By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
This spring has thus far been unkind to outdoor sports, but the Merrill and Marshfield softball teams were able to get in a double header Thursday by heading south to Arlington.
In the first game, the Tigers got an early lead on Merrill and sustained it throughout the game as they came away with a 9-2 win.
In the top of the first inning the Tigers got a rally started and kept it going for three early runs. It wasn’t until the bottom of the third that the Bluejays were able to strike back for two runs of their own. A two out double by Kelsie Belfiori gave Merrill a good chance to get a run on the board when Patience Pyan hit a triple to right field to score Belfiori. Maddix Bonnell would keep the rally alive with a double of her own to center field, scoring Pyan from third.
From then on it was all Marshfield, as the Tigers would strike for two more runs in the top of the fifth inning and cap off the game with four runs in the top of the sixth.
Taylor Krueger pitched six innings for Merrill, allowing nine runs on 14 hits, getting three strikeouts and only walking two. Kelsie Belfiori would also pitch one inning and allow one hit. Belfiori had a nice day at the plate going 2-4 with a double in the mix. Patience Pyan went 1-2 at the plate with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Maddix Bonnell rounded out Merrill’s offense going 1-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
“Marshfield jumped on us in the first inning and never really looked back,” head coach Matt Ellenbecker said. “We played a pretty clean game, offensively and defensively, but they were just locked in at the plate. Taylor missed with a few pitches, and she knows that, but they also did a great job of hitting the ball in all areas of the strike zone. They are a very good offensive team. We did close the gap to 3-2 at one point, and I was pretty happy overall with our at-bats. Megan Donahue might be the toughest pitcher in the conference and we did a good job making some adjustments. We put the ball in play consistently and forced them to make plays. They did that. Kelsie Belfiori stood out as a player who had strong at-bats all day. She lead us with 2 hits in this one, and Maddix and Patience also tacked on extra-base hits.”
The second game of the day was stopped due to darkness, with the Merrill girls trailing the Tigers 6-5 in the sixth inning.
In the first inning the Bluejays struck first as they put up two runs. Kelsie Belfiori would lead off the game with a single past the shortstop. Belfiori was followed up by Maddix Bonnell who drew a walk to get runners in scoring position. With runners at second and third, Taylor Krueger singled to left field scoring Belfiori and Bonnell.
Marshfield would bounce back with two runs totied the game at two in the bottom of the third inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers took the lead with a four-run rally, making the score 6-2. In the top of the sixth inning, Merrill had a rally of their own, scoring three runs. Belfiori would lead off with a double and later be driven in by a Patience Pyan single. After a Bonnell walk Taylor Krueger would also walk to load the bases. A single by Lindsey Casper scored two more runs, cutting the Marshfield lead to 6-5. The game would then come to a stand still as it would be too dark to start another inning.
Kelsie Belfiori got the start for Merrill and went three and a third innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits, striking out one and walking three. Taylor Krueger would come in relief and not allow a run on two hits.
“Kelsie Belfiori got her first start pitching since her freshman year, I believe, and she did a nice job for us,” Coach Ellenbecker said. “She did a nice job of mixing her pitches. We didn’t play the best defense behind her at all times, and as the game went on, Marshfield figured things out a little bit, but we’re very happy with the job she did today. We were able to bring Taylor back in the 4th inning and the change seemed to slow their bats down a bit. With the number of games we will have over the coming weeks, having multiple arms ready to work in the circle will be important.”
Belfiori had another nice game at the plate, going 2-3 with a double and a single. Patience Pyan had one hit, one run and one RBI. Taylor Krueger went 1-2 with two RBI’s, Lindsey Casper went 1-3 with two RBI’s, Maddix Bonnell would go hitless in the game but scored two runs.
This April has blasted most of Wisconsin with unseasonably wintry weather and record snowfall, causing a lot of postponements on the high school softball schedule.
“The long winter could be really draining mentally,” Coach Ellenbecker said. “The kids work hard to play ball and compete, and the weather just hasn’t allowed that. We have been lucky enough to get three games in. Some teams are still waiting to get out on a field. It is too bad that we won’t get all the time to practice out at the MARC that we typically would. This group in particular really enjoys that, I think.
“Overall our players have handled it extremely well,” Ellenbecker added. “We’ve tried to mix in some days off and incorporate fun activities and competitions in practice. I think we have avoided issues where players think practice has become redundant and not beneficial and have chosen to miss. I would say we haven’t even seen a dip an effort and focus at practice. That is so impressive. Our players deserve a ton of praise for their attitudes during all of this. It helps that they get along so well and really just enjoy being together each day. They know that when spring arrives and we start playing ball, we are going to get a ton of opportunities to show up and compete. They are excited for that, but have done a great job of preparing day after day in less than ideal conditions.
“I have to give credit to my assistants, as well. While I am hyper-focused on scheduling games and what we need to work on in practice, they have been terrific about being flexible with times and creative with ideas to mix things up and keep our players engaged. They help me keep a pulse on things and really care about the kids and the experience we aim to provide for them.”
The Bluejays are scheduled to play again Monday, April 23 at Mosinee.