Knights set tone right off the bat
Four-run first does in Falls
MADISON – Oak Creek waited nine years between state tournament appearances, so when the Knights softball team hit the field Thursday it wasted no time setting the tone for its 6-1 victory over Menomonee Falls.
Now another delicious opportunity awaits. Redemption is always sweet.
In advancing to the WIAA Division 1 semifinals, the Knights earned the chance to avenge their only loss of the season. Wilmot, their opponent at 7 p.m. Friday, scored an 8-1 victory over Oak Creek on April 22 at the Wilmot Panther Invite.
“That day we played all day and we were tired by that time and we wanted to get home and get through the day. I know our pitcher Becca (Oleniczak) was really, really tired and we didn’t really have her to count on …,” senior shortstop Katie Mitchell recalled. “They probably think they’re going to win because they’re the only team to beat us, but we’re going to come back and show them what OC is all about.”
Oak Creek (29-1) showed its true colors against Falls as it used timely hitting, solid pitching and crisp defense to dispose of the Greater Metro Conference champion.
The damage Oak Creek’s lineup did in the first inning was the difference.
Mitchell drove in the game’s with first run with a single. Two batters later with two outs, sophomore Sara Traxel brought home another run with a single. Next up was senior leftfielder Peyton Strong, who smashed a double to center that brought home two more runs.
Just seven batters into the game, Oak Creek led, 4-0.
“One hit sets it off,” Mitchell said. “I’m just really proud of the girls for the first inning. That really set us on top I think.”
That left plenty of cushion for Oleniczak. The junior struck out four and walked one on the way to a completegame victory.
Her only hiccup came in the third inning, when junior Kenzie Poetzel turned an opening walk into Falls’ only run of the game. That inning, however, marked the last time Falls had a player in scoring position.
Credit Oleniczak for keeping the ball down and credit the Knights’ slickfielding infield for handling a number of sharply hit balls with ease.
“They work really hard,” Oleniczak said. “Defense is probably one of the biggest reasons we’re here. We’ve played tough defense all season. It’s OK to pitch closer to the middle of the plate than you think because you know your defense is going to be there for you.”
Mitchell went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs. Senior third baseman Tori Golden was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Besides the first inning, Falls pitcher Ciera Jones held her own against a heavy-hitting team that finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the area by the Journal Sentinel and No. 2 in the Division 1 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association poll.
“Our girls made a few mistakes and they took advantage of them,” said Falls coach Lou Sanicola, whose team finished 22-6. “I’m proud of my team because they never gave up. We could have packed it in after they scored four right away, but we came back, got a run to make it closer and then battled all the way to the end.”
Up next for the Oak Creek is a Wilmot squad that swings the bat as well as any team. Counting the two shots it had in a 4-0 victory over Germantown on Thursday, the team has hit 13 home runs in its last three games.
Seven Wilmot players combined for the 14 hits they had against Oak Creek in the team’s first meeting, but in that contest Oleniczak came on and pitched after the team was down, 6-1, and the Knights were playing with a makeshift lineup.
They hope to have a better showing this time.
“I think they’re a very similar team to us,” Oak Creek coach Jeff Trask said. “I'd like to see what we can do with our full team playing a straightup seven-inning, nine-onnine (game) and see how it goes. I like our chances.”