The trend of postseason success continued for the Waterloo softball program. Last spring, the Pirates made it all the way to the Division 4 state title game. They’ve taken a step in that direction for the 2024 edition of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament.
Things were easy enough for Waterloo, the No. 2 seed in Sectional 4 of Division 4, in the regional opener. The Pirates crushed No. 7 seed Williams Bay 10-0 in five innings to secure a date with No. 3 seed Deerfield in the regional title game on Thursday, May 23.
The Demons were a familiar opponent. Waterloo had beaten them 10-0 in a tournament back on Saturday, April 20. Deerfield obviously improved throughout the remainder of the regular season, best displayed by its effort on Thursday. Waterloo was pushed to its limits but won by way of walk-off as sophomore Emma Baumann connected on an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel her Pirates to a regional title by way of a 5-4 score.
The game was a near constant comeback for the Pirates as Deerfield scored three runs in the top of the first inning. The Demons connected on four singles on Waterloo freshman pitcher Ally Schaumann to start the game hot. A double play prevented the Demons from inflicting further damage.
To Schaumann’s credit, she recovered perfectly for the remainder of the game. Deerfield only managed three more hits off of her for the remainder of her complete game effort. The Demons would score one more run in the top of the fifth inning, but it came by way of an error.
Facing that initial 3-0 deficit, it took a moment for the Waterloo offense to get moving.
The Pirates didn’t even get their first hit until the bottom of the third inning before finally scoring in the bottom of the fourth.
Baumann started the inning off by reaching on an error. She seemed doomed to be stranded as the next two batters got out. Schaumann helped herself out by driving a line drive single into right field, scoring Baumann from second base to narrow the deficit to 3-1.
After Deerfield scored in the top of the fifth inning, Waterloo’s offense roared to life with three runs in the bottom half. Senior Leeah Dorn set the pace by leading off with a double to left field. Back to the top of the order, freshman Callie Davison brought her in with a single to center field. Senior Katrina Freund then started a two-out rally, punching a double into center field to score Davison. Baumann then cleaned Freund off the base path with a single into center field. When the dust had settled, the game was tied at four runs each.
Things remained that way until the bottom of the seventh inning. Schaumann did her part, allowing only one hit in the top of the sixth inning before forcing a three up, three down top of the seventh inning. This brought the Pirates to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with the top of the order due up.
Davison started the rally by leading off with a single into left field. Freund then pushed her over to second base on a fielder’s choice. This was plenty of help for Baumann, who played the role of hero. She stepped into the batter’s box and laced a grounder single into right field, easily scoring Davison from second base.
Next, Waterloo will return to the sectional round of the WIAA state tournament. There, the Pirates will meet a familiar face in No. 1 seed Horicon. The Marshladies were also a No. 1 seed in Sectional 4 in 2023 before upstart No. 4 seed Waterloo upset them 2-1 to win a regional championship.
Horicon will host the rematch in the 2024 sectional semifinal on Tuesday, May 28. The winner will advance to face the winner of No. 2 seed Cuba City and No. 4 seed Fennimore in the Division 4, Sectional 4 championship at Kronshage Park in Boscobel on Thursday, May 30.
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