The No. 1 Three Lakes-Phelps softball team was one win away from a state tournament appearance, but the pitching of No. 1 Almond-Bancroft was too much as the Eagles pushed through with a 5-0 win to advance to Madison later this week.
Three Lakes was never able to solve junior pitcher Riya Ceballos. She pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed three hits.
The Jays got into the sectional final after defeating Laona-Wabeno 6-3 in the regional semifinal June 2 in Three Lakes.
The matchup between Three Lakes-Phelps and Almond-Bancroft was a defensive battle for much of the game before the Eagles pushed through four runs in the top of the sixth inning to put the Jays on the ropes.
“This was a very good team 1-9 and played excellent defensively with a good pitcher,” said Three Lakes head coach Jerry Adamovich. “We played well, only having one error and Kylee Wilson kept them down until the sixth inning.”
Both teams got a taste of the pitching as they went down in order in the first inning.
Almond-Bancroft’s Oakley Omernik reached second to open the second, and she ended up scoring the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice to make it a 1-0 game after two.
After being retired in the first six at-bats, the Jays got on board with a single from Bella Kowalkowski, but no scoring came out of it.
Wilson and the Bluejays got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth to keep the deficit to one.
“There were a lot of stellar plays on our side,” said Adamovich.
A few of those came in the outfield as Kowalkowski robbed a few extra-base hits with catches on some hard-hit balls.
Almond-Bancroft broke loose offensively with some insurance in the top of the sixth with four runs crossing the plate with a pair of singles and a double. That came after the two sides were stuck in what was a chess match for most of the afternoon.
The best scoring chance for the Jays came in the bottom of the seventh, where junior Haylee Barnekow hit a triple into right field with two outs. Lily Gleason was the other Bluejay to collect a hit in the game.
Wilson pitched a complete game in the loss, giving up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits.
Adamovich went on to reflect on the three seniors on the team and how they impacted the season.
“We are going to miss our three seniors, Lily Gleason, Ella Spears and Riley Lob, next year not only as players but as leaders, explained Adamovich. “Some younger players will have to step up into those big roles.”
Three Lakes will head into next year with a clean slate and another shot at advancing towards the state tournament.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here