MILTON — If you know one thing about Milton softball in 2024, you know it’s a team that is not going to give up a lot of runs thanks to Butler University commit Gwen Baker.
In the last week or so — ever since a 2-0 loss at Oregon on April 30 — Kurt Mussey’s team has recommitted itself to having quality at-bats and getting Baker some run support.
The result: a three-game winning streak during which the Red Hawks have outscored three Badger Large opponents 29-1, including an 11-1 win in five innings over Waunakee at Schilberg Park on Friday night.
“We dropped a game to Oregon, which we didn’t look past; they always play us well,” Mussey said after Friday’s win. “Since then, we refocused on our hitting. ... We put runs up in every inning (today), and then we’ve been doing that the last few games. That just tells me right there they’re starting to hit the ball again.”
The first win of the streak was an 11-0 decision against Fort Atkinson in which Baker tossed a perfect game. Next up was a 7-0 revenge victory over Beaver Dam, the Golden Beavers’ first loss of the season. During the streak, Milton put up runs in 13 of 17 innings played.
On Friday, which was Senior Night for the Red Hawks, just about everyone got in on the action at the plate.
Molly Baker had two hits and four runs driven in, Kenzie Marquardt went 3 for 4 with an RBI and her courtesy runner Kylee Buttchen scored two runs, and three more Milton players had a pair of hits.
“We all played really well, and we’re working as a team really well,” Molly Baker said. Now a two-year starter as a sophomore, she said she’s taken a leap as a player since freshman year.
“I improved on the game mentally,” she said. “I know the game better and I understand situations better.”
Hailey Dassow, a senior who has primarily been a reserve player for much of the season, got her first start of 2024 on Friday, playing in left field and making her mark with the bat.
She picked up her first RBI of the season in Milton’s three-run second inning, then she got her first hit, a line drive just off the glove of Waunakee’s leaping second baseman, to lead off the team’s five-run fourth. She scored both times she reached base.
“I was super happy for her and proud of her,” Mussey said of Dassow. “She did a great job up there. On Senior Night, perfect timing.”
Gwen Baker picked up another win in the pitcher’s circle, striking out seven and walking none in five innings.
“We’re just focusing a lot on not looking past teams because every game matters at this point,” she said. “If we want to go where we want to go, we have to focus on each game.”
The ace pitcher was one of five seniors the program acknowledged before the game with a Senior Night ceremony. The others included Dassow, Sophie Mezera, Avery Agnew and Lynden Briggs. All five got to play and contribute to the win.
“It’s not going to be the same without them,” Molly Baker said. “They mean a lot to me because I got to play with them for two years, and they’re a big part of this team.”
Milton is down to its last five regular-season games and is still in the hunt for the Badger Large title. First up are a pair of nonconference games against Wauwatosa East and Elkhorn in a triangular at Elkhorn on Saturday.
After that, the Red Hawks have conference games on back-to-back days Monday and Tuesday. The first is at home against DeForest, and the second is at Watertown. The Goslings and Red Hawks both have two conference losses this season and are hoping one-loss Beaver Dam trips up down the stretch.
Milton concludes its regular season with a nonconference home game against Beloit Turner on Thursday. Mussey said his team is still engaged and knows its biggest games are still ahead.
“I think last night we had our best practice of the season,” he said. “It just tells you that they’re focused, still locked in, still chasing their goals, which is good stuff.”
MILTON 11, WAUNAKEE 1 (5)
Waunakee 000 10 — 1 3 5
Milton 131 51 — 11 13 0
Leading hitters — Knoble (M) 2x3, Marquardt (M) 3x3, Benash (M) 2x3, Briggs (M) 2x3, M. Baker (M) 2x3. 2B — Schwab (W), M. Baker (M). 3B — Comins (W), Hyman (W).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) — W: Abercrombie L, 3-7-7-5-0-2, faced two batters in the fourth; Labraco 1 1/3-6-4-3-0-1. M: G. Baker W, 5-3-1-1-0-7.
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