‘This is my chance, I gotta go. All or nothing,’” Reed said of the wild pitch that let her get to third.
The run was well timed because had Milton not won the game in the bottom of the eighth, the top of Watertown’s potent batting order would’ve gotten its fourth look at Baker.
“I know they’re great softball players,” she said. “I was trying to stay in the bottom of the batting order as long as I could. Top of the ninth, we would’ve had top (of the order) for them, so we just had to get it then.”
The win came a few days after the Red Hawks let a game get away in the eighth inning Monday night against Beaver Dam. Those two teams plus the Goslings figure to be at the top of the Badger Large Conference standings at the end of the season, so Thursday’s game was key for Milton to keep pace after losing to the Golden Beavers.
“We took that loss as a positive,” Baker said. “It’s definitely an awakening, and we knew we had to fight harder than we were to get where we want to get.”
For Mussey, having two more of the state’s best Division 1 teams in his conference is a boon for his club.
“We’re thankful for these games because they prepare us for the playoffs,” he said. “These pressure situations, we got in a bind a couple of times, and for us to respond will help us down the line.”
The two binds that Watertown put Milton in came in the fourth and seventh innings. Craig-Snell, and Hinrichs reached base consecutively on a walk and a hit-by-pitch to start the fourth. The former got caught stealing for the first out of the inning, but Hinrichs stole second behind Craig-Snell, and reached third on a fielder’s choice.
In the seventh, Ava Novotny hit a two-out single, stole second base and was able to advance to third on a high throw down to second from Milton catcher Kenzie Marquardt.
In both instances, Baker struck out the next hitter to end the inning.
“She’s the ultimate competitor,” Mussey said. “When she gets behind in counts or in bad situations, she battles, and she’s just phenomenal.”
The Red Hawks now have a rebooted two-game win streak after Monday’s loss to the Golden Beavers and will try to extend it to three Friday night against Monona Grove.
MILTON 1, WATERTOWN 0 (8)
Watertown 000 000 00 — 0 2 2
Milton 000 000 01 — 1 7 1
Leading hitters — Reed (M) 2x3.
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) — W: Craig-Snell L, 7 1/3-7-1-0-0-12. M: G. Baker W, 8-2-0-0-1-18.
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