Falls wreaks havoc on base paths to prevail
MADISON – Troublemakers.
The Menomonee Falls softball team has plenty of them, players who get on base and cause all kinds of problems because of their speed and aggressiveness. They’re the kind of players who make routine plays difficult or create that moment of indecision that can be the difference between being safe and out.
Thursday they were the difference in a 3-2, eight-inning victory over Waukesha North in the quarterfinals of the WIAA Division 1 state tournament at Goodman Diamond.
Each of Falls’ runs crossed the plate without the benefit of a hit.
“The whole key is to put pressure on the defense and the girls executed today,” Falls coach Lou Sanicola said. “You never know who is going to do it, but we’ve got speed up and down the lineup and in the dugout, so it helps a lot.”
The ringleaders Thursday were senior Lou Sciortino and junior outfielder Jordan Pettiford. Sciortino scored her team’s first two runs. Pettiford scored the game-winner on a steal of third that led to an errant throw into left field.
With the victory Falls (22-4) won its 11th straight game and moved a step further than last year’s state tournament appearance, which ended with a quarterfinal loss to Oak Creek. It will face Sun Prairie in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Honestly last year we were content to get to the state tournament and this year we’re like ‘We’re coming to win,’ "senior pitcher Kenzie Poetzel said. “We came last year. We know what it feels like. This year we’re so much more prepared.”
Manufactured runs were a must on this day because both team’s hurlers were locked in.
Poetzel allowed three hits, struck out eight and put down the final 15 batters she faced. North ace Maddy Anderson struck out 13 and at one point retired 14 straight hitters.
Anderson also drove in the Northstars’ only runs of the game with a tworun single in the third.
The runs provided a fresh start after a shaky start from North, which finished 18-4.
Sciortino, Falls’ second-leading hitter with a .395 average, opened the game with a double, moved to third on a bunt and scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch.
In the third, she opened the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice. She scored on a safety squeeze that she read aggressively.
“I took off pretty hard because I know Cami (Stigler) is a good bunter and she was going to get it down,” she said.
North tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but didn’t have another runner reach base.