Fast start helps Demons advance
MADISON – The first upset of the state softball tournament probably shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise.
Burlington knocked off Chippewa Falls, 9-1, in the quarterfinals of the WIAA Division 1 state tournament at Goodman Diamond Thursday on the strength of a five-run first inning, sharp defense that turned three double plays and a solid effort in the circle from senior Josie Klein.
The victory improved the Demons to 21-5. In their first trip to the state tournament since 1988, they earned a spot in the semifinals against the winner of the Oak Creek-Slinger quarterfinal at approximately 9 p.m. Friday.
The result meant the tournament’s No. 2 seed Chippewa Falls (24-5) was eliminated. This is the first year the tournament has been seeded, a process in which the participating state coaches tab the top four teams, which are then randomly paired with the remaining four teams in the field.
The other seeds went to (1) Sun Prairie, (3) Oak Creek and (4) Menomonee Falls.
Burlington, the champion of the rugged Southern Lakes, proved its worth on the field, though coach Gary Caliva said the team’s lack of a seed was a non-factor.
“We’ve pretty much done this all year long. …,” he said. “We’ve played good defense. Josie has played well and we have timely hitting. That’s been our recipe all year and it showed up again today.”
Senior Ashley Schmalfeldt went 1 for 3 with a homer and four RBI. Junior outfielder Maddie Berezowitz drove in two runs. Senior second baseman Jaina Westphal had two hits.
Klein, meanwhile, allowed five hits and one earned run to improve to 19-2.
The Cardinals, the Big Rivers champion, finished 24-6.
“Uncharacteristic of us, but hats off to Burlington,” Falls coach Kate Fjelstad said of her team’s play. “They are a great team and had a great game plan coming in. They really hit the ball well when we made some mistakes in the count. This is not a reflection of what our season was.”
Burlington set the tone immediately. It put its first three runners on, though it needed just two hitters to put a run on the board. Berezowitz’s single brought home the leadoff hitter, Westphal, who was hit by a pitch.
The next hitter, Klein, was hit by a pitch to set the stage for Schmalfeldt. The slick-fielding third baseman crushed a three-run homer to left center that push the lead to 4-0.
Burlington’s final run of the first inning came on an errant throw to first by junior pitcher Mallory Sterling. Instead of ending the inning on that play, Falls was hit with an error that allowed senior Kya Kafar to score.
Falls finished with two errors that aided run-scoring innings for Burlington.
The Demons defense, meanwhile, made play after play. The biggest was a 6-3-2 double play to end the third inning when Falls had runners on second and third with one out. Hats off to Kafer, the first baseman, on the play for being immediately aware that the runner from third was trying to score on the throw to first from shortstop.
Had the Cardinals pushed one or both of those runs across, they may have been able to put some pressure on Burlington. Instead, they came away with nothing.
Klein loved it.
“It just pumps me up so much more than I already am and when we’re at state, that’s awesome,” she said.